高级英语第一册详细讲解

Lesson one The Middle Eastern Bazaar

一． Background information

二．Brief overview and writing style

This text is a piece of description. In this article, the author describes a vivid and live scene of noisy hilarity of the Middle Eastern Bazaar to readers. At first, he describes the general atmosphere of the bazaar. The entrance of the bazaar is aged and noisy. However, as one goes through the bazaar, the noise the entrance fades away. One of the peculiarities of the Eastern bazaar is that shopkeepers dealing in the same kind of goods gather in the same area. Then the author introduces some strategies for bargaining with the seller in the bazaar which are quite useful. After that he describes some impressive specific market of the bazaar particularly including the copper-smiths market, the carpet-market, the spice-market, the food-market, the dye-market, the pottery-market and the carpenter‘s market which honeycomb the bazaar. The typical animal in desert----camels----can also attract attention by their disdainful expressions. To the author the most unforgettable thing in the bazaar is the place where people make linseed oil. Hence he describes this complicated course with great details.

The author‘s vivid and splendid description takes readers back to hundreds of thousands of years age to the aged middle eastern bazaar, which gives the article an obvious diachronic and spatial sense. The appeal to readers‘ visual and hearing sense throughout the description is also a marked feature of this piece of writing.

In short, being a Westerner, the author views the oriental culture and civilization as old and backward but interesting and fantastic. Through careful observation and detailed comparison, the author depicts some new and original peculiarities of the Middle Eastern bazaar which are unique and distinguished.

三．Detailed study of the text

Paragraph 1 the general atmosphere of the bazaar 1. The Middle Eastern bazaar takes you back…of years:

1) Middle East: generally referring to the area from Afghanistan to Egypt, including the Arabian

Peninsula, Cyprus, and Asiatic Turkey.

2) A bazaar is an oriental market-place where a variety of goods is sold. The word perhaps comes from the Persian word bazar.（中东和印度等的）集市， 市场

Paraphrase: The bazaar can be traced back to many centuries ago. The architecture was ancient, the bricks and stones were aged and the economy was a handicraft economy which no longer existed in the West.

2. The one I am thinking of particularly is entered…:

1) is entered..: The present tense used here is called ―historical present(历史现在时)‖. It is used

for vividness.

2) Gothic: of a style of building in Western Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries, with

pointed arches , arched roofs, tall thin pillars, and stained glass windows. 3) aged: having existed long; very old

3. You pass from the heat and glare of a big open square into a cool, dark cavern…:

1) Here ―the heat‖ is contrasted with ―cool‖, ―glare‖ with ―dark‖, and ―open square‖ with

―cavern‖.

2) glare: strong, fierce, unpleasant light, not so agreeable and welcome as ―bright sunlight‖.强光，

耀眼的光

3) ―cavern‖ here does not really mean a cave or an underground chamber. From the text we can

see it is a long, narrow, dark street of workshops and shops with some sort of a roof over them.

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大洞穴（尤指大而黑的）

Paraphrase: In front of the gateway there is a big, open square. It is hot there and the brightness

of the sunlight is most disagreeable. But when you enter the gateway, you come to a long, narrow, dark street with some sort of a roof over it and it is cool inside. 4. which extends as far as the eye can see:

The word eye and ear are used in the singular not to mean the concrete organ of sight or hearing but something abstract; they are often used figuratively. Here the eye means man‘s power of seeing or eyesight. E.g.

1) She has an eye for beauty. 2) The boy has a sharp eye.

3) To turn a blind eye / a deaf ear to sth or sb. 4) His words are unpleasant to the ear.

5. losing itself in the shadowy distance…: shadowy suggests shifting illumination and distinct. E.g. A zig-zag path loses itself in the shadowy distance of the woods.（一条蜿蜒的小路隐没在树荫深处。）

6. Little donkeys …entering and leaving the bazaar:

1) thread their way: the donkeys went in and out among the people and from one side to another. 2) The word ―entering‖ and ―leaving‖ go with the word ―throngs‖ which differs from ―crowd‖ in

that it carries a stringer implication of movement and of pushing and a weaker implication of density.

7. The roadway is about … of every conceivable kind are sold. 1) roadway: the middle part of a road where vehicles drive

2) stall: small, open-fronted shop, table etc. used by a trader in a market, on a street.摊位，售货亭 Paraphrase The small shops lining the street try to expand their shop space by encroaching on the street, so the street becomes narrow every few yards. 8. The din …and makes you dizzy:

1) din: loud, confused noise that continues 持续的嘈杂声

2) The noun ―din‖ is followed by three ―of‖ phrases, thus a parallelism. 3) The expression ―crying one‘s ware‖ is now considered old fashioned. Wares: rather literary, meaning articles for sale, usu. not in a shop.

4）clear a way: to remove from (as a space) all that occupies or encumbers, or that impedes or restricts use, passage or action 5）would-be: likely, possible

Paraphrase the loud, confused noise of … continues without interruption and makes you feel mentally confused. Paragraph 2 the sepulchral atmosphere of the cloth-market 1. Then as you penetrate … muted cloth-market.

1) penetrate: to pierce or pass into or through. The word is used here to indicate that you have to

pass through a big crowd in order to go deeper into the market.进入或穿过，透过 2) Fade away: go slowly out of hearing, gradually disappear

3) Muted: it is muted because the earthen floor deadens the sound of footsteps and people in the

market speak in low, soft tones.

2. The earthen floor… any sounds to echo: 1) earthen: made of earth

2) beaten hard by countless feet: flattened by treading; which becomes flat and hard because it is

much traveled

3) deaden: to lessen or dull the sound of (footstep)

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4) the vaulted mud-brick walls and roof: Moslem style of architecture 3. the shopkeepers speak in slow … follow suit. 1) measured: steady, slow and deliberate; rhythmical

2) sepulchral: [si?p?lk?rl] Suggestive of the grave of burial; dismal, gloomy暗示着埋葬的;

阴沉忧郁的

3) follow suit: to do the same as someone else has done

4) The buyers overcome by the grave-like atmosphere, also speak in slow, measured tones. Paragraph 3 shopkeepers dealing in the same kind of goods gather in the same area 1. One of the peculiarities … persecution: 1) peculiarities: characteristics 2) collect: come together; gather 3) knit: unite firmly and closely

4) guild: society of persons for helping one another, forwarding common interests协会，行会 paraphrase Shopkeepers dealing in the same kind of goods usually scatter themselves over the bazaar so as to avoid competition. (It would then be more difficult for customers to compare goods and prices.) But in the Middle Eastern Bazaar they come together in the same area in order to form a closely-knit guild against injustice or persecution (coming from, perhaps, the tax collectors and government officials).

2. each open-fronted shop … for storage:

1) open-fronted shop: the goods are displayed at the front of the shop, without any window or

doorway blocking the view.

2) a trestle table for display: One displays anything that one spreads out for others to view or puts

in a position where it can be seen to advantage or with great clearness so as to strike the eye.（放置木板、桌面、坐板等的）支架

3. Bargaining is the order of the day: bargaining is the normal way of doing things

(the) order of the day: that which is of the greatest general interest at a particular time；prevailing state of things, e.g.

They failed to act since confusion was the order of the day at the headquarters. His period was a building age, when competition was the order of the day. 4. veiled women … beating the price down:

1) veiled women: according to Moslem custom women have to wear veils when they go out. 2) to price: (colloquial) to ask the price of, e.g.

3) narrow down their choice: reduce the number of their choice 4) beat down: bargain with (seller), causing seller to lower (price) Paragraph 4 some strategies for bargaining with the seller 1. It is a point of honor … the last moment.

1) a point of honor: something considered important for one‘s self-respect(指关系到面子和自尊

的重要事情)

2) what it is: ―what it is‖ means ―which (thing) in particular‖. The word ―it is‖ are added to show

emphasis.

2. yield little: refuse to reduce the price by any significant amount 3. The seller … makes a point of protesting that …: 1) protesting: insisting, affirming strongly

2) to make a point of doing sth: regard or treat it as necessary, e.g.

The teachers make a point of being strict with the students.

Paraphrase The seller thinks it is necessary for him to declare that the price he is asking makes it

impossible for him to gain any profit.

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4. he is sacrificing this … regard for the customer: He is selling the thing at less than its cost

because he respects the customer.

5. with customers coming and going at intervals: the customer bargains for some time, then leaves

(hoping to frighten the seller that he might lose the customer) and comes back again after a period of time and carries on the bargaining.

Paragraph 5 detailed description of the copper-smith’s market 1. One of the most … copper-smiths‘ market: 1）picturesque: striking, vivid

2）impressive: deeply impressing mind or senses, esp. so as to cause approval or admiration 2. As you approach it … on your ear.:

1) tinkling: a succession of light, ringing sounds (e.g. of a small bell) 2) banging: hit violently, to make a loud noise （e.g. to bang a door）

3) clashing: make a loud, broken, confused noise (as when metal objects strike together) (e.g.

swords clash, the clashing of cymbals 4) impinge (on): have an effect (on); strike 3. It grows louder and more distinct:

1) it: the tinkling and banging and clashing

2) distinct: not only clear, but easily heard, clearly marked, distinguished apart from other sounds 4. until you round a corner … lamps and braziers: 1) round: make a turn about

2) dancing flashes: quick bright lights moving up and down 3) catch the light of: intercept and reflect the light of paraphrase The dancing flashes are reflections of the (unsteady) lights from the lamps and braziers throw on the polished copper. 5. hammering away at copper vessels of all shapes and sizes: away means continuously, constantly

e.g.

working, laughing, muttering away

6. take a hand (in sth): help, play a part (in sth) e.g.

Don’t fool around, come and take a hand in the cleaning. 7. the red of the live coals … to the strokes of the bellows: 1) live: adj. burning or glowing a live bomb (unexploded)

It was a live broadcast, not a recording.

2) red: here it refers to the red light ( of the burning coals)

3) to: along with; accompanied by；as an accompaniment for

Paraphrase The light of the burning coal becomes alternately bright and dim as the coals burn and die down, burn again, along with the repeated movements of the bellows. Paragraph 6 different styles of the household utensils 1. Here you can find … and strictly functional:

1) intricate: a specific word, meaning the design are of interwinding or interlacing parts 2) functional: designed to serve practical purpose; its opposite is ― ornamental‖

Paraphrase Here you can find beautiful pots and bowls with fine, complicated and traditional designs; you can also get simple household utensils for daily use, which are pleasant to look at but not have any decoration on them and are strictly designed to serve useful purposes.

Paragraph 7 about the carpet-market, the spice-market, the food-market, the dye-market, the pottery-market

1. Elsewhere … and yet harmonious:

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1) profusion: plenty; great or too great amount 2) rich: (color) deep, strong and beautiful

3) varied: it implies more than ―different‖; it stresses the idea of full of changes of variety, having numerous forms or types

4) texture: arrangement of threads etc. in textile fabric, characteristic feel due to this 5) bold: strongly marked; clearly formed Paraphrase You have a whole of carpets with vivid color, woven in different ways, having designs typical of different regions. Some of the designs are clear-cut, well-marked and simple; while others are very complicated, showing all the details yet having all the different parts combined in a pleasing and satisfactory arrangement.

2. exotic smells: Exotic means not only foreign, but also out of the ordinary, strikingly or excitingly different or unusual. It is used to describe something which is very pleasing either to the mind or sense.

3. ―sumptuous dinner‖ is contrasted with ―humble meal‖. Sumptuous: rich and costly, suggesting lavish expenditure e.g. a ~ banquet, furnishing

Humble: (of things) poor, mean

4. in the maze … honeycomb this bazaar: 1) maze: a set of intricate windings

2) honeycomb: v. to fill with holes, cells, or cavities

paraphrase The street that pierce the bazaar from all directions and lead towards all directions cut the bazaar into small sections like the honeycomb. 5. every here and there: every now and again; at one place or another 6. a doorway gives a glimpse of a sunlit courtyard: 1) glimpse: a quick, imperfect view of sth

2) Now and again through a doorway you‘ll be able to catch a brief view of a sunlit courtyard. 7. where camels lie … beside them:

1) disdain: consider unworthy of one‘s notice; treat with scorn

Paraphrase The camels are considered very arrogant, hence disdainfully chewing their hay, showing no interest in the activities going on around them. Paragraph 8 the making of linseed oil

1. It is a vast somber cavern of a room: a room that is like a vast somber cavern

1) The use of implied comparison and the noun ―cavern‖ instead of the adj.―cavernous‖ makes the description more vivid. E.g. He was a tyrant of a landlord.

They lived in a palace ( match-box) of a house. Before him stood a little shrimp of a fellow.

2) somber: partially deprived of light or brightness; dark; gloomy 2. dim: lack of clarity of outline or physical things or mental ones 3. a huge pole compare with a vast cavern Huge commonly suggests immensity of bulk. E.g. a huge mass of earth

a huge leather bellow

Vast suggests immensity of extent. E.g. a vast expanse of the sky China is a populous country with a vast territory.

When used figuratively, huge stresses the greatness of a person‘s (or thing‘s) capacity. Vast stresses a thing‘s range, scope or variety, as well as extent. E.g. a huge eater a vast knowledge, interests 4. a blind-folded camel… walks constantly in a circle:

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1) blind-folded: with eyes bandaged

2) constantly means continuously, stressing firmness, steadiness and devotion Endlessly stresses weariness and tediousness and monotony.

5. which is then pressed to extract the oil: extract means obtain from a substance by any chemical or mechanical operation, as by pressure, distillation,etc. 6. in superb condition … muscular, massive and stately. 1) superb: (colloq.) of very high quality, excellent

2) muscular: having well-developed muscles; strong, suggestive of great physical strength肌肉发

达的，强健的

3) massive: large and imposing or impressive大而重的

4) stately: the camel walks in a slow, deliberate and dignified pace, hence stately庄严的 paragraph 9 how to extract oil

1. The pressing … and their stone wheels:

1) ramshackle: shaky, unsteady; likely to go to pieces, as from age or neglect

2) apparatus: an integrated assembly of tools, instrument etc, used for a specific purpose 3) Note the use of tower and dwarf and the mental picture the author wants to create.

tower: reach high (above or over surroundings) dwarf: make look small by contrast or distance 2. The machine is operated by one man:

The stress is on one, meaning not two or three men. If it is a man, then the stress is on man, meaning not a woman or a boy. 3. who shovels … in motion:

1) nimble: moving or acting quickly and lightly; light and quick in motion敏捷的

2) a dizzy height: so high that it causes giddiness; that it makes people have a kind of whirling

sensation

3) throw one‘s weight on to : use all one‘s strength to press down 4) set … in motion: get … going; get … operating

4. Ancient girders（大梁，主梁） creak and groan … a used petrol can: 1) ancient: not only old, but also old-fashioned and antiquated

2) creak: (make a ) sound like that of an unoiled door-hinge, or badly-fitting floorboards when

trodden on

3) groan: (make a) sound like that caused by the movement of wood or metal parts heavily loaded 4) trickle: a slow, small flow ( of liquid) 5) ooze: give forth steadily (moisture) 6) runnel: a small channel

7) used: no longer new; second-hand

5. quickly the trickle …. And sighs of the camels:

1) glisten: (esp. of wet or polished surface, tear-filled eyes) shine brightly, sparkle 2) Compare: dancing flashes vs. live coal glowing bright Flash : sudden and transient outburst of flame or light Glow: send out brightness or warmth without flame

e.g. a flash of lightning (fig.) a flash of wit; hope; inspiration

3) taut and protesting: The ropes are drawn tight and the ancient girders creak and groan. 4) its creaks: ―its‖ stands for the overhead apparatus or the beam 5) squeaking: making short, deep, rough sound like that of a hog 6) rumble: (make a ) deep, heavy continuous sound 7) grunt: a high-pitched, nasal-sounding cry

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Lesson Two Hiroshima — the ―Liveliest‖ City in Japan

Writing style

This text is a piece of narration, the telling of a story. A good narration has a beginning, a middle and an end. In a narrative writing, the actions or the incidents, events are generally presented in order of their occurrence, following the natural time sequence of the happenings, that is, in chronological order. But it can also start in the middle or at some other point in the action and move backward to the earlier happenings. This is called flashback.

There are three basic components of a narration:

Plot: the frame of the writing, which consists of a series of events. There are usu. one or several climaxes, the highest point of the story, with suspensions, conflicts, to arouse the interest of the audience. After the climax is reached, the story quickly moves to a conclusion.

Characters: the leading character is called the hero or protagonist. Background: the time and place of the story The plot usually dominates narration, however, some narratives focus on character or theme or atmosphere.

This text takes the changes of the author‘s thoughts and feelings as the order of the whole excerpt. The author tells us his experience of his journey in Hiroshima and what he has seen and felt and understood there. The most-used pattern of narration is narrating and describing. Apart from the main clue of the author‘s thoughts and feelings, he also spices this piece with some typical description of the characteristics of the Japanese nation, and at the same time he emphasizes the co-existence and struggle of the Eastern and Western culture. As the comment in the narration is always its golden-stone which directly gives opinion and judgment of the narrated content, this text is no exception. At the end of this excerpt, the author makes some comments which echo with the title, thus makes the whole passage a smooth and natural entirety. Structural Analysis

Part I: (para 1.) The Arrival

Part II: (para 2-7) Way to City Hall Part III: (para 8-28) Meeting the Mayor Part IV: (para 29-end) At the Hospital Detailed study of the text Paragraph 1

1. Hiroshima—the ―Liveliest‖ City in Japan: The word ―liveliest‖ is put in quotation marks to

show that this is what the city is said to be and the writer perhaps considers it ironic to use the word ―liveliest‖ to describe a city that had been atomized.

2. ―Hiroshima! Everybody off!‖ Everybody should now get off the train. These words were

chanted by the stationmaster to inform the passengers that the train had arrived at its terminal destination and all passengers were to detrain.

3. That must be … slipped to a stop in Hiroshima Station:

1) Must here expresses strong probability as the author did not understand Japanese and could

not have been sure.

2) slipped to a stop: came to a stop smoothly and effortlessly, in a gliding manner Cf. slide, slip, glide, coast

Slide implies accelerated motion without loosing contact with the slippery surface. 滑动，暗含加速地在光滑的表面上滑行

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the drops sliding from a lifted oar (Theodore Roethke). “水滴从抬起的桨上滑下来” （西奥多·勒特克）

Slip often suggests involuntary rather than voluntary, sometimes even definitely implying a loss of footing and a fall. 无意中，不知不觉地滑动而不是自发地移动，有时表示因为失足而跌倒

He slipped on a patch of ice and sprained his ankle. 他在一块冰上滑了一跤，扭伤了脚踝。

Don’t let slip the chance. a slip of the tongue/pen 口误／笔误

Glide, rather close to slide, means to move smoothly, quietly and continuously as is characteristic of dances. 顺畅平稳地滑动，无声而持久，看似毫不费力 four snakes gliding up and down a hollow (Ralph Waldo Emerson). 四条蛇在一个山谷里上下滑行 （拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生）。

Coast applies especially to downward movement resulting from the effects of gravity or momentum 尤指由于重力或惯性造成的向下运动

The driver turned off the engine and let the truck coast down the incline. 司机关掉了马达让卡车滑下斜坡。

4. And secondly, because I had a lump in my throat and a lot of sad thoughts on my mind … :

1) a lump in one’s throat: a feeling of pressure in one‘s throat, caused by repressed emotion; a

feeling of tightness or dryness in the throat caused by strong emotion. In this context, the author was choked with emotion, or he was so overcome with emotion that he could not speak or think clearly. 如哽在喉

Most of the Chinese people have ～ on hearing the death of Premier Zhou.

2) a lot of sad thoughts on my mind: I was troubled about some sad events; I was preoccupied

with some sad thoughts.

3) to have to do with: to be a concern of; to be about; to be connected with. My sad thoughts

had no connection with what the stationmaster might say.

5. The very act of stepping on this soil … any reportorial assignment I‘d previously taken:

1) very: itself and nothing else, e.g. That is the very last thing I expected. 2) adventure: an unusual journey or an exciting or remarkable experience reportorial assignment: reporting work for a newspaper

3) The fact that I was now in Hiroshima was in itself a much more exciting experience for me

than any trip I had taken or any reporting work I had done in the past.

6. Was I not at the scene of the crime?

Rhetorical questions are usually asked only for effect, as to emphasize a point, no answer

being expected. E. g. Isn’t it a fact well known to everybody that the sun is bigger than the moon? The author was so touched by his memory of the past that he was still unsure whether he has been in this city, the place where the A-bomb was dropped Paragraph 2

1. The Japanese crowd … that I had: Judging by appearances, the author could not have been

absolutely sure that the Japanese crowd did not have the same preoccupations.

Appear may convey the same implication as look, but it sometimes suggests a distorted impression produced by an optical illusion, a restricted point of view etc. Look implies that the opinion is based on a visual impression. Seem suggests a personal opinion based on evidence that satisfies the judgment.

2. Little girls … in western dress:

1) rub shoulders with: (infml.) meet and mix with sb.; come into contact. E.g.

The foreign visitors said that they would like to rub shoulders with ordinary Chinese people.

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2) This sentence gives the impression that in Japan traditional style and western style exist

side by side.

3. Serious looking men …

1) be oblivious of / to: be unaware of; having no memory of sth. E.g. She became absorbed in the work, oblivious of the passage of time. Cf. oblivious, forgetful, unmindful, ignorant

Forgetful usually implies a faulty memory or a tendency not to remember 通常含有记忆力衰退或失去记忆的意思

As I grow older I become increasingly forgetful. 随着年龄的增长，我变得越来越健忘了。 Less often the word is used as the equivalent of unmindful, which applies principally to failure to keep in mind what should be remembered, as through deliberate oversight, heedlessness, or inattentiveness. 偶尔这些词可用来代替unmindful，该词主要用于指有意的疏忽、心不在焉或漫不经心等，而将应该记住的事忘了

She ought not to be forgetful of her duties. 她不该玩忽职守。 Each passenger rushed toward the exit, unmindful of the others. 每个乘客都不顾其他人涌向出口。

Oblivious refers to failure rather than inability to remember, as because one is preoccupied or because one has chosen to disregard something. 更侧重于疏忽而不是失去记忆，如因为某人做事一心一意或有选择地疏忽一些事情。

Fortunately for the author, he was soon oblivious of the vitriolic criticism. 幸运的是，就作者而言，他很快就忘了这些辛辣的评论。

Sometimes the term implies lack of awareness. 有时这个词含有缺少意识的含义。 For a person who has known them so long you are strangely oblivious to their faults. 对于一个认识他们很久的人来说，你异乎寻常地没有意识到他们的缺点。

2) Paraphrase: They were so absorbed in their conversation that they seemed not to pay any

attention to the crowds about them.

3) bob up and down repeatedly in little bows: (humorous) bow repeatedly

4) ritual: all the rites or forms connected with a ceremony; particular form of any procedure

regularly followed; here used as an adj. meaning ―done as a rite‖. 仪式; 仪式的; 礼节的 ritual phrases of greeting 例行的客套话

formula: habitual expression or behavior; fixed arrangement of words, esp. as used on social, legal or ceremonial occasions 套语, 惯用语（尤指社交, 法律场合或仪式上使用的）e.g.

Before the football match the players of two teams followed the ritual formula of shaking hands and exchanging gifts.

4. Others were using little red telephones … tobacco shops:

fa?ade: front or face of building towards a street or open place

grocery store: a store where tea, butter, sugar, tinned food and such household requirements as soap and soap powder are sold. Paragraph 3

1. whose door popped open at the very sight of a traveler: As soon as the taxi driver saw a traveler,

he immediately opened the door.

2. grin: smile broadly as to show teeth, originally expressing amusement, foolish satisfaction or

contempt etc., but in current English, tending to imply na?ve cheerfulness.

3. The tall building of the martyred city … in response to the driver‘s sharp twists of the wheel:

1) martyred city: the city that has been made to suffer

A martyr is someone who is killed or made to suffer greatly esp. because of their religious or

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political beliefs, and is admired and respected by people who share those beliefs.

a glorious martyr to the cause of liberty a Christian martyr a revolutionary martyr a martyr to duty 殉职者 a martyr to love 殉情者

If you refer to someone as a martyr, you disapprove of the fact that they pretend to suffer, or exaggerate their suffering, in order to get sympathy or praise from other people. 为博得赞赏或同情而受苦﹑自我牺牲的人

When are you going to quit acting like a martyr whenever you are asked to do some housework? If you say that someone is a martyr to something, you mean that they suffer as a result of it. Ellsworth was a martyr to his sense of honor and responsibility. a martyr to continuous headaches 不断受头痛折磨的人

If someone is martyred, they are killed or made to suffer greatly because of their religious or political beliefs.

2) lurch: roll or sway suddenly forward or to one side in response to: in answer to; in reaction to

In response to your inquiries, we regret to inform you that we cannot help you in this matter. 3) The high buildings passed swiftly and when the driver made abrupt changes of direction,

we sometimes swung to one side, sometimes to the other side in response to the swaying motion of the car.

Paragraph 4

1. Just as I was beginning to find the ride long … to ask the way: When I was beginning to find the

trip too long (I was about to become a little bit impatient), the taxi stopped with a harsh piercing sound.

2. but to avoid loss of face … how long it may take them to find it:

1) loss of face: inability to keep up dignity, selfrespect, prestige; loss of reputation; humiliation 2) will accept any destination without concern for…: will agree to go anywhere they are asked

to without caring for how long it may take them to reach the destination.

Paragraph 5-6

1. As last this intermezzo came to an end and I found myself in front of the gigantic City Hall:

1) intermezzo: a short, light dramatic, musical or ballet entertainment between the acts of a

play or opera; here the word is used figuratively to refer to anything that fills time between two events – the cab ride that took place between his arrival at Hiroshima and his planned meeting with the mayor. This word is used very light-heartedly here.

2) I found myself…: This pattern gives the idea of ―suddenness‖, ―unexpectedness‖; discover

oneself to be in a surprising situation; I suddenly discovered that I was in front of the City Hall. For example:

I awoke one morning to find myself famous.

2. The usher … heaved a long, almost musical sigh …: The official doorkeeper uttered a sigh

perhaps because many people had gone there wrongly before the author and he had to explain once again.

heave: to give out (a sad sound), esp. in the phrase ― to heave a sigh / groan‖ We all heaved a sigh of relief when the work was done.

3. sketch a map: draw roughly and quickly with outlines but little detail Paragraph 7

1. thanks to: on account of; because of; owing to

embankment: a raised bank built to confine a river or canal 防水堤

barge: a large flat-bottomed boat for carrying goods or people on rivers or canals驳船（河流

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运河等中载运客货的大型平底船）

moor: secure a boat with cables; to fasten a ship or boat to the land or to the bottom of the sea using ropes or an anchor

2. The rather arresting spectacle … between the kimono and the miniskirt:

1) the rather arresting spectacle of little old Japan: the rather striking picture of traditional

Japan arresting: striking, attracting and holding the attention

spectacle: sight, view or scene

beige: brownish grey or grayish yellow 淡棕色的

adrift: afloat without control, driven about by the sea or wind a- has the meaning of ―away, from, of, in, on, etc.‖

aboard: on the board, on the boat afield: away from one‘s home; on a field afire: to set sth. on fire The house was afire. afloat: on water afoot: on foot

2) struggle between the kimono and the miniskirt: ―Kimono‖ and ―miniskirt‖ here are used

symbolically to represent the ―old‖ and the ―new‖ or the East or the West.

Paraphrase: The traditional floating houses among high modern buildings represent the constant struggle between old tradition (traditional culture) and new development (Western style).

Paragraph 8

1. stunning: very attractive; delightfully beautiful

porcelain-faced: a face with a fair delicate complexion; using the traditional white make-up smooth-faced: 没胡须的, 表面光滑的, 奉承的

ashen-faced: looks very pale, esp. because one is ill, shocked, or frightened 面如死灰的

bare-faced / barefaced: shameless 不要脸的

po-faced: with a too solemn or disapproving expression 一本正经的; 不以为然的 poker-faced: expressionless 无表情的, 不动声色的, 一本正经的

red-faced: with a face that looks red, often because one is embarrassed or angry 由于狼狈或 困窘而红着脸的

shamefaced: look and feel ashamed because one has done something wrong or has behaved badly 脸带愧色的; 谦逊的; 害羞的

straight-faced: appears not to be amused in a funny situation 不苟言笑的

two-faced / double-faced: informal changing what you say according to who you are talking to, in a way that is insincere and unpleasant 两面派的, 伪君子的 2. treading cautiously on the soft tatami matting … in my socks:

1) I was not accustomed to walking in my socks so I walked carefully, fearing that something

unpleasant or dangerous might happen.

2) a twinge of embarrassment: a sudden sharp feeling of shame a twinge of toothache / conscience

prospect: reasonable hope; sth. which is expected or considered probable I see no prospect of his recovery.

cf: expectation: thing that is expected

We came here with the expectation of meeting the mayor, but I see no prospects of seeing him now since he is oblivious of us humbles.

Paraphrase: I suffered from a strong feeling of shame when I thought of the prospect of meeting the mayor of Hiroshima in my socks. Paragraph 9

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1. sad-eyed: looking sad

green-eyed: with green eyes; envious 绿眼的, 嫉妒的 blue-eyed: with blue eyes; beloved 蓝眼睛的, 心爱的

cross-eyed: with one or both eyes turned inwards towards the nose 内斜视的; 斗鸡眼的

2. the strange emotion which had overwhelmed me at the station returned: I was again overcome

by a guilty conscience as I had been when I first arrived at the station. overwhelm: (Origin) ―whelm‖ means ―to turn over, cover up‖

﹡Harriet was overwhelmed by a feeling of homesickness. if someone is overwhelmed by an emotion, ﹡The children were overwhelmed with excitement. they feel it so strongly that they cannot ﹡Grief overwhelmed me. think clearly

﹡We were overwhelmed by the number of applications. if work or a problem overwhelms someone, ﹡They would be overwhelmed with paperwork. it is too much or too difficult to deal with ﹡I was completely overwhelmed by his generosity. to surprise someone very much, so that ﹡We were overwhelmed by the sheer size of the place. they do not know how to react

﹡In 1532 the Spaniards finally overwhelmed the armies of Peru. to defeat an army completely ﹡A great mass of water overwhelmed the village. water covers the land completely and suddenly 3. I was again crushed by the thought that …: the thought that … once again overwhelmed me 4. linger on to die in slow agony: died slowly and in great pain stay for a long time; be unwilling to leave 逗留; 徘徊:

She lingered after the concert, hoping to meet the star. 音乐会後她徘徊不去, 希望能一见明星. linger about / around / on 在附近[在周围/不断]徘徊. be slow; dawdle 动作迟缓; 磨蹭; 拖沓:

There's no time to linger it'll soon be dark. 没时间拖延了——天快黑了. linger (long) over one's meal 慢腾腾吃饭.

remain in existence although becoming weaker 苟延残喘; 奄奄一息:

Though desperately ill he could linger on for months. 他虽病入膏肓, 却尚能苟延数月. The old tradition seems to linger on in some villages. 老传统在有些村里至今犹存. The scent of her perfume lingered on in the room. 屋里仍然飘溢着她的香水味. He surprised all the doctors by lingering on for several weeks. Paragraph 10-19

1. inhibited: feeling restrained, having to suppress one‘s emotion; finding it difficult to behave

naturally and show one‘s feeling; uneasy, unnatural

Men are more inhibited about touching each other than women.

2. After three days in Japan … extraordinarily flexible: After three days in Japan one gets quite

used to bowing to people as a ritual to show gratitude. spinal column: the backbone flexible: easily bent; pliant

Notice the humorous effect achieved through the use of the formal, learned, scientific terms. 3. the faces grew more and more serious each time the name Hiroshima was repeated: The mayor

mentioned Hiroshima repeatedly and to the author (who was suffering from a guilty conscience) the repeated mention of the name created a suspense which he found hard to bear. That was also, perhaps, why the faces of other foreigners grew more and more serious. 4. agitated: disturbed, upset

5. … a town known throughout the world for its – oysters:

This is called anti-climax, a common literary device to achieve humor, surprise, satire etc.

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Anti-climax: a sudden drop from an important, serious, exciting thought or expression to the commonplace, unimportant or absurd things, usu. for suspense, attention, expectation, or dramatic and humorous effects. E.g.

The duties of a soldier are to protect his country and peel potatoes.

The mayor said this because he did not want to embarrass the foreigners by talking about the disaster and he wanted people to forget the tragic past and because Hiroshima was famous for its oysters. (The mayor apparently doesn‘t want to mention the painful, horrid past, to avoid making the guests uncomfortable, or to prevent himself and his compatriots from feeling the agony again. It either shows the considerateness of the mayor for the guests, or it shows how the event is still haunting, gnawing at and devouring the modern Japanese.)

6. I was just about to make my little bow of assent … jolting me out of my sad reverie:

1) assent: an acceptance (of a statement) as true; agreement Notice the sense of humor in this sentence.

2) sink in: be fully absorbed or understood; penetrate esp. gradually Peter read the letter twice before its meaning sank in.

3) jolt: (v.) shake up as with a bumpy ride or sharp blow, move with sudden jerky movements

颠簸, 猛击;

We jolted along rough wet roads through an endless banana plantation. jolt sb into/out of sth: make sb act by giving him a sudden shock A stinging slap across the face jolted her. It jolted me into making the decision to quit.

Her sharp words seemed to jolt him out of his depression.

Her angry words jolted him out of the belief that she loved him. 她愤怒的话令他震惊,使他明白她不再爱自己了。 (n.) sudden bump or shake; jerk

People felt the first jolt of the earthquake at about 8 a.m. (fig.) surprise; shock

The oil crisis has given the government quite a jolt.

4) reverie: dreamy thinking, esp. of agreeable things; the state of being absorbed in dreamlike

contemplation; daydreaming; be deep in thought / be lost in thought / be absorbed in thought / be sunk in deep thought

fall into a reverie 沉溺于不实际的空想之中

5) Paraphrase: I was on the point of showing my agreement by nodding when I suddenly

realized what he meant. His words shocked me out of my sad dreamy thinking.

7. humanity‘s most heinous crime: the most wicked crime mankind has ever committed.

heinous: (literary) wicked in a high degree; atrocious/monstrous/hateful/villainous/outrageous /detestable/doggone/hideous/obnoxious/odious

The Nanjing massacre was a heinous crime committed by the Japanese. Paragraph 20-27

1. backed away: moved backwards away from the mayor

headed toward the far side of the room: moved toward the other end of the room

2. I must confess that I did not expect a speech about oysters here: I must admit that it never

occurred to me that I would hear the mayor of Hiroshima talk about oysters.

If you confess sth. or confess to sth., you admit that you have done sth. that you feel ashamed of, or embarrassed about.

3. cataclysm: a violent and sudden upheaval esp. a serious flood, an earthquake or war; disaster

cf. disaster， calamity， catastrophe， cataclysm

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These nouns refer to an event having fatal or ruinous results.

Disaster generally implies great destruction, hardship, or loss of life

A nuclear disaster, spread by winds and waters and fear, could well engulf the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the uncommitted alike. (John F. Kennedy)

核灾难，由风、水和恐惧而传播出去，可完全吞噬大国、小国、富国、穷国，以及结盟的和不结盟的国家。（约翰·F·肯尼迪）

Calamity emphasizes distress, grief, or the sense of loss 强调痛苦、悲伤或失落感

“the heaviest calamity in English history, the breach with America” (James George Frazer). “英国历史上最沉重的灾难，是和美国关系的破裂“ （詹姆斯·乔治·弗雷泽）。 Catastrophe especially stresses the sense of a tragic final outcome 强调最后的悲剧结果

The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophes. (Albert Einstein) 无需再思考，原子发出的能量已改变了一切，因此我们还走向史无前例的灾难。（爱伯特·爱因斯坦）

Cataclysm is a violent upheaval that brings about a fundamental change 指巨大的劫乱，从而带来根本性的改变

Old aristocratic institutions have been destroyed by the revolutionary cataclysm. 旧的贵族统治已被革命剧变打破. 4. live through: experience and survive

5. I tell you this because I am almost an old man: The implication is that is why I do not care if

people should know I was here when the bomb was dropped. Other people might try to hide the fact.

preserve traces of …: maintain and protect the signs of destruction caused by the bomb trace: a visible mark or sign of the former presence of a thing or event; vestige preserve: (fml. or lit.) to keep from destruction, to protect Policemen preserve order in the streets.

Fish are preserved in ice and salt until they are sold.

at the point of impact: at the exact point over where the bomb exploded

impact: collision, a striking of one body against another, the force of impression of one thing on another

demolish: pull down or tear down. When used in reference to buildings or other complex structures (as of wood, stone or steel), it implies complete wreckage and a heap of ruins. 6. time marches on: things are changing; history is advancing

hidden wounds, and burns: visible and invisible (psychological) scars Paragraph 28-39

1. smell of: give out a smell of

That old man smells of tobacco. formaldehyde 甲醛 ether 乙醚

2. Stretchers and wheelchairs are put against the walls in the many corridors

send shivers down the spine of any healthy visitor: even healthy visitors would shiver when they see those surgical instruments spine-chilling 令人毛骨悚然的

The way he looked at her sent shivers down her spine. 3. by trade: by occupation; by way of making a living

4. I thought somehow I had been spared: I thought for some reason or other I had not been affected;

I thought for some reason or other no harm had been done to me. my belly turned to water: water began to accumulate in my belly

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5. testing and treating are used here to achieve musical effect; this is called alliteration. Alliteration: the repetition of an initial sound that is usu. a consonant in two or more neighbouring words.

6. It is humiliating to survive in this city: It is a disgrace for an atomic victim to remain alive in

this city / to continue to live in this city.

humiliate: hurt the pride or dignity of; to cause to feel humble or to lose the respect of others 7. your children will encounter prejudice on the part of those who do not: Your children will be

looked down upon by those who are not atomic victims.

People are afraid of genetic damage from the radiation: People fear that the effect of the atomic radiation may be hereditary. People suffering from genetic damage may not be able to produce offsprings or may give birth to deformed or otherwise unhealthy children.

8. each day of suffering that helps to free me from earthly cares: One more day of suffering would

mean a day nearer my death / would bring me closer to my death.

earthly: material, worldly as opposed to spiritual; of this world as opposed to heaven; it is applied to that which belongs to the earth or to the present life

earthly care: daily life and worries, cares on the earth which is in contrast with that in heaven, in death

9. the opportunity to improve my character: the chance to raise my moral standard, to purify my

soul

我每多活一天，多受一天罪，也就是距脱离苦海的日子近一天。每过这样一天，我就做一只新的纸鸟，放到那一堆纸鸟中去。我看着这些小鸟，并庆幸疾病给我带来的好运气，因为疾病磨炼了我的性格。 RHETORIC

Metaphor is considered the most important and basic poetic figure and also the commonest, the most beautiful.

I had a lump in my throat

At last this intermezzo came to an end... I was again crushed by the thought...

...when the meaning ... sank in, jolting me...

Metonymy(借代): In Latin, meta means change while onyma means name, so metonymy means the change of name. Metonymy is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another. This substituted name may be an attribute of that other thing or be closely associated with it. In other words, it involves a change of name. ...little old Japan adrift amid beige concrete skyscrapers

...struggle between kimono and the miniskirt I thought that Hiroshima still felt the impact Metonymy can be derived from various sources: a. Names of persons Uncle Sam: the USA b. Animals

a fight between the bear and the dragon (the bear: the Soviet Union; the dragon: the Chinese) c. Parts of the body

heart: feelings and emotions

head, brain: wisdom, intelligence, reason gray hair: old age d. Profession:

the press: newspapers, reporters etc.

He met the press yesterday evening at the Grand Hotel.

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the bar: the legal profession

e. Location of government, business etc.

Downing Street: the British Government

the White House: the US president and his government the Capital Hill: US Congress Wall Street: US financial circles

Hollywood: American filmmaking industry

Euphemism: the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest sth unpleasant

eg: He was sentenced to prison. — He is now living at the government's expenses. The boy is a bit slow for his age. to go to heaven—dead

to go to the bathroom, do one's business, answer the nature's call. Each day of suffering that helps to free me from earthly cares. Irony:

Hiroshima—the Liveliest City in Japan

the good fortune that my illness has brought me Anti-Climax:

a town known throughout the world for its—oysters Alliteration: slip to a stop

testing and treating Rhetorical Question: Was I not at the scene of the crime? Questions

1. What do you know about Japan and Hiroshima (and Nagasaki)?

2. From what you learn can you know the author‘s occupation and nationality? Why?

—He is a journalist on a mission to Hiroshima. He must be an American, from the words he uses like ―sidewalk‖, ―store‖, ―cab‖, ―gayest‖, and also from the fact that he can‘t understand what the stationmaster is shouting.

3. Besides the foreign language, what makes the author unable to understand the stationmaster? Describe his sentiment the moment he arrived in Hiroshima?

4. What is the author‘s attitude to the past of Hiroshima, i.e. what happened in 1945? How do you know?

—He is both sorry and guilty about the cataclysm. He says ―Was I not at the scene of the crime?‖, and also the diction he resorts to in the following like ―martyred city‖.

5. How do the Japanese in Hiroshima look? How does the author describe them?

—As ordinary and normal as the other Japanese in other cities of the nation. By describing the way they are dressed and their behaviors.

6. The author mentions twice the co-existence of traditional Japan and western influence, that is, ―elderly ladies in kimonos rubbed shoulders with teenagers and women in western dress‖, and ―traditional houses…little old Japan adrift amid beige concrete skyscrapers…. What does the author intend to show?

—The co-existence and harmony between traditions and modern, western cultures. This shows the Japanese are opening their country to the outside and accepting foreign things.

7. Do you find anything funny about the author‘s taxi trip to the City Hall? Do you agree with the author on the Japanese people‘s love of face and pride?

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8. Who is the author going to meet? How does he feel about the Japanese customs of receiving guests? Why?

—The mayor. A twinge of embarrassment, walking in his socks.

9. How does the mayor look like? How does the author feel seeing the mayor? 10. Why do the Germans at the meeting also feel inhibited?

11. What is the general atmosphere in the meeting room, especially when the name Hiroshima is mentioned?

12. From the author‘s conversation with the old Japanese man, what do we know about the Japanese people‘s sentiment toward the atomic event? Why do the Japanese stop talking about the event?

13. What is the author‘s next stop? How does he describe it? What impression do you have on it? —The hospital. Describe what he sees there. Chilly and frightening.

14. How does the Japanese patient describe the event? How do you feel about it? What is the continuing anguish the atomic victims suffer in the city according to the man?

15. How does the Japanese fisherman treat his illness? Why does he make paper cranes?

16. Does the author find the answer to the question ―Is Hiroshima the liveliest city in Japan‖? What do you think is the answer?

Lesson 3 Ships in the Desert

Para.1 Typical example of environmental destruction 1. I was standing … on a good day

1) in the sun: in the sunlight, as opposed to in the shade 2) to process: to prepare by a special method

3) capable of processing a fifty-ton catch on a good day: having the ability of cleaning and

preparing for marketing or canning 50 tons of fish caught on a productive day

2. the prospects of a good catch looked bleak: a good catch did not look promising / hopeful.

*This is obviously an understatement because with sand all around there was no chance of catching fish, to say nothing of catching a lot of fish. 3. Where there should have been … there was …

1) Pay attention to the structure. The implication is that once there were gentle waves lapping against the side of the ship but there were none now. Instead, in the place of the waves there were stretches of sand.

2) lap: to strike gently with a light, splashing sound 3) in all directions: everywhere 4. The other ships … to the horizon

1) How could the other ships be at rest in the sand?

The other ships were also anchored in the original coast but now water had turned into sand therefore they were surrounded by sand and could not move.

2) dune: a rounded hill or ridge of sand heaped by the action of the wind

3) that stretched … to the horizon: that extended as far as the eye could see; that extended to the far off place where the sky meets the earth 5. the Aral sea

1) located in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan ; historically a saline lake ; In 1960 the world‘s fourth largest lake, the size of the entirety of Southern California; in the center of a large, flat desert basin; a prime example of a dynamic environment

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2) Why is the Aral disappearing?

It is becoming smaller and smaller because the water that used to flow into the sea has been turned away to irrigate the land created in the desert to grow cotton. The scheme was an ill-conceived one because it failed to take into consideration the ecological effect. 6. America‘s Great Lakes

the group of five freshwater lakes, central North America, between the United States and Canada; largest body of fresh water in the world; From west to east, they are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario; HOMES—H stands for Huron, O for Ontario, M for Michigan, E for Erie and S for Superior. 7. comparable:

something that is comparable to something else is

a) as good as/ as big as/ as important as the other thing; b) similar to the other thing

e.g. This dinner is comparable to the best French cooking.

8. to feed it has been diverted in an ill-considered irrigation scheme to grow cotton in the dessert: to flow into the sea has been turned away to irrigate the land created in the desert to grow cotton. The scheme was an ill-conceived one because it failed to take into consideration the ecological effect. Para. 2 Thesis statement: My search for the underlying causes of the environmental crisis has let me to travel around the world to check and study cases in order to find out the basic causes behind the environmental crisis.

1) He traveled around the world because he wanted to see, check and study cases of such destruction in order to find out the basic causes behind the environmental crisis.

This sentence expresses the main idea and indicating the development of a causal essay. 2) image: typical example

1. At the very bottom .. through time

1) at the very bottom of the earth: the southern end of the earth‘s axis; bottom here means farthest

end

2) high in the … Mountains: at a high place in the mountain chain

3) Why did the author say the sun glared through a hole in the sky? Where comes the hole?

It refers to the ozone depletion. The sun shining at midnight through the ozone depletion a hole: ozone depletion 臭氧层空洞 4) the tunnel he was digging through time:

---he was drilling to samples from the glacier, the deeper he drilled, the farther the sample in time; in other words, the surface of the glacier is an indication of recent time while the deeper part of the glacier tells of situation of a much remote period. 2. Trans-Antarctic Mountains Antarctica is icy cold; Trans-Antarctic Mountains divided it into the East Antarctic and West Antarctic subcontinents; China has set up two scientific research stations there: Zhongshan Station in the East and Great Wall in the West.

3. slipping his parka back … we were standing:

1) parka: 派克大衣, a hooded fur jacket worn as an outer garment by Eskimos. 2) A badly burned face: caused by overexposure to direct sunlight

3) Cracked and peeling: note the use of past participle and present participle. On the face there

were lines that were split open and pieces of skin were coming down. 4. He moved his finger back in time to the ice of two decades ago:

----Following the layers of ice in the core sample, his finger came to the place where the layer of ice was formed 20 years ago.

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5. Clean Air Act:

American Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970, which is one of the oldest environmental laws of the U.S. as well as the most far-reaching, the costliest, and the most controversial. 6. At the bottom … on earth:

1) two continents: South America and Antarctica

2) emission here means the amount of pollutions discharged

3) least accessible place on earth: the place which is the most difficult to get to in the world Para. 3 The global warming seen in the Antarctic 1. Q: What‘s the cause of the global warming?

---- Began with the industrial revolution,

2. pick up speed: develop in an accelerated speed; become faster 3. Industry meant … warm the earth.

1) industry meant coal: the development of industry meant the use of large amount of coal as fuel to generate power.

2) ---bringing rising…with its ability …warm the earth: ?adverbial of result

---heat cannot easily get through carbon dioxide and go into the high altitude so carbon dioxide plays the role of a cover, keeping the heat near the earth.

4．upwind from the ice runaway…scientists monitor the air…to chart the course of that inexorable change:

----upwind from the ice runway where the ski plane lands and keeps its engines running so that the metal parts will not be frozen solid, scientists watch the air several times every day to mark the course of that unalterable change.

upwind: in the direction from which the wind is blowing or usually blows 顶风 to chart the course: to show the onward movement on an outline map

ice runway: runway is a strip of paved ground for use by airplanes in taking off and landing, and here in the South Pole the runway is a strip of ice ground.

Ski plane: an airplane with skies instead of wheels for landing and taking off in the snow. graph: usually a mathematical diagram inexorable: that cannot be altered, checked

Q: Why are the engines of the plane kept running?

--- Because the pilot fears that if he stops the engines, the metal parts would be frozen solid and the engines would not be able to start again.

Para. 4 A thinning cap as the result of Arctic air warms 1. Two and half … Arctic Ocean

1) the other end: Antarctic as one end and Arctic as the other end 2) pitch: set up; erect

3) slab: a piece that is flat, broad and fairly thick 4) frigid: extremely cold

2. After a hearty …. In the water below:

1) a hearty breakfast: a satisfying and rich breakfast

2) snowmobile: a kind of motor vehicle for traveling over snow, usually with steer able runners

at the front and tractor treads at the rear

3) rendezvous point: the place where a submarine was to pick them up

A rendezvous is a place where you have arranged to meet somebody often secretly. 4) hover: to wait close by, esp. in an overprotective, insistent or anxious way 3. After it crashed … of global warming:

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1) after it crashed through the ice: after the submarine broke through the ice with force and smashing noise and surface.

2) took on its new passengers: picked up the author and his companions. 3) resubmerged: went down under the water again

4. to secure the release of previously top secret data: to ensure the making public of data which was originally classified as top secret .

sonar: [U] (an acronym for sound navigation ranging) an apparatus using sound waves for finding the position of underwater objects, such as mines or submarines声纳（利用声波探测如水雷或潜艇等的水底目标的仪器）

Baiqi dolphins have sonar. Bats have sonar.

5. I was standing …when separate sheets collide:

---I was standing in the vast scene of snow which was fearfully beautiful, windswept and shining white, with the stretch of ice field characterized by small ridges because of the force of the collision of the separate layers.

eerily: mysteriously, especially in such a way as to frighten or disturb snowscape: scene of snow. cf. landscape and seascape.

6. the consequences of a thinning cap could be disastrous: the result of a thinning cap may indicate the possibilities of disasters

Polar cap: the polar region if ice

could: the word indicates ―possibilities‖

Q: Why could the thinning of the polar ice cap be disastrous to the world?

---Because the polar cap plays an important role in the world‘s weather system, the consequences of a thinning cap could bring about dramatic changes in the ecological pattern. For example, it will bring large amount of water which will raise the ocean level and cause some floods. Para. 5 The rising temperature of the earth 1. Considering such scenarios … exercise:

---Thinking about how a series of events might happen as a consequence of the thinning of the polar cap is not just a kind of practice in conjecture (speculation), it has got practical value. Scenario: an outline for any proposed or planned series of events, real or imagined 2. the pattern of ice distribution… controversial claim: the regular way ice is distributed

a still controversial claim: a statement which some scientists still do not completely accept 3. the Arctic Circle: ?an imaginary line drawn round the world at a certain distance from the most northern point (the North Pole), north of which there is no darkness for six months of each year and almost no light for the other six months. cf. the Antarctic Circle

tundra: any of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the Arctic regions Para. 6 the images of destruction at the equator 1. billowing: large swelling mass of

billow v. When smoke or cloud billows, it moves slowly upwards or across the sky Q: Where do the billowing clouds of smoke come from? --- They come from the burning of the rain forest. 2. Amazon rain forest The Brazilian Amazon contains about a third of the Earth's remaining tropical forest and a very high portion of its biological diversity. One hectare (2.47 acres) of Amazonian moist forest contains more plant species than all of Europe. Yet still it is being destroyed just like other rainforests around the world.

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―…The Last Supper is painted on the dilapidated wall of what was a little chapel attached to the main church in ancient times, I suppose. It is battered and scarred in every direction, and stained and discolored by time, and Napoleon‘s horses kicked the legs off most the disciples when they (the horses, not the disciples,) were stabled there more than half a century ago.

―I recognized the old picture in a moment—the Saviour with bowed head seated at the centre of a long, rough table with scattering fruits and dishes upon it, and six disciples on either side in their long robes, talking to each other—the picture from which all engravings and all copies have been made for three centuries. Perhaps no living man has ever known an attempt to paint the Lord‘s Supper differently. The world seems to have become settled in the belief, long ago, that it is not possible for human genius to outdo this creation of Da Vinci's. I suppose painters will go on copying it as long as any of the original is left visible to the eye.‖ (From The Innocents Abroad: The Old Masters)

88. took unholy verbal shots at the Holy Land: ridicules the Holy Land; attacked the Holy Land orally

―It is a singular circumstance that right under the roof of this same great church, and not far away from that illustrious column, Adam himself, the father of the human race, lies buried. There is no question that he is actually buried in the grave which is pointed out as his— there can be none—because it has never yet been proven that that grave is not the grave in which he is buried.

―The tomb of Adam! How touching it was, here in a land of strangers, far away from home, and friends, and all who cared for me, thus to discover the grave of a blood relation. True, a distant one, but still a relation. The unerring instinct of nature thrilled its recognition. The fountain of my filial affection was stirred to its profoundest depths, and I gave way to tumultuous emotion. I leaned upon a pillar and burst into tears. I deem it no shame to have wept over the grave of my poor dead relative. Let him who would sneer at my emotion close this volume here, for he will find little to his taste in my journeyings through Holy Land.‖ (From The Innocents Abroad: The Tomb of Adam) 89. America laughed with him: (personification, hyperbole) The American people laughed with him.

90. The Innocents Abroad: In this book Twain combined serious passages (history, statistics, descriptions, explanations and argumentation) with humorous ones. The chief attraction of the book to the American readers was its humor. The author sharply satirized tourists who had no ideas of the lands they saw except what the guide books fed them. He assumed the role of a sharp-eyed shrewd westerner with grass-roots common sense, who was refreshingly honest and vivid in describing foreign scenes and his reactions to them. It is probable that Americans liked the implication that an unsophisticated Yankee could judge the Old World as well as any man. Paragraph 15

91. in earnest: with a purposeful or sincere intent

e.g. settled down to study in earnest for the examination.

坚定决心认真坐下来复习准备考试

92. Tom Sawyer: Full name— The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. One of the two best novels written by Mark Twain (the other being its sequel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). It is a narrative of innocent boyhood that inadvertently [????????????li] discovers evil as Tom and Huck witness a murder by Ingin Joe in a graveyard at midnight. The boys run away, are thought dead by drowning, but turn up at their own funeral. They decide to seek out the murderer and win the reward offered for his capture. It is Tom and his little girlfriend who, while lost in a cave, discovers the hiding place of Ingin Joe.

93. Tom‘s mischievous daring, ingenuity, and the sweet innocence of his affection for Becky Thatcher are almost as sure to be studied in American schools today as is the Declaration of Independence:

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1) mischievous: teasing, full of tricks；playful in a naughty or teasing way 2) ingenuity: cleverness, originality; inventive skill or imagination

e.g. The boy showed ingenuity in making toys. 那男孩在制作玩具方面有独创性。 3) innocence: quality of being unsophisticated, simple, na?ve 4) Becky Thatcher: Tom‘s girlfriend

5) as is the Declaration of Independence: as the Declaration of Independence is sure to be studied in American schools. Note the clever way of linking two paragraphs, namely through the repetition of certain words or phrases in the preceding paragraph, with the meaning adroitly changed. Paragraph 16

94. Six chapters into Tom Sawyer: after six chapters in the book 95. the juvenile pariah : the young social outcast

pariah [??????]: (Indian) a member of the lowest social caste印度的世袭阶级

96. Fleeing a respectable life with the puritanical Widow Douglas: Towards the end of the book, Huck was adopted by the kind-hearted Widow Douglas who was determined to have him and turn him into a ―respectable‖ boy. But Huck could not stand it. Eventually he ran away to seek his freedom.

1) flee: v. run or hurry away

e.g. The customers fled from the bank when the alarm sounded. 警铃响起，顾客纷纷从银行仓促逃离。

2) puritanical: adj. extremely or excessively strict in matters of morals and religion Paragraph 17

97. Nine years after Tom Sawyer swept the nation, Huck was given a life of his own, in a book…: Huckleberry Finn was published in 1884. Huckleberry Finn is Mark Twain‘s finest creation, a symbol of simple honesty and conscience. Huck lacks Tom‘s imagination. He is a simple boy with little education. The son of the town drunkard, a homeless river rat, cheerful in his rags, suspicious of every attempt to civilize him, Huck has none of the unimportant virtues but all the essential ones. The school of hard knocks has taught him skepticism, horse sense has given him a tenacious grasp on reality. But it has not toughened him into cynicism or crime. Nature gave him a staunch and faithful heart, friendly to all underdogs and instantly hostile towards bullies and all shapes of overmastering power. He is obviously a universal character, the free soul that every boy would wish to be before the world breaks him.

The book is a loosely-strung series of adventures, and can be viewed as the story of a quest for freedom and an escape from what society requires in exchange for success. Joined in flight by a Negro companion, Jim, who seeks freedom from slavery, Huck discovers that the Mississippi River is peaceful, but the world along its shores is marred by deceit and cruelty and murder.

A joy forever, this book is generally acknowledged to be among the best of American and world literature. Hemingway once said, ―All American literature begins with one book: Huckleberry Finn.‖

sweep: to move across or through swiftly or with great intensity e.g. News of the lunar landing swept the country.

登陆月球的消息一下传遍全国

98. a moving panorama for exploration of American society: a moving and constantly changing picture for close examination of American society.

Panorama: n. a comprehensive presentation

e.g. The book presents a panorama of British history since the Middle Ages. 该书概述了中世纪以来的英国历史。 Paragraph 18

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99. On the river, and especially with Huck Finn, Twain found the ultimate expression of escape…: by describing the river (the Mississippi), and esp. Huck Finn, Twain best expressed the desire of escape.

1) pace: rate of activity, tempo

e.g. When he first got to the States, he found the pace of living much quicker there than back home. 2) deplore: v. to feel or express strong disapproval of; condemn e.g. Somehow we had to master events, not simply deplore them. 无论如何，我们必须控制时局，而不能只简单地谴责时局。 3) life‘s regularities: life‘s regular activities

4) energy-sapping: energy-consuming. Sap: v. drain away; weaken gradually e.g. The criticism sapped his determination. 批评削弱了他的决心。 Paragraph 19

100. robust: adj. full of health and strength; vigorous

e.g. His robust strength was a counterpoise to the disease. 他身体强壮，抵抗住了这次疾病。

101. lay ourselves on the shelf occasionally and renew our edges: relax, rest, or stay away from all this crazy struggle for success occasionally and keep our edges sharp. Mark Twain thinks the Americans should keep their daring and enterprising spirit. Paragraph 20

102. personal tragedy haunted his entire life: personal tragedies occurred repeatedly throughout his life.

haunt: v. to come to mind continually; obsess; to be continually present in; pervade; to inhabit, visit, or appear to in the form of a ghost or other supernatural being. e.g. She was haunted by sad memories.

Poverty and poor health haunted that famous musician. The old man said that the castle was haunted by ghosts.

103. spinal meningitis(脊膜炎): -itis is a suffix referring to some diseases involving inflammation, e.g. bronchitis (支气管炎), tonsillitis(扁桃体炎), appendicitis (阑尾炎), hepatitis (肝炎), arthritis (关节炎), etc. Paragraph 21

104. bitterness fed on the man who had made the world laugh: The man who had made the world laugh was himself consumed by bitterness.

feed on (upon): take as food, eat up. Note the personification of bitterness. 105. padded with humor: covered, stuffed, filled with humor

106. Now the gloves came off with biting satire: Now he became mercilessly bitter and satirical. The expression ―the gloves came off‖ derives from the idiom ―an iron hand in a velvet glove‖ (ruthless concealed by good manners, soft speech, etc.)

107. The Mysterious Stranger: Published posthumously in 1916, this book is the greatest story of Mark Twain‘s later period, too often neglected in the appraisal of his work. The story is that of some boys who are really Tom Sawyer‘s gang in medieval dress, in a small village in Austria, who strike up an acquaintance with a supernatural visitor who calls himself ―Satan‖ and is able to work miracles and juggle with human lives. At last he grows bored with his own game. He then said to the boys: ―it is true, that which I have revealed to you, there is no God, no universe, no human race, no earthly life, no heaven, no hell. It is all a dream — a grotesque and foolish dream. Nothing exists but you. And you are but a thought — a vagrant thought, a useless thought, a homeless thought, wandering forlorn among the empty eternities!‖

Here in the closing pages of the story, Mark Twain tries to solve his riddle of grief and self-reproach, and clothe his soul in the invulnerable armour of desperation. Good and evil, like

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reality itself, are to him only illusions. 108. Insisted: declared firmly or persistently.

109. Providence: (Capitalized)God, as the guiding power of the universe Paragraph 22

109. crumble: to break into small fragments or particles; (fig.) gradually deteriorate or come to an end e.g. The great empire began to crumble. 110. crushing: overwhelming

111. final release from earthly struggles: euphemism for death

earthly: adj. worldly. –ly is an adj.-forming suffix, meaning like, characteristic of, suitable to, e.g. fatherly, manly, brotherly

112. of no consequence: of no importance, of no value

113. they have left no sign that they had existed: they have left no sign that shows that they had existed. 114. Lament: to feel or express deep sorrow for; mourn or grieve for

Unit 10 The Trial that Rocked the World

III. Comment on the writing features

The whole piece is written in the form of self account with coherence. The writer, John Scopes, as the principal and witness of the famous trial, gives us a vivid description of the whole process of the event. For example, in what atmosphere the trial began, how Darrow played tricks on Byran, and finally how the spectators‘ arttitudes gradually changed. Or we might say, from the description of the atmosphere in the court, to the description of the verbal battle between the prosecution and the defence, and to the end of the trial, a sense of intense, fervor, sarcasm and at the same time a sense of merriment of festival is felt throughout the whole piece. Besides, the description of the activities by different people outside little court also strengthen our idea of people‘s great concern about this trial and the huge influence of the trial over people‘s lives. For example, the writer says ―When the court adjourned, we found Dayton‘s streets swarming with strangers‖… on the day of the climax of the trial, more than 2000 spectators sat on wooden benches or squatted on the grass, perched on the tops of parked cars or gawked from windows‖.

To achieve all the above, the writer makes use of many rhetorical devices, such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, oxymoron, contrast, etc. to enhance the vividness of the language in conveying the message. For example,

? The street around the three-storey red brick law court sprouted with rickety stands selling hot

dogs. (grow or spring up quickly)

? When Bryan had swept the political arena like a prairie fire. ? The trial that rocked the worldhus defeat.‖

Besides, to create a heated, stirring, and conflicting atmosphere of the court, the writer skillfully use such effective words as ―buzz‖, ?packed‖, ―fervent‖. Words like ―chuckle‖, ―snigger‖ and ―laugh‖ in describing the response of the audience gradually further direct the verbal battle to its climax. Although the piece relates only a small event that happened in a little court in a small town, it conveys to the readers an urgent message that in modern society intellectual and academic freedom is much needed.

IV. A step-by-step analysis of the text

1. Title: the trial that rocked the world

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Paraphrase: the trial that cause great shock and surprise to the people all over the world

The title adopts the rhetorical device: hyperbole to highlight the shocking effect of the trial over the whole world.

Paragraph1-2 The first two paragraphs gives us a comprehensive introduction of the event, including the time, the place, the characters involved in the event and the atmosphere of the court: people’s great enthusiasm over the case, the torturing heat, a coming even contest between two uncompromising powers.

Two rhetorical devices are used here, that is, metaphor and transferred epithet. 2. A buzz …1925.

Paraphrase: the sound of many people whispering and talking excitedly in low tones spread among people as I went to my seat in the court which was crowded with people.

Buzz: vibrating sound of bees, here it refers to the sound of many people whispering or talking excitedly in low tones.

My brain was in buzz. 我的脑袋嗡嗡响。

To be abuzz; hum: The department was buzzing with rumors.

Sweltering: oppressively hot and humid; very hot, causing unpleasantness

3. The counsel for my defence was the famous criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow…my trial. Counsel lawyer: giving advice about legal matters, representing clients in court. 辩护律师

United States law: there are two types of American law. Civil law covers suits between individuals (companies as well as people are ―individuals‖). Insurance claims, divorces, and business malpractices are examples of matters handled under civil law. Criminal law covers cases brought by the state against individuals. Criminal offences range from traffic tickets to major crimes like hijacking and murder

Leading counsel: the chief lawyer of a group

Prosecute: bring a criminal charge against sb. in a court of law.

Prosecution: the group of people who are concerned in bringing a criminal charge against someone in court, defender

e.g. He was prosecuted for exceeding the speed limit.

Silver-tongued orator: eloquent, persuasive speaker. An orator refers to a person good at public speaking.

loose-tongued 随口乱说的(wag one's tongue too freely) honey –tongued 甜言蜜语的 Nominee: person who is nominated for an office, a position, etc.

Fundamentalist movement that had brought about the trial: the trial was brought to court by Scopes and his lawyers. However, it was the fundamentalists movement which made the trial necessary, because it was this movement which made the trial necessary, because it was this movement that had created the religious atmosphere that was responsible for the law which prohibited the teaching of evolution in the schools, and it was the existence of that law which made it necessary to hold a trial to challenge the law.

4. Now I was involved in a trial reported the world over.

Paraphrase: All of a sudden I found myself in a trial which was reported all over the world. 5. Seated in court,…Harvard University. Seated in court: be present in court

ready to testify on my behalf: prepared to submit evidence to support me . Testify: give evidence, declare as a witness, esp. in court, attest, bear witness to,

Verify: To determine or test the truth or accuracy of, as by comparison, investigation, or reference, confirm

The bank refused to cash the check until the signature was verified.

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3. fast pasture for fast-food beef:

---Bit by bit trees in the rain forest are felled and the land is cleared and turned into pasture where cattle can be raised quickly and slaughtered and the beef can be used in hamburgers. fast pasture for fast-food beef: alliteration

Pay attention to the connection of the two ―fasts‖ in fast pasture and fast food. With that comes the ―fast‖ disappearance of the rain forest. 4. the dry season:

ant. in the wet season—the rainy season similarly:

the football season/ the breeding season; the planting season/ the holiday season; the harvest season/ the cold season; the tourist season,/the game season, a season of film

in season: Ant. be out of season

season v. e.g. season the food with salt

5. with more than one Tennessee‘s worth of rain forest: the area of rain forest burned in one year is bigger than the state of Tennessee. worth: equal in area or size

slash: cut with a sweeping stroke

6. we are silencing thousands of songs we have never even heard:

--- Since miles of forest are being destroyed and the habitat for these rare birds no longer exists, thousands of birds which we have not even had a chance to see will become extinct.

7. How will the destruction of the Amazon rain forest affect the earth‘s ecological balance?

---Fewer rainforests mean less rain, less oxygen for us to breathe, and an increased threat from global warming.

Para. 7 images of destruction seen almost anywhere 1. Q: How are they formed?

2. On some nights … that signals the loss of ecological balance now in progress:

---On some nights, in the area at a high northern latitude, the sky alone presents another example of ill omen showing. There is ecological imbalance and this kind of imbalance is developing. in high northern latitude 在北纬高纬度地区 cf. longitude经度 3. This ―luminous cloud‖ occasionally appears

---when the earth is first hidden in the evening darkness; shining unsteadily above us with a partially transparent whiteness, these clouds don‘t seem natural noctilucent cloud:

nocti- means night; lucent means shining, translucent

noctilucent:designating or of a luminous cloud visible at night in the polar regions at an altitude of c.50 miles 生物（性）发光 translucent: partially transparent cloak: to conceal, hide

shimmer: to shine with an unsteady light 4. methane: 甲烷

because there has been a big increase of methane gas in the atmosphere 5. landfills: garbage disposal

Methane is emitted from garbage disposal, from coal mines and rice fields, from billions of termites （白蚁）moving in large numbers through the freshly cut forestland, from the burning of amount of living organism in a particular area and from a variety of other human activities. 6. Even though noctilucent clouds … to the surface far beneath them

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---The implication is that the night comes earlier than the upper part. The balance between day and night is broken.

altitudes: a high area e.g. At high altitudes it is difficult to breathe. Para. 8 human attitudes towards the images of destruction 1. What should we feel toward these ghosts in the sky:

---What should our attitude be toward these noctilucent clouds in the sky? 2. the mix of emotions we feel at the zoo:

---the mix of emotions we feel at the zoo: on the one hand we feel excited about seeing those animals, but on the other hand, we feel sorry for them because they have been deprived of freedom. ---Should it only be a feeling of surprise and admiration or a combination of different feelings we experience in the zoo?

3. feel awe for our own power:

---feel amazed and frightened at our own power. 4. upset the balance between daylight and darkness

---Just as men are killing such large number of elephants for their tusks that the species will soon extinguish, we are using and destroying resources in such a big amount that we are disturbing the balance between daylight and darkness. 5. greenhouse gases gases that will trap heat at the surface of the earth like a greenhouse and ranks third only to carbon dioxide and water vapor in total volume.

This means of all the gases, water vapor occupies the largest portion, carbon dioxide the second. Methane-natural gas, greenhouse gases- the third

6. the chemistry of the upper atmosphere: the chemical composition of the upper atmosphere

7. shouldn‘t it startle us… with a spectral light? Or have our eyes … human civilization and the earth?

1) two rhetorical questions

---it should startle us…; ---our eyes should not haven adjusted so completely to the bright lights of civilization that we can‘t see…. 2) spectral: like a ghost, ghostly

Startle: to alarm suddenly or unexpectedly 8. Or have … and the earth?

---Or have we been so accustomed to the bright electric lights that we fail to understand the threatening implication of these clouds, that it is a glaring sign of the violent clash between human activity and nature?

for what they are: in their real light; the real nature of Para 9. human’s puzzling response

1. Even though it is sometimes hard to see their meaning, we have by now all witnessed surprising experiences:

Q: What are the surprising experiences that signal the damage from our assault on the environment mentioned in the paragraph?

---more hot days, quicker sunburn, and more debate on garbage disposing matter. 2. whether it‘s the frequency…with growing mountains of waste:

--- whether it is the fact that recently there are more hot days when the temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (=38 degree Celsius), or the fact the sun burns our skin more quickly in recent times, or the fact that the debate over the way of disposing of the growing amount of waste matter comes up more frequently.

3. But our response to these signals is puzzling: But our reaction to these signals is so baffling that it

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is difficult to understand.

4. To come at the question another way: To approach the question in a different way; to put the

question differently

5. Why haven‘t we launched a massive effort to save our environment:

---Why haven‘t we started a large-scale movement to save our environment?

6. Why do some signs so alarm us that we immediately take action and concentrate on ways of dealing with them effectively? 1) some images:

e.g. white pollution, (immediate action: stop producing) sandstorm (immediate action: plant grass and trees) 2) other images... less painful distraction

And why do other signs, though sometimes no less striking, only cause a kind of loss and inactivity and we concentrate our attention not on the ways to deal with them but instead, on some other substitutes which are easy to get and less painful? 3) other images:

e.g. gases from cars (distraction: people still want cars, and have an easy and less painful way to deal with this issue, say, it‘s a natural cycle, not because of human activities) Para.10 the importance of organizing our thoughts

it may be helpful to classify them and thus begin to organize our thoughts and feelings so that we may be able to respond appropriately:

to classify: to arrange them into different groups

respond appropriately: so that we will be able to take the most suitable action.

Para. 11 the military system: “local” skirmishes, “regional” battles, and “strategic” conflicts 1. A useful system comes from the military

A useful way of classifying comes from fighting.

They are: “local” skirmish, “regional” battles, and “strategic” conflict.

2. theater: scene of operation e.g. This was the Pacific theatre of World War II. 这里是第二次世界大战的太平洋战区。 lecture theatre 阶梯教室 3. A skirmish is a minor battle

4. a global context: This third kind is reserved for struggles that can endanger a nation‘s existence and must be viewed against the background of the world.

5. Q: What kind of conflict will be considered as ―strategic‖ conflict?

---Only struggle that can threaten a nation‘s survival and must be understood in a global context will be considered as ―strategic‖ conflict..

Para 12. The same case with the images of destruction

1. illegal waste dumping: the disposal of waste in a way that violates the law

2. Problems like acid rain, the contamination of underground aquifers, and large oil spills are fundamentally regional: basically belong to regional category.

Acid rain（酸雨）: rain with a high concentration of acids produced by sulfur dioxide (二氧化硫), nitrogen oxide (氧化氮), etc. emitted during the combustion （氧化）of fossil fuels; it has a destructive effect on plant and aquatic (水中的) life, buildings, etc.

contamination: cf. pollution. Pollution is a term to describe the degrading of the environment in some way—the air we breathe or the water we drink or wash in can be polluted when it is contaminated by some foreign or unwanted material, e.g. engine oil or chemicals in water, smoke, or car exhaust in the air. We talk about air pollution or water pollution—not water contamination but ―pollution‖ is the more common term.

Contamination is a more scientific term used to describe a substance contaminating or spoiling

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something such as an experiment, e.g. the water purity experiment was contaminated by an outside chemical. We would not say ―polluted‖ in this case.

aquifer: an underground layer of porous (多孔的)rock, sand, etc, containing water, into which wells can be sunk.

3. the pattern appears to be global:

---It seems that the problem has acquired a global nature since so many similar things occur at the same time all over the world.

4. Q: Why aren‘t the problems regarded as strategic?

--- Because the working of world environment as a whole has not been affected and the existence of mankind has not been endangered.

Para.13 A new class of environmental problems affecting the global ecological system: chlorine氯

1. The 600 percent increase … countries producing the chlorofluorocarbons responsible...

---There have been 600 percent increase in the amount of chlorine in the atmosphere during the last forty years not only in those countries which are mainly responsible for the production of CFC 1) chlorofluorocarbons: CFC 氟里昂

2) not just responsible: not just in those countries which are mainly responsible for the production of CFCs

2. The increased levels… radiation from the sun:

---The increase of the amount of chlorine disturbs the usual way of handling and controlling the amount of ultraviolet radiation the earth receives from the sun.

ultraviolet: (of light) that is beyond the purple end of the range of colors (spectrum) that make up light that can be seen by human beings ultraviolet rays: 紫外线

ultra-: beyond e.g. ultrared （红外线的）, ultrashort （超短波的）, ultrasonic （超音波的）, ultramodern（极其现代化的）

Para.14 another strategic threat—global warming 1. The concentration … in the atmosphere:

--- As a result of the increase of those particles that can take in heat, less heat is released into the high altitude and more heat is kept in the atmosphere than in the past. This will make the climate of the world warmer.

2. The increase … human society.

equilibrium: a state of balance between opposing forces pattern: a regular, mainly unvarying way of movement in turn: in proper sequence or succession 3. Why is global warming a strategic threat?

Because this increase in heat seriously threatens the global climate equilibrium that determines the pattern of winds, rainfall, surface temperatures, ocean currents and sea level, and these in turn determine the distribution of vegetative and animal life on land and sea and have a great effect on the location and pattern of human societies, so it is considered a strategic threat. Para. 15 the transformed relationship between humankind and the earth

1. in our own time we have reshaped a large part of the earth‘s face with concrete in our cities: ---in the modern time we have given a new shape or form to a large part of the earth‘s surface by building paved roads, bridges, buildings etc.

concrete: (metonymy) referring to paved roads, bridges, buildings

2. But these changes… have, until recently, been relatively trivial factors in the global ecological system:

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--- Although sometimes these changes seem to be taking place everywhere in the world they have, until recently, been relatively insignificant in their influence on the ecological system of the world. pervasive: prevailing; spreading 3. Indeed … environment:

Assume: to take for granted; to suppose ( something) as a fact Lasting effect: enduring effect; effect which lasts a long time

4. What we should get rid of is exactly that kind of view which has been taken for granted. Only

when we have dropped such a view can we think in a long term, overall way about our relationship to the environment.

Para. 16 the dominant cause of change in the global environment—human civilization

1. Q: What caused the change of the entire relationship between humankind and the earth? ----Human civilization.

2. Yet we resist this truth… against the mountains:

---Yet we refuse to accept this true fact and find it difficult to think that we should treat our effect on the earth the same way as the moon‘s gravitational pull on the oceans or the wind‘s effect on the mountains and measure our effect in the same way as we measure the effect of natural forces.

3. use that power wisely: of cause we must recognize that we have the responsibility to use the newly acquired capability in a prudent way and with proper restraint.

4. the fragility of the earth‘s natural systems: the earth‘s natural systems are very delicate and can easily be disrupted.

Para. 17 dramatic changes in two key factors ( a sudden and startling surge in human population; a sudden acceleration of the scientific and technological revolution)

1. that define the physical reality of our relationship to the earth: that determine the actual state of our relationship with nature.

2. with the addition one China‘s worth of people

---Every ten years the newly-added population will equal the population of China; Every ten years, one more China‘s population will be added to the population of the world.

Worth: equal in size or number e.g. The storm did thousands of pounds’ worth of damage (=did damage worth thousands of pounds).

He bought 10 dollars worth of postage stamps. 3. which has allowed …around us:

---which has increased our power to influence the world around us to such a degree that can hardly be conceived

magnification: the act of magnifying; the power of magnifying physical matter: material substance Para 18. the surge in population

1. when viewed in a historical context: when we look at the matter from a historical point of view Julius Caesar : (102? B.C.- 44 B.C.), Roman statesman and general

Christopher Columbus: (1451- 1506), discoverer of America, born Genoa, Italy

Thomas Jefferson: [1743-1826) third President of the U.S. (1801-9), author of the Declaration of Independence.

2. Declaration of Independence: Full and formal declaration adopted July 4, 1776, by representatives of the thirteen colonies in North America announcing the separation of those colonies from Great Britain and making them into the United States

Para. 19 the present faster increasing population

1. in the course of one human life—mine: during the life span of an individual –my lifetime

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away for a long time.

5. homely: not good-looking; plain

6. She thinks her sister…of one hand: She thinks that her sister has a firm control of her life.

7. ―no‖ is a word the world never learned to say to her: She could always have anything she wanted, and life was extremely generous to her.

Paragraphs 3-6

1. confronted, as a surprise by her own mother and father: brought face to face with her own

mother and father unexpectedly.

2. tottering: being unsteady on one‘s foot; staggering

3. a TV program of this sort: ―This sort‖ carries a derogatory tone, suggesting that the TV program

is of poor or inferior kind.

4. In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, manworking hands: The phrase ―in real

life‖ in transitional, linking this paragraph and the one above, implying that those TV programs are nothing but make-believe and the narrator is very skeptical of them. In reality she has the typical features of a black working woman.

5. overalls: loose-fitting trousers of some strong cotton-cloth, often with a part extending up over

the chest to protect against dirt and wear.

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

7. I am the way …an uncooked barley pancake: My daughter wishes me to have a slender figure

and fair complexion

like an uncooked barley pancake: a simile comparing the skin to barley dough which has a creamy, smooth texture.

This sentence suggests that Dee is rather ashamed of having a black working-class woman as her mother.

8. Johnny Carson has much to do…witty tongue: Johnny Carson, popular TV talk show star, is

famous for his witty and glib tongue. But is this respect, I am far better than he, and he has to try hard if he wants to catch up with me.

tongue: the act or power of speaking; manner or style of speaking

9. with one foot raised in flight: ready to leave as quickly as possible because of discomfort,

nervousness, timidity, etc.

10. with my head turned …from them: in order to avoid them as much as possible, also from

discomfort, shyness, etc.

Paragraph 7-12

1. sidle up: move up sideways, especially in a shy or stealthy manner.

2. chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle: Maggie is so shy that she never raises her head or

eyes when looking at and talking to people, and she is always so nervous and restless that she is unable to stand still.

shuffle: to change or shift repeatedly from one position to another.

3. Dee is lighter than Maggie: ―light‖ here refers to the color of one‘s skin, complexion.

4. her hair smoking and her dress falling off her in little black papery flakes: Nominative absolute

construction.

papery: thin, light like paper. flakes: a small thin mass

5. stretched open, blazed open: wide open to the fullest extent 6. And Dee: An elliptical sentence. And there was Dee.

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7. stand off: stand away, in a distance.

8. the church and me: Incorrect grammar, it should be the church and I.

9. Augusta: city in eastern Georgia on the Savanah River. It is obvious that the family lives in the

rural area.

10. forcing words, lies, …on us two: The narrator implies that the books Dee read to them were

written by the white people and full of their language and ideas, falsehood and their way of life. By reading those books, Dee forced them to accept the white people‘s view and values. Other folks refer to the white people.

11. sitting trapped, and ignorant underneath her voice: her reading was like a trap, and we were like

animals caught in the trap, unable to escape.

underneath her voice suggests a repressive and imposing quality in her voice.

12. She washed us…need to know: She imposed on us lots of falsity and so-called knowledge that

is totally useless to us. The words ―washed‖ and ―burned‖ are used figuratively, indicating large quantities of a destructive nature.

13. dimwit: (slang) a stupid person, a simpleton

14. organdy (or organdie): a very sheer, crisp cotton fabric used for dressed, curtains, etc. 15. to her graduation: to attend her graduation ceremony 16. pumps: low-cut shoes without straps or ties.

17. She was determined…in her efforts: She was determined to face up and defeat any disaster with

her efforts.

stare down: to stare back at another until the gaze of the one stared at is turned away. disaster here is personified.

18. her eye lids would not flicker for minutes at a time: Again it shows that Dee was undaunted with

a strong character. She would look at anybody steadily and intently for a long time.

19. Often I fought off the temptation to shake her: Often I wanted so much to shake her, but I

restrained myself. Usually you shake somebody in order to rouse that person to the awareness of something.

20. At sixteen she had a style of her own and knew what style was:

1) She had a unique way of doing things.

2) And she knew what was the current, fashionable way of dressing, speaking, acting, etc. in/out of style (fashion)

Paragraphs 13-16

1. in 1927, the colored people asked few questions that they do now: the black people were more

passive that they are now.

2. She stumbles along good-naturedly: She often makes mistakes while reading, but never losing

her good temper.

stumble: to speak, act of to proceed in a confused, blundering manner. e.g. to stumble through a speech

3. Like good looks…passed her by: She is not bright just as she is neither good-looking nor rich. 4. hook: to attach with the horns as by a bull

5. shingle: a thin wedge-shaped piece of wood, slate, etc. laid with others in overlapping rows a roof.

6. There are no real windows…on the outside:

1) portholes in a ship: small openings in a ship‘s side letting in light and air 2) not round and not square: irregular in shape 3) rawhide: untanned or partially tanned cattle hide

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7. when did Dee ever have any friends?: A rhetorical question, meaning Dee was not an easy person to get along with, and she never really had any true friends. 8. Furtive boys in pink shirts hanging about …school:

1) furtive: acting in a stealthy manner, as if to hinder observation 2) hang about / round: to loiter or linger around

3) washday: a day, often the same day every week, when the clothes, linens, etc. of a household

are washed

Paragraphs 17-44

1. but there they are: Before I could meet them in the yard, they have already arrived. 2. I stay her with my hand: I stop her from rushing off with my hands.

stay (vt).: to stop, halt or check. Note that the simple present tense is used in this paragraph and the following five paragraphs in describing actions that took place in the past time. The purpose is to make the story telling more vivid.

3. kinky: (colloquial) full of short, twisty curls, tightly curled 4. I heard Maggie suck in her breath…it sounds like:

1) suck in her breath: inhale her breath

2) Uhnnnh: an exclamation of a strong negative response

5. Like when you see…on the road: An elliptical sentence. It‘s the kind of disgusted response you

have when you see the wriggling end of a snake just in front of your foot on the road. wriggle: to move to and fro with a twisting and writhing motion 6. A dress so loud: A dress in such loud colors.

loud: attracting attention by being unpleasantly colorful and bright. e.g. a loud pattern

7. There are yellows and oranges…the light of the sun: There are bright yellow and orange colored patterns which shine even more brightly than the sun. throw back: to reflect

8. The dress is loose and flows: The dress is loose and moves gently and smoothly.

9. It is her sister‘s hair: This time it‘s her sister‘s hair style that makes Maggie utter an exclamation

of dislike and disapproval.

10. that rope about: that move about like a rope. 11. Since I am stout, …of a push:

1) stout: fat

2) it takes something of a push; I have to push myself up with some effort to get up.

12. You can see me…make it: You can see me trying to move my body a couple of seconds before I

finally manage to push myself up.

13. with Maggie cowering behind me: with Maggie huddling behind me because of fear and

nervousness.

14. She never takes a shot…included: Every time she takes a picture she makes sure that the house

is in it. It shows how important she thinks the house is. We reminded how she used to hate the house.

15. kisses me on the forehead: Not usual. Normally, people kiss each other on the cheeks for

greeting.

16. Meanwhile Asalamalakim is going through motions with Maggie‘s hand: Meanwhile Dee‘s

boyfriend is trying to shake hands with Maggie in a fancy and elaborate way.

17. Maggie‘s hand is as limp as a fish… sweat: Simile. Maggie‘s hand lacks firmness and is cold

thought she is sweating.

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18. he don‘t know: ungrammatical spoken English.

19. to do it fancy: to shake hands in an ornamental, elaborate manner

20. he soon gives up on Maggie: Soon he knows that won‘t do for Maggie, so he stops trying to

shake hands with Maggie in that manner to give up: to admit failure and stop trying.

21. She‘s dead: The girl called Dee not longer exists. With the new name she is born again. 22. She named Dee: She was named Dee.

23. We called her ―Big Dee‖ after Dee was born: As we named our daughter after her aunt, we

added ―Big‖ before her aunt‘s name to make a distinction.

24. Though, in fact … through the family branches: As I see Dee is getting tired of this, I don‘t want

to go on either. In fact, I could have traced it back before the Civil War through the family branches.

25. there you are: a colloquial expression, meaning 1) Here is what you wanted. e.g. There you are!

A nice cup of tea. 2) I told you so. e.g. There you are. I knew I was right.

Here, meaning 2) suits the context. Dee‘s boyfriend means ―That what I expected. I knew you couldn‘t trace it further back.‖

26. There I was not: No such expressions. Here the mother is playing on ―there you are,‖ meaning

―You are not right. Actually, I could have carried it further back if I wanted.‖ 27. a Model A car: a car with new design produced by Ford

28. Every once in a while he and Wangero sent eye signals over my head: Now and then he and Dee

communicated through eye contact in a secretive way.

29. We got the name out of the way: We overcome the difficulty and managed to pronounce it at

last.

30. tripped over it: mispronounced it, failed to say it correctly.

Trip: to stumble, catch one‘s foot and lose one‘s balance. Here is used figuratively, treating the name as something like a stone that causes one to stumble, e.g. The fisherman tripped over a root and fell into the river.

31. I wanted to ask him was he a barber: Incorrect grammar, it should be ―whether he was a barber‖. 32. salt-lick shelters: sheds or tents covering blocks of rock salt placed in a pasture for cattle to

drink

Paragraphs 45-54

1. the greens: green leafy vegetables eaten cooked or raw 2. She talked a blue streak over the sweet potatoes:

1) blue streak: (colloquial) anything regarded as like a streak of lightning in speed, vividness,

etc.

talk a blue streak: to talk much and rapidly

3) over: while occupied or engaged in. e.g. to discuss the matter over lunch

3. churn: a container in which milk or cream is beaten, stirred and shaken to form butter 4. the milk in it clabber by now: The milk in it had become clabber by now. clabber: thickly curdled sour milk

5. uh-huh: (interjection) an exclamation indicating an affirmative response

6. Maggie‘s brain‘s like an elephant‘s: Elephants are said to have good memories. Here Dee is being ironic.

7. as a centerpiece for the alcove table:

1) centerpiece: an ornament, like a bowl of flowers placed in the center of a table. Anything

artistic can be used as a centerpiece.

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2) alcove: a secluded section of a room for having breakfast

8. sink: an area of slightly sunken land. Here the word is used figuratively, meaning a depression in

the wood of the handle left by the thumb and finger.

Paragraphs 55-82

1. rifling through it: searching through the trunk as if she was ransacking and robbing the house. rifle: to ransack and rob; pillage, plunder

2. Maggie hung back in the kitchen: Maggie was reluctant to come out from the kitchen. hang back/ off: to be reluctant to advance, as from timidity and shyness

3. Out came Wangero with two quilts: inverted sentence order to achieve vividness of description. 4. teeny: (colloquial) variation of the word ―tiny‖

5. a penny matchbox: a match box which costs a penny 6. She held the quilts securely in her arms, stroking them:

a) This shows how she cherished the quilts and how determined she was to have them. Later

we will learn that the mother offered Dee a quilt when she went away to college. At that time she thought the quilts were old-fashioned. Note the change in Dee‘s attitudes toward the quilts.

b) stroke: to pass one‘s hand gently over the surface of something as in caressing

7. to give them quilts to Maggie for when she marries John Thomas: Incorrect grammar: to give

these quilts to Maggie when she marries John Thomas.

8. She‘d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use: Here the snobbish Dee says

that Maggie is not a well educated or sophisticated as she and that Maggie will not be able to appreciate the value to of the quilts and will use them just as quilts, not as works of art. 9. stumped: (colloquial) puzzled, baffled, perplexed

10. As if that was the only thing that could do with quilts: She answered the question firmly and

definitely as if that was the only right way of using quilts. 11. ‘member: (colloquial) remember 12. a kind of dopey, hangdog hook:

a) dopey: (colloquial) mentally slow or confused; stupid b) hangdog: ashamed and cringing e.g. a hangdog expression 13. portion: one‘s lot; destiny

14. This was the way she knew God to work: This was the way she knew how God worked.

15. something hit me…of my feet: A metaphor. It shows that one is suddenly filled with a new spirit

or a thoroughly thrilling and exciting emotion caused by an entirely new experience. 16. try to make something of yourself, too: try to be successful like me.

1) make: to turn out to be; to prove to have the essential qualities of e.g. He would make a capable leader.

make sth. of sb. 想让某人成为… e.g. He wants to make his son a true man. 2) something: sth. / sb. significant and important e.g. If you work hard, you will be something in time.

III. Text Appreciation

As we know, a simile is a figure of speech, which makes a comparison between two unlike elements having at least one quality or characteristic in common. The comparison is purely imaginative, that is, the resemblance between the two unlike things in one particular aspect which exists in our minds and in our ―inward‖ eyes and not in the nature of the things

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themselves. To make the comparison, words like as, as…so and like are used to transfer the quality we associate one to the other. In this story, Walker uses many similes to serve her creative intention since the narrator ―I‘ had never have an education‖. The following examples will offer you a lot of information about the contents of the story.

1. The yard is ―like an extended living room‖, which implies their living condition is quite poor.

2. ―She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle‖. How a shy girl Maggie is!

3. ―to shovel us away at just the moment, like dimwits,‖ 4. ―Maggie‘s hand is as limp as a fish‖.

The above-mentioned similes, taken together, piece the mother‘s attitude toward her two daughters and to her own traditional culture into a really colorful small ―quilt‖. All the similes are easy for the readers to catch. The usage of the similes conforms well to the identity of the narrator. She is a black woman in the rural areas, always surrounded by animals or insects such as hog, bull cow, dog, mule, fish, snake, sheep, lizard, bee (all the animal or insects are mentioned in the story) and so on. So when she wants to express herself, she could only organize her language around them.

In this story, the author also uses many metaphors to manifest the theme. Metaphor makes a comparison between two elements and this comparison is implied rather than stated like a simile. So a metaphor is, in a sense, a condensed simile. It is a higher form and requires great ability on the part of the reader to perceive the hidden association, the insight into person, things or ideas that is implied. For example:

1. ―Her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand‖. Maggie thinks that her sister has a firm control of her life. From this sentence, we may sense Dee‘s boldness and audacity.

2. ―It seems to me I have talked to them always with one foot raised in flight. The mother is a bit of afraid of the white; she dares not to talk to them directly because of her nervousness and discomfort.

3. He flew to marry a cheap city girl from a family of ignorant flashy people. Dee‘s quick scalding tongue wins the admiration of her fellow people; however, she fails to obtain her love since she is good at finding faults with her lover.

This story is dotted with some rhetorical questions apart from similes and metaphors. Rhetorical questions require no answers in order to reinforce the impression and obtained the desired effect. In this story, the author uses this figure of speech to shoe that the mother is a woman with a brain. Although nobody answers her questions, she still asks herself many question, for instance,

1. A pleasant surprise, of course: What would they do if parent and child came on the show only to curse out and insult each other?

2. Who ever knew a Johnson with a quick tongue?

3. Who can ever imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye?

In addition to use the proceeding rhetorical methods in language, the author also uses the contrast to convey her idea to the readers as far as the structure of the story is concerned.. No contrast, no difference. A reasonable contrast in fiction makes a deep impression on the readers. For instance, the contrast between Rochester(the main male hero on Jane Eye by Bronte Charlotte) and John River (the auxiliary male character), and the contrast between the ―carter‖ and ―I‖ in A Trifling Accident by Luxun are sure to root in our memory.

In this short story, the imaginary life forms a contrast with the true life. In her dream, she enjoys her daughter Dee‘s success while in real life, her daughter didn‘t think so at all. In her dream, she could have a pleasant and witty conversation with the famous TV program holder. Jonny

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Carson, while in real life, she has no enough courage to look the white in their eyes. In her dream, Dee ―pinned a large orchid on her dress, while in real life, Dee took away her dasher which had been her friend for many years and Dee wanted to the two old quilts.

Dee‘s past and present attitudes also form an interesting contrast. In the past, Dee hated the house in the pasture very much, while now, she ―lines up picture after picture of me sitting there in front of the house with Maggie cowering behind me . She never takes a spot without making sure the house is included‖. In the past, she was not interested in ―the benches her daddy made for the table,‖ but now ― everything delighted her even the fact that we still used the benches her daddy made for the table‖. In the past, Dee refused to have the quilt her mother offered her when she went to college, while now, she came back just in order to take away the two old quilts.

The different features of the two sisters also form a striking contrast. In appearance, Dee‘s complexion is lighter than Maggie‘s. Dee has ―nicer hair, and a fuller figure‖. In intelligence, Dee is much more knowledgeable, she could express herself by using ―well-turned‖ phrase, her ―scalding humor erupted like bubbles inlyre‖ while Maggie stumbles even in reading, sometimes she could only use ―uhnnnh‖ to express her negative meaning. In will, Dee is very determined, and she dares to have everything in her own way, however, Maggie is very shy and timid, she even asks her mother ?s opinion about her dress. In education, Dee is exposed to the books which were written or edited by the white, and she seemed to learn a lot of civilized things from her education. On the contrary, Maggie received poor education, but she learnt something valuable about the traditional culture, for example, to learn to quilt like her Grandmama and aunt. In the attitude toward the black tradition, the two sisters behave quite different. Dee just wants to use the dasher and the quilts (the symbol of the black tradition) as ornaments in her life while Maggie keeps the tradition in her heart even though she couldn‘t be the possessor of ―the dasher and the quilts‖. At the beginning of the story, the mother seemed to show much concern for Dee. With the development of the story, i.e. in the end of the story, the mother suddenly realized that Maggie was really her dearest daughter.

From these contrasts, we are deeply impressed by Mother‘s and her two daughters‘ characteristics. And we also have a deep understanding about the theme. That‘s true, no contrast, and no difference.

Except the usage of similes and contrasts, the author employs some symbols to deepen the theme of the story. Symbols are a part of our daily life. The eagle is a symbol of America, the skull and crossbones on a bottle is a symbol of poison, and the dove is a symbol of peace. The literary symbol shares something similar. Generally speaking, symbols have abstract implications although they are concrete things, and they suggest more than their literal meaning. In this story, Walker uses names and quilts as symbols of black people‘s awakening and the tradition of the black people.

When we read the story, the episode about the names will give us an interesting impression. Name is just a sign, a symbol, but it is a meaningful sign or symbol. We often have many great names ringing in our ears, for example, Newton‘ law, the Channel of Fernao de Magalhaes, the Defensing Line of Maltino, the Theory of Population by Malthus and so on. All these names are given by the authority and renamed after authority. Of course, we should admit that these names have recorded the contribution of the human being to the world culture. However, according to our common sense, in the feudal society of our country, man might have at least three names, first name, last name and meaningful name. Unfortunately Chinese women had only one first name when were unmarried. After the marriage, the husband‘s first name was always in front of the wife‘s first name. So the social discrimination is fully reflected in the name. It is the same case with Dee.

Dee didn‘t like the name, Dee, because the consciousness of her nation has been awakened. She thought Dee is the name given by her oppressors. She wants other to call her ―Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo‖, which is given to her by herself. It is a great pity that Dee is only good at laying

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emphasis on the surface things in hope of enhancing her pride of her nation. Actually in the core of her heart, she shows no respect for her own nation‘s culture at all. Otherwise, she wouldn‘t ―force words, lies, other folks habits, whole life‖ upon the mother and Maggie. So, in a sense, Dee is a victim of her education. The education alienates Dee from her own black culture and causes her to be just one mediocre actress in the Vanity Fair. She belongs to neither the black people nor the other nations. The name provides us with much space to imagination, it means more than a simple name in our daily life.

As to quilts, they also function as a kind of symbol. It is known to everybody that every nation has its own traditional culture whether it has advanced civilization or still remains in barbarous situation. It is the same with the black people. They also have their own unique cultural tradition. In Alice Walker‘s stories or novels, she often describes these three activities—quilting, making trousers and singing as the special activities of the black women. In the novel In Search of our Mother’s Garden, she regards quilting as one of main forms to embody the creativity of the black women in the south. In her masterpiece, The Color Purple, she mentions this episodes many times. Although the designs of the quilts are not devised in advance and the materials are from many different pieces of cloth full of different sizes, different colors and different qualities and so on, the black women‘s imagination and emotion are put in the quilts while they are doing the quilting. In this activity, the black people can obtain the strength of uniting together, and they can understand each other and discover and prove their selfhood

In this story Everyday Use for your Grandmama, the climax is reached when Dee wants to have the two traditional quilts. In the past, the mother once offered her one of the two quilts when she went to college. Unfortunately, she refused it. Perhaps at that time she thought that kind quilt was not fashionable and she failed to understand the value of the quilts. However, now, she seemed to know the price of the quilts. As a matter of fact, she only wants to hang the quilts. On the contrary, her sister Maggie has learnt to quilt herself. In the end, the mother suddenly realized that Maggie is the best possessor of the quilts---―one was in the Lone Star, the other was Walk around the Mountain‖. The black people want to ―walk around the mountain‖ to find ―the Lone Star‖ which just belongs to the black people. The two quilt are filled with the spirit, the courage and the hope of the black people.

In conclusion, Walker uses the language of her own people, with the help of similes, metaphors, rhetorical questions, contrasts and symbol, to tell us a simple story of her own people which contains the complicated theme how the black people inherit their traditional culture. As Chinese, we are also faced with the collision of the western culture and the oriental culture. What shall be our attitude toward our own traditional culture? Perhaps the beat way for us is to calm down ourselves and think over.

Mark Twain — Mirror of America

National Geographic

National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society, which is based in the United States, is one of the world's largest not-for-profit educational and scientific organizations, with a mission to advance the general knowledge of geography and the world among the general public. It states its mission to inspire people to care for their planet. To this end, it sponsors and funds scientific research and exploration, and publishes as its official journal, National Geographic magazine, as well as other publications and products in furtherance of its mission. It also has heavy involvement in education, including an educational foundation furthering geography education. Its media properties reach 280 million

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people around the world monthly.

The National Geographic Magazine, later shortened to National Geographic, published its first issue nine months after the Society was founded. It has become one of the world's best-known magazines and is immediately identifiable by the characteristic yellow border running around the edge of its cover. This distinctive yellow border is a registered trademark of National Geographic.

There are 12 monthly issues of National Geographic per year, plus occasional special edition issues, plus additional map supplements. In addition to being well-known for articles about scenery, history, and the most distant corners of the world; the magazine has also long been recognized for its book-like quality and its standard of photography. IV. Detailed study of the text

1. Mirror of America: Mirror here means a person who gives a true representation or description of the country. All literary giants in human history are also great historians, thinkers, and philosophers in a sense. Their works often reveal more truth than many political essays put together, and their names usually live in people‘s memory long after the names of all the kings and queens that rules the country are forgotten. Mark Twain was one of these giants, and his life and works are a mirror of the America of his time. Paragraph 1

2.Most Americans remember Mark Twain as the father of Huck Finn‘s idyllic cruise through eternal boyhood and Tom Sawyer‘s endless summer of freedom and adventure: Mark Twain is known to most Americans as the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel Huckleberry Finn, which are generally acknowledged to be his greatest works.

father here means the author or the man who created these two unforgettable characters.

Huck Finn‘s idyllic cruise through eternal boyhood: Huck Finn‘s simple and pleasant journey through his boyhood which seems eternal. Eternal is a hyperbole; Huck Finn is the ―eternal boy‖ immortalized.

Idyllic: adj. of or having the nature of an idyll(田园诗);

e.g. an idyllic holiday 恬静愉快的假日

Tom Sawyer‘s endless summer of freedom and adventure: endless is also a hyperbole; it parallels the word eternal. Summer, because all the adventures of Tom Sawyer described in the book are supposed to have taken place in one particular summer. 3. every bit: altogether; entirely

4. as adventurous, patriotic, romantic, and humorous as anyone has ever imagined:

1) adventurous: Mark Twain was adventurous in every sense of the word. He was always trying new things, and always going to new places. Even in his literary career, he was never satisfied with what he had achieved.

2) Patriotic: refers to Mark Twain‘s profound love for his country with its robust people and beautiful scenery and its lofty ideals. It may also refer to his pride in the American traditions and the American language.

3) Romantic: (in art, literature and music) marked by feeling rather than by intellect; preferring grandeur, passion, informal beauty, to order and proportion

4) Humorous: his works are so full of humor that he is considered America‘s greatest humorist. 5. I found another Twain as well: I found another aspect of Twain.

6. cynical: adj. sarcastic, sneering; seeing little or no good in anything and not believing in human

progress; expressing or exhibiting scorn and bitter mockery e.g. They‘ve grown rather cynical about democracy. 他们逐渐感到民主制度也不过如此。

7. profound personal tragedies: see Paragraph 20. ―personal tragedy haunted his entire life‖

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8. obsessed with the frailties of the human race: continually distressed by the moral weaknesses of the human race

1) obsess: v. to preoccupy the mind of excessively

e.g. The fear of death obsessed her throughout her old age. 她晚年一直受到死亡恐惧的困扰。

2) frailty: n. a fault, esp. weakness of resolution, arising from the imperfections of human nature

e.g. Our frailties are invisible, our virtues barren. (Robert Louis Stevenson) 我们看不到自身的缺点，而我们的美德却又十分贫乏。

9. a black wall of night: metaphor, hopelessness and despair Paragraph 2

10. tramp printer, river pilot, confederate guerrilla, prospector, starry-eyed optimist, acid tongued cynic:

all these nouns are in apposition to the noun man

1) Tramp(重步行走): v. to walk with a firm, heavy step; trudge(跋涉)

e.g. He tramped up and down the platform waiting for the train. 他脚步沉重地在月台上走来走去，等候着火车。

2) Pilot(领航员): a steersman, a person licensed to direct or steer ships into or out of a harbor or through difficult waters

3) Confederate: adj. joined together by an agreement or a treaty 联盟的 4) The Confederate States of America 美国南部联邦

5) guerrilla : n. person engaged in fighting in small secret groups 游击队

区别：gorilla 大猩猩

6) prospector: one who explores and searches for valuable ores(矿石) such as gold, silver, oil, etc. 7) starry-eyed: adj. romantic, dreamy; with the eyes sparkling in a glow of wonder, romance, visionary dreams; having a naively enthusiastic, overoptimistic, or romantic view; unrealistic

e.g. He is completely starry-eyed about his new girl friend. 他对这个新的女朋友充满了幻想。

8) acid-tongued: adj. sharp, sarcastic in speech

starry-eyed optimist, acid tongued cynic: an unrealistic person expecting favorable outcomes as well as a sarcastic one seeing no good in anything

starry-eyed and acid-tongued are in the form of adj. +noun denoting a part of the human body +ed Ask the students to give more examples.

red-faced (面红耳赤的)，clear-headed (头脑清楚的)，clear-eyed(有洞察力的)，grey-haired (头发花白的)

11. ranged across the nation: wandered or traveled across the nation

12. the new American experience: Twain lived in the stirring years in American history—the American-Mexican War; the Civil War; the Gold Rush; the Westward expansion; the American-Spanish War; the rapid development of capitalism and later the emergence of imperialism along with the first economic depressions, etc.

13. as writer and lecturer: when denoting professional status, sometimes, no article is used,

especially when two or more professions are mentioned together, e.g. soldier and statesman, poet and diarist

14. navigable: adj. sufficiently deep or wide to provide passage for vessels可通航的 15. attested: v. proved；gave clear of proof of sth. e.g. I can attest to the absolute truth of his story.

我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。

16. in print: (of a book)available for sale from the publisher e.g. It was the first time he had seen his work in print.

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Paragraph 3

17. The geographic core … nation‘s heart: When Mark Twain was young, the central part of

America—a nation with a short history—was the extensive area of land by the Mississippi River, and the river itself served as the main channel of transportation. Both artery and heart are used metaphorically.

Artery: n. A major route of transportation into which local routes flow.

18. keelboat: n. a large shallow freight boat with a keel, formerly used on the Mississippi, Missouri,

etc. (A keel is the chief timber or steel piece extending along the entire length of the bottom of a boat or a ship and supporting the frame. )

19. the first major commerce: an abstract noun used concretely, here the word commerce refers to

various commodities, merchandise. They were the first major commerce because later other commodities such as oil and steel took their place.

20. lumber: n. timber sawed into beams, planks, boards, etc. of convenient sizes. Compare lumber

and timber—In American usage, timber is wood suitable for building houses, ships, etc., whether cut or still in the form of trees, but in British usage, timber and lumber mean the same thing.

21. furs: animal skins with fur on it

22. delta country: Delta is the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet, which looks like a triangle. Therefore,

anything in the shape of a delta, esp. a triangular alluvial (冲积的) deposit of sand and soil formed at the mouth of some rivers, is called a delta.

23. molasses: thick dark syrup drained from raw sugar, usually used as a singular noun

24. the climax of westward expansion: when America became independent, there were only 13

states along the Atlantic Ocean. By 1850, the United States had expanded to the Pacific coast. Events in this westward expansion include the massacre of the native Indians, the Louisiana Purchase(1803), Texas Annexation (1845), the push into Oregon (1846), Mexican Cession (1848), and the Gadsden Purchase. In 1848, gold was found in California. The news spread far and wide and people rushed there to seek their fortune. It was known in American history as the ―gold rush‖, and this rush reached its climax in the 1860‘s.

25. drained three-quarters of the settled United States: Drain means to receive the waters of this

area and carry them to the ocean. Here the meaning is that the river drained a vast basin, and the basin made up 3/4 of the populated area of the U.S. of that time. Paragraph 4

26. cub: n. (dated) a youth, esp. one who is inexperienced, awkward, or ill-mannered; a novice or

learner, particularly in newspaper reporting.

e.g. You cheeky young cub. 你这莽撞的毛头小伙子！

27. the cast of characters: (alliteration) the set of actors in a play or movie. Used here figuratively, it means people of all sorts

28. cosmos: universe, used figuratively here, meaning a place where one can find all types of characters.

29. He participated abundantly in this life: He was very much involved in this life. He had all kinds of experience.

30. listening to pilothouse talk of feuds, piracies, lynchings, medicine shows, and savage waterside slums:

1) Pilothouse: an enclosed place on the upper deck of a river boat in which the helmsman or pilot stands while steering

2) feud: A bitter, often prolonged quarrel or state of enmity, especially such a state of hostilities between two families or clans.世仇

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3) piracy: robbery committed at sea or on inland waterways

4) lynching: the murder of an accused person without trial, carried out by a mob, usually by hanging处私刑

5) medicine show: show given by entertainers who travel from town to town, accompanied by quacks and fake Indians, selling cure-alls, snake-bite medicine, etc. (19世纪末流行于美国, 旨在兜售成药, 秘方, 万能药的)药品宣传巡回展出(团)

6) savage slums: slums that are crude, lack polish or are violently lawless

31. All would resurface in his books: all would reappear in his books. Resurface means to reappear after a period of submersion or hiding. Here the word is used figuratively. 32. soak up: to receive and absorb sth.

The colorful language that he soaked up with a memory that seemed phonographic: the colorful language that he took in mentally with a good memory that seemed to be able to record things like a phonograph (gramophone in British usage) Paragraph 5

33. Steamboat decks teemed not only with the main current of pioneering humanity, but its flotsam of hustlers, gamblers, and thugs as well: Steamboat decks were filled with people of pioneering spirit ( people who explored and prepared the way for others) and also lawless people or social outcasts such as hustlers(骗徒), gamblers, and thugs(暴徒). 1) teem: v. to be full of things; abound or swarm

e.g. His head is teeming with bright ideas. 他的脑子里有许多聪明的主意。 Before being polluted that river teemed with fish and shrimps. The marshes teem with mosquitoes in summer. 2)current: n. a stream of water or air

flotsam: n. the wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on the sea漂浮物; vagrant, usu. destitute people流离失所者, 无业游民

3) hustler: n. (slang) a prostitute; one who solicits and accepts payment for sex acts 4) thug: n. violent criminal or hooligan

34. keen perception: intense sight, understanding or knowledge gained by perceiving (observing)

35. the difference between what people claim to be and what they really are: (antithesis) the difference between words and deeds, between what they preach and what they practice. People often claim to be kind, generous, honest, etc. whereas in reality, they are seldom what they say they are. 36. steamboat trade: trade means occupation here.

37. acquaint: to cause to come to know personally; to make familiar Paragraph 6

38. railroads began drying up the demand for steamboat pilots: because of the railroads there was no more demand for steamboat pilots.

Dry up: to make or become unproductive, especially to do so gradually.

39. the Civil War halted commerce: the Civil War brought commerce to a temporary stop. Commerce means trade here, that is the buying and selling of goods, esp. when done on a large scale between cities, states, or countries.

40. He tried soldiering: he experimented with soldiering. To soldier means to serve as a soldier. It suggests a profession.

41. with a motley band of Confederate guerrillas: with a group of Confederate guerrillas of various sorts.

Motley: adj. having or composed of many different or clashing elements; varied. n. a combination of diverse or clashing elements

Band: a group of people joined together for a common purpose (often derogative)

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42. diligently avoided contact with the enemy: constantly and carefully avoided clashes with the enemy. This is a roundabout way of saying ―avoided fighting‖ or ―retreated‖ Paragraph 7

43.stagecoach: horse-drawn public vehicle carrying passengers or mail along a regular route, going by stages and putting up at designated pointed along the way for the night. Latter it was supplanted by railways

44. succumbed to the epidemic of gold and silver fever in Nevada‘s Washoe region: gave way to (yielded to, submitted to) the prevailing gold and silver fever.

Note the metaphor used here (epidemic, fever). The author describes the gold and silver rush as a fever and an epidemic that is a disease spreading rapidly among many people in the same area at the same time.

To succumb to can also mean to die of. Examples: 1) In the end he succumbed to the temptation.

2) The president succumbed to the pressure of his opponents.

3) Mrs. Clemens succumbed to a heart attack in Florence. (para. 20)

45. He flirted with the colossal wealth … and was rebuffed: he tried but not very hard or persistently enough to get the enormous wealth available to those lucky and persistent ones, and he failed.

It is a metaphor. Words like flirt, lucky, persistent, rebuff are often associated with love.

Flirt originally means to make love without serious intention, to play at love. E.g. It is embarrassing when they flirt like that in public. Rebuff means to refuse bluntly. V. n.

Her kindness to him was met with a cruel rebuff. 她一片好心却遭到他冷酷的拒绝。

46. Broke and discouraged, he accepted…: both adjectives modify the subject he. Broke (colloquial) means having little or no money; bankrupt, e.g. go broke

47. as reporter: another example of the absence of article when denoting professional status.

48. to literature‘s enduring gratitude: if Twain had not accepted that job offered to him by Territorial Enterprise, literature might have lost that literary giant. Therefore world literature is forever grateful to this turn of events. The prepositional phrase ―to … gratitude‖ is an adverbial of result (结果状语), e.g. to sb‘s surprise, satisfaction, disappointment, pleasure, delight, horror, astonishment, etc. Paragraph 8

49. digging his way to regional fame: working hard to gain regional fame or become well known locally

50. the instant riches of a mining strike would not be his in the reporting trade: he did not succeed in his reporting trade and become rich overnight as a goldminer might have done at that time by discovering a vein of gold.

Strike: n. the sudden discovery of some mineral ores. It comes from the phrase to strike(discover) gold, oil, etc.

51. for making money, his pen would prove mightier than his pickax(镐): his reporting brought him more money than his unsuccessful mining or prospecting(探矿) might have. The figure of speech used here is metonymy.

52. then and now: set phrase, cf. here and there, up and down, in and out, to and fro, back and forth, high and low, right and left, day and night, etc.

53. hotbed: a place that fosters rapid growth or extensive activity, often used of sth. evil, e.g. a hotbed of war, crime

54. hopeful young writers: promising young writers, who are likely to succeed. Hopeful can also refer to

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the subjective state of mind, as in ―He is hopeful of success.‖ Paragraph 9

55. Mark Twain honed and experimented with his new writing muscles: Mark Twain exercised and experimented with his new writing ability.

Note the figurative use of the words hone and muscles. Hone is to sharpen with or as with a hone (a fine-grained whetstone(有细密纹理的磨刀石) for giving a keen edge to a cutting tool), e.g. to hone one‘s wit. ―… honed … his new writing muscles‖ is not a suitable metaphor.

56. scathing columns: severe and harsh articles. A column is one of a series of feature articles appearing regularly under a fixed title in a newspaper or magazine, written by a special writer or devoted to a certain subject. Cf. columnist

scathing: adj. bitterly denunciatory; harshly critical

e.g. The report was scathing about the lack of safety precautions. 该报道对缺乏安全预防措施一事严加指责。 57. the Sacramento Valley: on the Sacramento River, some 70 miles north of San Francisco, formerly a colony set up by John Sutto from Switzerland in 1839, where gold was found in 1848 and the gold rush started the following year.

58. rough-country: rough means not easily traveled over or through because rocky, overgrown, wild, etc.

59. ring familiarly: ring means to produce, as by sounding, a specified impression on the hearer, e.g. to ring true, false, etc.

60. trend setting: taking the lead in starting new trends or new ways of doing things

61. for all the slow, sleepy, sluggish-brained sloths..: because all the slow, dull and lazy people stayed at home, hence implying that all those who came pioneering out west were energetic, courageous and reckless people

Note the alliteration in the sentence: slow, sleepy, sluggish, sloths, stayed. With so many words beginning with s put together, this instance of alliteration seems a little overdone. Sluggish: adj. displaying little movement or activity; slow; inactive

e.g. These tablets make me feel rather sluggish. 我吃了这些药片感到困倦无力。 Sloth: aversion to work or exertion; laziness; indolence; lazy person

62. give to California a name for: made California famous for, gave California a reputation for 63. getting up astounding enterprises: starting, contriving or organizing amazing undertakings, esp. one that needs courage or offers difficulties

64. rushing them through: carrying them out, developing them at high speed 65. dash and daring: (alliteration) energy and courage

66. a recklessness of cost or consequences: regardless of money, time and effort and disregard for risks or adverse consequences

67. which she bears unto this day: Which stands for a name. unto (up to, until) is old or literary, used only in set phrases and quotations

68. when she projects a new surprise: when she (California) proposes or makes plans for a new surprise (unexpected or unusual enterprises or undertakings) 69. the grave world smiles as usual: (personification)the ―grave world‖ refers to dull, solemn dignified people in other states of the U.S.

70. ―Well, that is California all over.‖: That‘s typical of California, or that is just like California. All over: (colloquial) as one characteristically is Paragraph 10

71.dreary: dismal; bleak .

72. Angels Camp: a mining camp

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73. notation: a brief note jotted down, as to remind one of something

74. scattered among notations about the weather… lies an entry: inverted sentence order. entry: n. an item in his notebook; e.g. entries in dictionary 词典的条目

tedious: adj. tiresome by reason of length, slowness, or dullness; boring; uninteresting; e.g. Too many abstract statements made his paper very tedious. 他的文章中抽象的讲法太多，使我生厌。 75. his course: his life path, career

76. ―Coleman with his jumping frog… the stranger‘s frog won.‖: an outline for his story with careless sentence structures. Ask the students to expand it in standard English.

77. shot: quantity of tiny balls of lead used in supporting gun against birds or small animals Paragraph 11

78. wild humorist: Wild means not easily restrained or controlled; unruly and rough Paragraph 12

79. take a distinctively American look at the Old World: take a typically American look. The Old World is often used to refer specifically to Europe, Asia and Africa, in comparison to North and South America which is called the New World.

80. pleasure cruise: a voyage for pleasure of sightseeing, a tourist expedition by ship e.g. a round-the-world cruise 乘船周游世界

81. the Holy Land: Palestine, region on the east coast of the Mediterranean, the country of the Jews in Biblical times. The region where Jesus Christ preached and lived. 82. a milestone, of sorts: milestone is something marking a new stage in history.

n. stone put at the side of a road showing distances in miles; (fig.)very important stage or event e.g. The victory was a milestone in our country‘s history. 这一胜利是

Of sorts= of a sort, here in a sense, in a way. It suggests that what is referred to here does not really deserve the name.

e.g. He is a historian of sorts.

It was a meal of sorts, but nobody enjoyed it. 这勉强算是一顿饭，谁都没有吃好。

83. glowing travelogue: a travelogue is a lecture or article on travels, sometimes accompanied by the showing of pictures if it‘s a lecture. Glowing means showing enthusiasm, full of praises 84. Sorely: adv. greatly or extremely

e.g. Your financial help is sorely needed. 你的资助真是太要紧了。 Paragraph 13

85. the Sultan of Turkey：the ruler of Turkey ( then the Ottoman Empire ) (vast state founded in the late 13th cent. by Turkish tribes in Anatolia 安纳托利亚(亚洲西部半岛小亚细亚的旧称) and ruled by the descendants of Osman I until its dissolution in 1918. Modern Turkey formed only part of the empire, but the terms ―Turkey‖ and ―Ottoman Empire‖ were often used interchangeably). 86. one could set a trap anywhere and catch a dozen abler men in a night. This shows Twain‘s contempt for the Sultan of Turkey.

87. casually he debunked revered artists and art treasures: he exposed the pretensions of respected artists and the false glamour of art treasures. He did this as if unintentionally and in a nonchalant manner.

debunk: v. to expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of e.g. The doctor debunks a supposed miracle drug.

医生戳穿了这种所谓的神奇药物。

revere: v. to regard with awe, deference, and devotion e.g. The professor was revered for his immense learning. 这位教授学识渊博而备受敬重。

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