基础英语2(主编何兆熊)unit6 The Diary of the Unknown Soldier

Unit 6 The Diary of the Unknown Soldier

Text comprehension

I. B.

II.1. T; 2. F; 3. F; 4. T; 5. F. III.

1. because he felt that all of them had been somewhat fooled. They were totally unprepared for the cruelty of the war and the immensity of its killing power. “They all came here with an air of confidence and eagerness, ready to win,” but what awaited them was “a one-way ticket to death.”

2. He wrote his first entry when his regiment was in London to protect the city from Nazi’s air raids; his second one when his group of soldiers had journeyed to a small European town untouched by warfare; and the last one when their secret location was discovered by Nazi troops and he faced approaching death.

3. It was his wish to come home alive to see his family. This is mentioned in all the three entries: “I must go on living this nightmare, if not for myself or my country, then for my family back home. I want my children to have a father.” “… wondering yet again if I would ever see my family.9 I would give anything to see them, even if it was for five minutes!” “I wish, with all my soul, that I could be home now… I am thinking of my daughters’ faces… I will always remember their faces…”

4. He would tell them that those soldiers died bravely in an effort to save their countries from turmoil and make the children feel that their fathers made a difference.

5. He felt disgusted at the cruelty of the war, questioned the judgment of human beings who started the war and felt enraged at killing innocent lives and destroying whole countries.

IV.

1. Although my stories about their fathers’ death might not relieve their sadness, they will enable the children to see the extraordinary significance of their fathers’ contribution.

2. I suddenly recalled a saying I once heard that made me very painful, “We can’t afford to fight even one war.”

Structural analysis of the text

Diary writing follows the flow of the writer’s thoughts. It is usually “structured” by the author’s free associations.

1. What do the three entries of the diary have in common?

Two thematic topics in common, the horrible scenes of the war and the writer’s strong love for, and emotional attachment to his family.

2. How are the particular situations related to the common thematic topics?

Firstly, the writer describes his thought and fear under German air raids, which led him to speculate about the difficulties and problems of his family.

Secondly, the writer describes his reflections on the justification of wars. The sight of a teenage girl and the grim condition in a small European town made him recall his dear daughters and family.

Thirdly, it was dated on Christmas Eve and about the approaching death. The writer’s only wish was that someone could return the diary to his family.

Section Four Consolidation Activities

Part One. Vocabulary I. Phrase

1. no more than = only 只是，仅仅

2. strike a painful note in my head = make me feel painful 使某人感到痛苦 3. more blood has been shed = Further casualties have been caused 4. word has it that ? = it is said that ?据说??

5. with an air of = appearing full of, radiating 带着??的样子，带着??的神情

II.

1. running; 2. tucked; 3. inspected; 4. taken precautions; 5. with an air of; 6. adventurous; 7. enraged; 8. panicked.

III. Word derivation. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.

1. The collar of his jacket had been stiffened (stiff) with an extra layer of cloth. 2. An interpreter’s job is such a responsible one that he can’t afford any errors(err). 3. Opening my letter was an inexcusable invasion(invade) of privacy. 4. Don’t rely on the information she gave you — it’s pure assumption(assume) on her part.

5. He protested his innocence(innocent) loudly as they dragged him off to prison. 6. This is a really tough assignment(assign) and I believe you’re the only person who can handle it.

7. The force of the explosion(explode) had broken all the windows of the houses in the vicinity of the vehicle.

8. The police have issued a description(describe) of the two men who were seen running away from the scene of the crime.

1. stiff a. 僵直的；生硬的，拘谨的 stiffen v. 使??坚硬 stiffness n. 僵硬；硬度

e.g.他因为害怕而身体发僵。His body stiffened in fear. 2. err v. 犯错，做错

error n. 错误，误差；过失

e.g. 她错在对他撒谎。She erred in lying to him.

3. invade v. 侵略；侵害 invader n. 侵略者

invasion n. 侵入，侵略

e.g. 这个城市涌进了大量的农民。The town was invaded by farmers.

入侵者把村镇变为废墟。The invaders laid towns and villages in ruins. 4.assume v. 假定，设想；承担；认为 assuming conj. 假定，假如 assumption n. 假定，设想

e.g.我以为你能讲流利的英语。I assumed you could speak English fluently.

假定那是真的，我们现在该怎么办？Assuming that it is true, what should we do

now?

5. innocent a. 清白的，无辜的；天真的，无知的 innocence n. 无罪；无知，天真无邪 innocently ad. 无罪地；纯洁地

e.g. 他声称自己是无罪的。He declared that he was innocent.

他声称自己无罪。He declared his innocence. 6.assign v. 分配，指派，指定

assignation n. 分配，指定；委托，转让 assignment n. 分配；作业，任务

e.g.所有的职工都分到了合适的工作。All the staff are assigned to suitable jobs.

你不能在两小时内将功课做完。You can’t finish the assignment in two hours. 7. explode v. 爆炸

explosion n. 爆炸；爆发，激增 explosive a. 爆炸（性）的

e.g.

炸弹选在人最多时爆炸。The bomb was timed to explode during the

rush-hour.

某些气体十分易爆。Certain gasses are highly explosive. 8. describe n. 描述

description n. 描写，描述 descriptive a. 描述的，叙述的

e.g. 老师问学生：“你能描述一下这幅画吗？”The teacher asks his student, “Can you

describe this picture?”

那女孩对这幅画作了一番生动的描述。The girl gave a vivid description of the picture.

IV.

1. B; 2. D; 3. C; 4. D; 5. C; 6. B; 7. C; 8. A.

V. Synonym / Antonym. Give a synonym or an antonym of the word underlined in each sentence in the sense it is used.

1. My heart aches every moment because everywhere I look I see pilesof rubble

where houses used to stand and lifeless bodies that once moved around with the joy of life inside them.

Synonym: heaps, stacks

2. It is as if I have stared into death’s eyes and seen its hatred, its coldness.

Antonym: love, kindness 3. I suffered minorhead injuries, but the rest of my platoon wasn’t so fortunate.

Synonym: small, lesser

4. They are experiencing tough times too, with the food shortageproblems and all.

Antonym: surplus, abundance, plenty

5. War just creates more problems; something every sensibleperson knows.

Synonym: reasonable, rational 6. My situation is grimand the odds of winning, or even surviving, seem unlikely.

Synonym: terrible, desperate

7. I would give anything to see them, even if it was for five minutes! I am not a man made for war, nor am I an adventurousperson.

Synonym: bold, brave

8. One night, as I performed my routinewatch, I passed a young girl of no more than twelve or thirteen, who was walking home.

Synonym: regular, usual

VI. Prefix/ suffix. Write in each space the meaning of each given word.

1. offsetbalance 2. outdodefeat

3. overtakecatch up and pass

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