Book II Unit 5. Contents Text One Pre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background information...

ContentsContents

Text OnePre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background informationWhile-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions III. Language points IV. Difficult sentencesPost-reading I. Grammatical items II. Translation exercises III. Oral activities IV. Writing practice

Text Two I. Questions for comprehension II. Language points

海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

Text I--- Fourteen StepsText I--- Fourteen Steps

Pre-readingI. Warm-up question

1. You must have observed in your life or read about some people who are disabled in one way or another. Can you describe one of them to the class? Do you think these people can still live a happy and rewarding life?

2. How would you show your appreciation if somebody helps you when you are in trouble?


II. Background information II. Background information

1. Steven Hawking I am quite often asked: How do you feel about having ALS (Amyotro-Phic Lateral Sclerosis)? The answer is, not a lot. I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many. — Stephen Hawking


Hawking's most impressive accomplishments have come in the field of cosmology

"A Brief History of Time"


2. The Paralympics

The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical

disability compete; this includes ath-

letes with mobility disabilities, ampu-

tations, blindness, and cerebral palsy.

There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).


I. Structural analysis

According to the development of the story, the text is composed of four parts, each of which focuses on one topic.

The author’s first life

The author’s second life;

The author’s third life;

The author’s reflection on the auto-repair incident.

While-reading


Part I (Para.1-2): It depicts the author’s first phase of life in which he began to enjoy everything pleasant: excellent health, a good job, a nice house, a happy family and lovely daughters.

Part II (Para.3-5): The author describes his second life. Because of his disease, he became miserable and frustrated.


Part III (Para.6-8): The author’s third life began with the trouble of his car on the stormy night and he described the blind man’s magnanimous, selfless help.

Part V (Para.9-10): The author reflected on the incident and his life philosophy, from which he discovered the true value of life.


II. Comprehension questionsII. Comprehension questions

1. When was the period of time the author considered

happiest in his life?

---For the author the happiest period was in the second half of his first life when he got married, had a good job, enjoyed excellent health and had two lovely daughters.


2. What was the author most afraid of after he was afflicted with a disease?

---The author was most afraid of the day when he was unable to climb whose steps, and that would be the day of his defeat and the end of his life.

3. How did the author view the 14 steps? ---The author viewed the 14 steps as his “challenge to

continue living ” and something miserable that he had to accept and cope with in order to hold on to his sanity and his wife and his home and his job.


4. How did the author fell when the man and the little girl were working in the change the flat tire?

---When the man and the little girl were trying to change the flat tire in the storm, the author did not feel uncomfortable, though he first felt a bit sorry for them. However, this uneasiness was soon relieved by the thought that he would pay for their work.


5. Why was the author overwhelmed with shame and horror when the repair work was done?

---The author was hocked when he learned that the girl’s grandpa was a blind man, as disabled as himself. This knowledge gave him shame and horror because as a disabled man, he had taken for granted that he deserved other people’s help but he had never thought of helping others.


6. What did the author learn from the auto-repair incident?

---The author learned from the incident that he should always be ready to help others as the blind man was, while struggling against his adversity.


III. Language pointsIII. Language points

be inclined to: be likely or tend to do sth.

--- In the first instance I was inclined to refuse, but then I reconsidered.

起初我想拒绝，但后来还是重新考虑了。 ---He was inclined to give them a free hand.

他倾向于放手让他们干。 Synonym: tend to, be likely to


follow one’s example: imitate, follow one’s lead

--- I suggest you follow Ted’s example and take some regular exercise.

afflict vt. : cause severe suffering or pain

--- He was afflicted with cancer. 他患了癌症。---She was afflicted with conscience. 她受良心责备。


disillusioned a. : disappointed

--- Disillusioned by his team’s poor performance, the manager resigned.

sweep vi.: to move, especially quickly and powerfully

--- Her eyes swept the room. 她的眼睛扫视了一下房间。 ---A wave of panic swept over her. 一阵惊恐袭上她的心

头。


hold on to: keep one’s grip on; not let go of

--- He tried hard to be in his superior’s good graces in order to hold on to his job.

他想方设法讨上司的欢心，以保住自己的饭碗。 ---I’d hold on to that house for the time being; house prices

are rising sharply at the moment. 目前我不能出让那所房子，此刻房价正在急剧上涨。


interval n.: a period of time between activities

--- He comes back to see us at regular intervals.

他每隔一段时间就回来看我们。 ---There is an hour’s interval to the next train.

下一火班车还要过一小时才开。 Collocation:

at intervals 不时，时时；每隔一段时间（距离） at intervals of 相隔，每隔


slacken vt. : become slower or less active --- The train slackened speed as it approached the station. 火车快到站时减慢了速度。

penetrate vt. :enter, pass (into or through) penetration n.: a movement into or through something

or someone; insight --- He writes with penetration. 他写的文章尖锐深刻。 ---What is your idea toward globalization and cultural

penetration? 你对全球化和文化渗透有什么想法？


overflow vi./vt.: be so full that the contents go over the sides; be very full

--- The crowd overflowed the auditorium.

thoughtlessness n.: the attitude of forgetting about the needs of other people

--- I’m sorry to make you so painful. Please forgive my thoughtlessness.


a cat has nine lives

---It is a proverb. Cats are very tough and seem able to survive accidents or hardships.


IV. Difficult sentences

Here hobbled a bitterly disillusioned cripple, a man who held on to his sanity and his wife and his home and his job because of 14 miserable steps leading up to the back door from his garage.

--- Painfully and bitterly, a disabled man hobbled around here. Owing to the 14 miserable steps leading up to the back door from his garage, the man could keep up to his sanity and his wife and his home and his job.

这是一个梦想破灭、痛苦失望的残疾人，他蹒跚着，正是因为有了这条从车库通向后门的可怕的 14 级台阶，他才能保持理智、陪伴妻子、维护家庭、坚持工作。


… gusty winds and slashing rain beat down on the car as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads.

--- Strong winds and heavy rain slammed the car when I drove slowly along the less-traveled roads.

… the enormity of the situation swept over me.

---… the seriousness of the situation gripped me


I. Grammatical Items• Numerals• Determiners (both, each, either or neither, some, any)

Post-readingPost-reading


Numerals Cardinal numerals express integer (whole) abstract

numbers, or the number / amount of the determined nouns in literal form. In addition to being numerals determining nouns, cardinal numerals may also work as:

1. adjectives

2. nouns

3. numeral “one” can also be a pronoun

The different ways to express “around”: around, about, nearly, some, more or less, or so, thereabouts, etc.


Ordinal numerals are used to express an / the order in a series. In addition to being numerals determining nouns, ordinal numerals may also work as:

1. adjectives 2. nouns 3. adverbsOrdinal numerals allow both articles ahead. Again, the article

determines the noun only, not the numeral. Fractional numeral is used to express parts of a whole.

Commonly, it takes two forms: 1. Common fraction


---1 2/3 = (is equal to or means) one (whole) and / plus two thirds

Note the “s” added to the denominator: “thirds”.

2. Decimal numbers

Work according to the formula: Whole numbers (point) decimals

---12.15 = (is equal to or means) twelve fifteen, or twelve point fifteen


Exercises A. Correct the errors in the following sentences.

1. He was not due at the office for another three-quarter of an hour.

2. This is the worst disaster I can remember in my plus 25 years as a police officer.

3. It took him one and a half hour to finish the task.

4. Five hundred yuan a month are enough to live on.

5. Three fourths of the buildings was ruined.

6. He is a student of the Class Two.


Determiners (both, each, either or neither, some, any)

Determiners are used in front of nouns to indicate whether you are referring to something specific or something of a particular type.

Both is used to indicate that the action or state denoted by the verb applies individually to each of the two entities. When both is used with and to link parallel elements in a sentence, the words or phrases that follow them should correspond grammatically. Both can only collocate with plural count nouns.


The phrase beginning with each identifies a set of items wherein the words following each identify the individual elements by their shared characteristics. The phrase is grammatically singular in number, so if the phrase is the subject of a sentence, its verb is conjugated into a third-person singular form. Similarly, any pronouns that refer to the noun phrase are singular.

---Each candidate has 49 votes.

---Each voter must decide for herself.


Either and neither are used in sentences concerning a possible choice between two items. Either can mean one or the other (of two) or each of two.

---I’ve got tea and coffee, so you can have either. (one or the other)

---The room has a door at either end. (both) Neither means not the first one and not the second one. ---Neither of the students were listening.


Both, some and any appear before nouns. Some and any may be used with countable and uncountable nouns.

---He bought some sandwiches for lunch.

---He didn’t see any stars when he visited Hollywood.

---He ate some cheese with his sandwiches.

---He never drinks any coffee at night because then he can’t sleep.


Exercise B. Fill in each of the blanks with some, any or one of their compounds.

1. The repairs will cost in the region of $500.

2. I was amazed that 400 people came to the meeting to discuss the new scheme for a shopping center.

3. George ought to be able to tell whether that old plate is valuable. He is of an expert on china.

4. What have you been up to? I haven’t seen of you for ages.


II. Translation exercises 他和他弟弟在一起玩的时候很容易发脾气（ be

inclined to ） He is inclined to lose his temper when he is playing

with his younger brother.

那次事故之后，他只能借助于拐杖走路。（ with the aid of ）

Since the accident he’s only been able to walk with the aid of a stick .


我想那还是有几分正确性的，但情况并不那么简单。（ to a degree ）

I think that’s true to a degree, but the situation is not quite so simple.

父亲说如果我们相信某事是真的，就应该坚持。（ hold on to ）

My father said that if we believed that something was true, we should hold on to it.


他对政府处理经济问题的方法很失望。 (disillusioned)

He’s very disillusioned at the government’s handling of the economy.

听到这消息时，我们已准备去度假。（ be all set ） We were all set to go on vacation when we heard the

news.


太阳的光线穿透海水达 20 米深处。 ( penetrate)

The sun’s rays can penetrate the sea to a depth of 20 metres.

他的甜言蜜语是开口要钱的第一步。 (lead up to )

His flattering words led up to a request for money.


II. Oral activitiesII. Oral activities

Discuss with one of your classmates on the following topics.

1. Why was the author so much affected by the accident? How did it change his attitude towards life?

2. Discuss the issue to help the handicapped who have negative attitudes towards life.


III. Writing practiceIII. Writing practice

Write an essay of about 300 words giving a detailed description of a most unforgettable experience that you have ever had.

海南大学外国语学院基础英语研室海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

Text II---Text II---The Power of BeliefThe Power of Belief

Lead-in questions

1. Can you give one of your personal stories to illustrate the power of perseverance?

2. According to you, what can you do to foster perseverance?


II. Questions for comprehension1. What do you think made the author stand up again?

2. Do you believe in the power of belief? Please illustrate your point with examples.

3. The author thinks the nurses must have noticed what she did in their absence, but they chose to be silent about it. Do you think it possible or not? Give your reasons.


II. Language points

prognosis: a doctor’s opinion of how an illness will develop

(pl.) prognoses

…I heard his words fall heavily on my ears, numbing my soul: His words made me aware of the seriousness of my injury, chilling my soul.

‘on the go’ by nature: being active by nature.


…the implications of that were weighing heavily on his little shoulders.: What it meant to have a totally handicapped mother worried my son.

…when adversity strikes: when one is suddenly attacked by misfortune or finds himself in a difficult situation.


I needed something besides my physical healing to sink my Irish stubbornness into…: Besides my healing, I needed to do something with a stubbornness by which we Irish people are characterized.

And being confined to a wheelchair the rest of my life didn’t fit into my plans.: I didn’t intend to be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life.


I wondered if a conspiracy of silence had developed…: A conspiracy of silence is a tacit agreement. Here the author means the doctors and nurses seemed to have agreed, tacitly, to keep silent about what she was doing.

…I would maneuver myself from the bed to the floor…: I would succeed in moving from my bed to the floor with care and skill


Dodge ball: a game in which several players form a ring and throw a large inflated ball at one or more players inside the ring who try to catch or dodge the ball.


Good Bye!


Book II Unit 5. Contents Text One Pre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background information...

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