Unit 8 Fourteen Steps

Hal Manwaring

Text Comprehension

(1) What is the main idea of the text? What is the moral of the story?

(2) How many lives has the author lived according to the text and what are they?

Part I (Para 1-2)

1. How many phases could the writer’s first life be further divided into? How would you describe each of these phases?

2. What does the author mean by saying “I arrived as…”?

3. When was his first life ended?

Part I (1-2) Language Points

be/feel inclined to: be likely to; be willing to

e.g. I don’t feel inclined to talk to her.

incline to sth.

e.g. I strongly incline to Tara’s point of view.

n. inclination

live sb’s life : to spend one’s lifetime live a dog’s life live a colorful life live and let live live-and-let-live

paralyze: to make unable to move or act 使瘫痪e.g. Many of the greatest artists in history were paralyzed from neck below.

I was happy, in excellent health, and quite a good athlete.

I was happy, in excellent health, and quite good at sports.

I became afflicted with a slowly progressive disease of the motor nerves运动神经 .

I suffered from the disease of motor nerves that is becoming more and more severe in slow pace.

afflict: to cause severe suffering or pain 使痛苦；折磨

e.g. It is an illness which afflicts women more than men.

be afflicted with/by sth.

n. affliction Translation: 一个人的喜悦可能是另一

个人的折磨。 One man’s pleasure may be another

man’s affliction.

Part II (3-5)

What did the author do after suffering from the disease?

How did the writer view the fourteen steps?

Part II (3-5)

in spite of: regardless of; despite Translation: 尽管雨下的很大，我还是出门了。 I went out in spite of the heavy rain.

with the aid of: with the help of Translation: 看图识字 Learn to read with the aid of pictures.

Learn to read by way of pictures.

I managed to keep my health and optimism, to a degree, because of 14 steps.

I succeed in keeping my body healthy and in high spirits partly because of 14 steps.

to a degree / to some degree/ to a certain degree/ to some extent

Translation: 从某种程度上来说，你是对的。

split-level: a. 错层式的affair: an object 东西 , 物品

Our home was a split-level affair with 14 steps leading up from the garage to the kitchen door.

Our home was a house which had floors at different heights in different parts. There were 14 steps which could make people go up from the garage to the kitchen door.

lead to:

1) to serve as a route for

e.g. The path leads to the lake.

Translation: 条条大路通罗马。 All roads lead to Rome.

2) to make sth. happen

e.g. It was his carelessness that led to the accident.

yardstick n. standard of comparison 码尺 , 准绳e.g. We don’t have a common yardstick by which to compare the two cases.

Syn. criterion; standard

You might think that here walked a man of courage and strength.

Maybe you think that I was a man full of courage and power.

a man… reversed order here, there, now, then, thus, here walked

never Then came the policeman. Here comes our bus. There goes the bell.

When the subject is a personal pronouns, you cannot completely reverse the order:

Away they went. Here he comes.

disillusion: v. to free or deprive of illusion. 醒悟；幻想破碎e.g. Impossibly high expectations of the new regime have left many voters disillusioned.n. disillusionment

hobble: to walk or move along with difficulty; limp. 蹒跚摇晃或困难地走动或移动；跛行

e.g. The old man hobbled along with the help of his grandson.

Here hobbled a bitterly disillusioned cripple…

Here hobbled a disappointed and hopeless disabled man…

hold on to:

1) hold sth. firmly in one’s hands

e.g. Hold on to the rope and don't let go.

2) stick to; persist

Part 3. Paragraph 6 — 8:

What happened to the author in August 1971?Was there any hint that indicates something unusual about the man?How did the writer feel when the man and the little girl were working in the storm?Why did the old man refuse to accept the writer’s payment?When did the author realize that the old man was blind?

gusty: (-ier, -iest) blowing in or marked by gusts: 一阵阵劲吹的或刮风的

a gusty storm. 狂风阵阵的风暴

slashing :

1)dashing

a slashing rain 一阵倾盆大雨 2) brilliant; intense 明亮的；热情的 slashing colors 亮丽的颜色

Gusty winds and slashing rain beat down on the cars as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads.

The strong wind and the dashing rain beat down on the car when I drove slowly down one of the roads that usually have little traffic.

steer: v. to control (the direction of) 掌舵，控制 ( 方向 )

e.g. She has steered the company away from financial ruin.

Translation: 我掌握方向是一把手。 I’m an expert on steering.

n. navigate (navigation)

…the steering wheel that jerked in my hands…

The steering wheel became uncontrollable because of sudden and unsteady movements

the shoulder of the road: the edge of the road

enormity n. great wickedness; immense size暴行 , 巨大性 , 极恶e.g. It’s difficult to grasp the sheer enormity of the tragedy.

这起悲剧的惨重根本就难以估量。

sweep over: to move quickly and smoothly all over 席卷；风靡

e.g. The wind swept over the region.

The flue swept over the country.

I fought the car to stop on the rain-slick shoulder of the road and sat there as the enormity of the situation swept over me.

I managed to stop my car on the slippery edge of the road and the seriousness and helplessness of the situation gripped me.

dismiss: 1) to end the employment or service of;

discharge. 解雇，免职；开除 dismiss sb. from his post

2) to direct or allow to leave 让…离开，把…打发走 Translation: 老师提前 5 分钟下课了。 The teacher dismissed the class five minutes

earlier.

side: side-door n. 边门，侧门side road 支路；旁侧路side-effect

side-glance 侧视 , 斜视

thump:

1 ） vi. To walk with heavy steps 笨重地行走、前进

2 ） n. the muffled sound produced by or as if by a blow with a blunt object; a thud. 沉闷的声响

pull into : (pull in) 进站，到站，靠岸 Translation: 火车准时进站了。 The train pulled into the station on time.

She went into the house and …a cheerful greeting.

She went into the house and came out dressed in raincoat and hat. A man followed her. He said hello to me in cheerful voice.

bundle: to tie, wrap, or gather together.

包，捆，裹 We bundled everything into the drawers.

我们把一切东西胡乱塞进抽屉里。

She was answered by the murmur…jack up.

The man answered her in low whisper. The body of the car sloped slowly when it was lifted by a jack.

jack up: to lift with a jack

tilt: to slope as by raising one end

I tilted the cup to drink out of it.

interval: space or time in between 时间、空间的间隔at intervals of …

火车每隔 30 分钟开一班。The train leaves at interval of 30 minutes.

There followed a long interval of …

Then there was a long time of …

There live, stand, exist, remain, come, appear, enter, follow, occur,” etc.

e.g. Long, long ago, there lived a king.

There followed a terrible noise.

突然，有个陌生男子走了进来。 Suddenly there entered a strange man.

interval: a period of time between two objects or incidents 间隔，一段时间

e.g. There is a two hours' interval to the next flight.

下一航班还要过两小时 I visit my grandparents at regular intervals. 我每隔一定时间去看一次我的祖父母。 at intervals 不时 ; 每隔一段时间 [ 距离 ] at intervals of … 火车每隔 30 分钟开一班。

The train leaves at intervals of 30 minutes.

frail: physically weak; easily damaged e.g. frail happiness frail marriage frail old lady I am not convinced because your evidence

is too frail.

You are all set now.

You are ready now.

be all set: v. 准备就绪We’re set to leave tomorrow.

Part IV (para.9-10) In the next few frozen seconds the shame

and horror of that moment penetrated and I was sick with an intensity I had never felt before.

In the next few seconds I was filled with such great shame and horror that I was speechless. I had never been so sick about what I had done before.

penetrate v. to enter or move intoe.g. Amazingly, the bullet did not penetrate his

brain. Our eyes could not penetrate the darkness. The company has been successful in

penetrating overseas markets this year.. overflow with — to be very full of 充盈着

e.g. The train was overflowing with passengers.Overflow 使溢出； 使泛滥

The river overflowed several farms.

indifference: the state or quality of being indifferent.

冷淡 ; 漠不关心

indifferent adj. 1) （与 to 连用） It is quite indifferent to me whether you go or

stay. He is indifferent to political issues. 2) not good, but not very bad We didn't like the restaurant much - the

food was indifferent.

The scripture admonition is more than just a passage in the Bible.

This advice coming from the Bible is not just a chapter in the book.

more than +n.

She proves that she is more than just a pretty face.

more than+ adj.

I was more than a little curious about the whole business.We will be more than glad/happy/willing to help you in any way we can.

Here walked a sad man with little hope for his future, and everything he owned at that time (his home, his job, his wife and his normal life) depended on his painful effort to climb these 14 steps.

He is inclined to lose temper when he is playing with his younger brother.

After the accident, he was only able to/ had to walk with the aid of a crutch/stick.

I think that is true to a degree, but the situation is not that simple.

My father says if we believe something is true, we should hold on to it.

He is very disillusioned with/at the way the government handles economical problems. …with/at the government’s handling of the economy.

We were all set to go on vacation when we heard the news.

The sunlight/ sunray can penetrate the sea to a depth of twenty meters.

His flattering words/sweet talk led up to a request for money.