新编英语教程_5_Unit_1_教案

Unit One

Text 1

HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD

Alan Warner

Objectives: to comprehend the text and to know the importance of choosing the right words in writing as well as in speaking,

to learn the use of analogy in writing and compose a paragraph using

analogy to help explain.

Section One

Pre-reading Questions

1. What?s the meaning of the English proverb Hit the nail on the head? What do you think this topic suggests in the article?

In-reading Interpretation

Para. 1

1.Tell the literal and figurative meanings of

hit the nail (squarely) on the head: (fig.) say or do exactly the right thing, make a point or interpret a remark precisely; guess right

drive sth home: (lit.) force the nail into the right place

(fig.) make sth unmistakably clear

2. This para. can be divided into two sections: one about the carpenter or the driving of a nail (ll. 1-5), the other about the language craftsman or the choice of a word (ll. 5-8).

Which sentence establishes the link between the driving of a nail and the choice of a word? (comp.3-1)

“So with language; ... firmly and exactly.”

3.Explain and perform according to the text how a clumsy carpenter and a skillful one hammer a nail into a box respectively?

A clumsy carpenter hits the nail to one side, then to another, and knocks it over, so fails to drive the nail home; while a skillful carpenter hits the nail squarely on the head and easily drives it home (lit. meaning).

4.This is about the carpenter in the driving of a nail. The following is about a language craftsman in the choice of a word.

How does a good language craftsman/user do in using language?

Choose words that drive home his point firmly and exactly; aim at clean English (precise and clear English – comp. 2-1); get the word that is completely right for his purpose.Not use a word that is more or less right, a loose phrase, an ambiguous expression, or a vague adjective. (All the underlined words mean …inexact?, …inaccurate?.)

In other words, a good language user hits the (right) nail on the head and drives his point home (here figuratively).

5. A word that is more or less right, a loose phrase, an ambiguous expression, a vague adjective, will not satisfy a writer who aims at clean English (=precise and clear).

A writer who is particular about the exactness of an expression in English will never feel happy with a word which fails to express an idea accurately. (LW6-1) or, A writer who wishes to express his ideas precisely will not use the words which are inaccurate. Choose to use those apt vocabularies.

Para. 2

1. What is the meaning of …apt?? What does this refer to in The French have an apt phrase for this? (Comp. 3-2) What is the …apt phrase??

Apt: well-suited, to the point

This in the first sentence of the second paragraph refers to the last sentence in the previous paragraph: to get the word that is completely right for this purpose.

le mot juste = (French) the correct, right word

2. Who is Gustave Flaubert? How much do you know about him? (Lib. W. 1) (refer to [欧洲文学史],（下）pp.140-147) Why does the author say that he is a scrupulous writer?

G.Flaubert (1821 - 1880), French novelist, was associated with, though not representative of, the movement of naturalism and known as one of the greatest realists of 19th century France. His masterpieces: Madame Bovary包法利夫人，L?Education Sentimentale情感教育，La Tentation de Saint Antoine圣安东尼的诱惑，纯朴的心He is considered as a scrupulous writer because he spent days trying to get one or two sentences exactly right.He devoted his life to long hours spent in heavy toil over his work. His writing is marked by exactness and accuracy of observation, extreme impersonality and objectivity of treatment, and precision and expressiveness in style, or the principle of the mot juste.

2.Why is it so hard to get one or two sentences exactly right?

There are many and various words in English language. They are subtle and

delicate. They have different shades of meaning and sometimes it is really hard to distinguish the slight differences among synonyms. So it is not enough to have a wide range of vocabulary. We should also know the exact meaning of the words and choose the right words so that we can get our meaning accurately. (ll. 11-15)

3. Choosing words is part of the process of realization, of defining our thoughts and feelings for ourselves, as well as for those who hear or read our words. (LW.6-2) realization= fulfilling one?s goal, i.e. to express oneself precisely (comp.2-2) defining our thoughts and feelings for ourselves = getting to know what we are going to express

for those who hear or read our words= for our listeners and readers to understand us

To a certain extent, the process of finding the right words to use is a process of perfection where you try to search for words that may most accurately express your thoughts and feelings, and words that may most effectively make your listeners and readers understand your thoughts and feelings.

Or, Using the right word / le mot juste is one of the stages in the process in which we know our thoughts and feelings clearly and express them precisely, and on the other hand, make our readers and listeners catch what we think and feel accurately. In other words, using the right word can help us to express ourselves exactly, to know what we are going to talk about, and can help our listeners and readers to understand us.

4. What?s the meaning of How can I know what I think till I see what I say? Do you think so? Why does the author think it a stupid-sounding question? And why does he think, however, this is true? (Do you agree with the author that there is a great deal of truth in the seemingly stupid question? Why or why not?) (Comp.3-3) It means …I can?t get to know my own thoughts before I put them in words.? (utter it or write it down)

Yes, I do. How can a person not know his own thoughts. It sounds irrational that a person does not know what he himself thinks before he sees what he says.

This is true in the sense that only after we find the right words to express ourselves exactly can we find our own thoughts clearly. As a matter of fact, it is quite true that unless we have found the exact words to verbalize our own thoughts we can never be very sure of what our thoughts are; without words, our thoughts cannot be defined or stated in a clear and precise manner.

Paras. 3 & 4

1.It is hard work choosing the right words, but we shall be rewarded by the satisfaction that finding them brings.(LW6-3)

Finding the most suitable word to use is in no sense easy, but there is nothing like the delight we shall experience when such a word is located.

Or, Though it is not easy to find the most suitable word to drive home our points exactly, w e?ll get satisfied / be delighted when we succeed in doing so.

2. The exact use of language gives us mastery over the material we are dealing with. (LW 6-4)

Once we are able to use language accurately, we are in a position to fully understand our subject matter.

Or, Using the apt word indicates that we can fully understand what we are dealing with / talking about.

3.Tell the examples in paras. 3 & 4 and the purpose of using them.

The example in para. 3 demonstrates: once you are able to find the mot juste to describe the limitation of this fellow, you know what sort of man he really is. (ll.24-5) In other words, the reason why you can?t find the right word is that you don?t have a clear mind of the thing you are going to describe. This example illustrates the point How can I know what I think till I see what I say? in para. 2.

So from this example of a man searching for the right word for his feelings about his friend, we know that the function that words perform is to define our thoughts and feelings for ourselves and to define our thoughts and feelings for those who hear us. (comp. 2-3, C)

4. The example in para. 4 indicates the same viewpoint:

You will be in a disadvantageous position when someone knows your name but you don?t know his, because he is clear who he is dealing with while you aren?t so that he has the kind of advantage to control you, as the last sentence states: Command of words is ultimately command over life and experience.

Paras 5-12

In these paras. specific examples are given to demonstrate the significance of hitting the nail on the head in communication. Tell the examples in your own words. Distinguish the following pairs of words and sentences.

1. (para.5) Do human and humane mean the same? What are the meanings of human action and humane action, human killer and humane killer?

human [`hju:men] = of, characterizing, or relating to man

humane [hju:`mein] = characterized by kindness, mercy, sympathy

Thus

human action = action taken by man

humane action = merciful action

human killer = person that kills humans

humane killer = sth that kills but causes little pain

e.g. - the Declaration of Human / Humane Right ?

- Helping that blind man to cross the street is a very ________ thing to do. (human, humane)

- We believe in __________ treatment of prisoner. (human, humane)

humanity: mankind, human nature, quality of being humane

humanism, humanist, humanitarian; humanize

Their origin is the same and their meanings are related, but their usage is distinct.

i.e. They are of the same origin / root, but of semantic difference.

2. (para.6) What is the difference in meaning or usage between anxiety and eagerness?

anxiety = a kind of worry and fear about sth that will / is likely to happen in the future.

eagerness = sort of desire or wish

They have some kinship with each other, but cannot be substituted by each other.

e.g. - My anxiety grew when my 7-year-old son hadn?t returned by nightfall.

- Not knowing whether or not he would be admitted to the university caused the whole family great anxiety.

- When the box of chocolate is passed around, David is waiting with intense eagerness.

- Her hands trembled with anxiety / eagerness as she opened the letter. (different senses with different words)

3. (paras. 7, 8) What?s the difference between singularity and singleness?

singular = outstanding and extraordinary, very strange and peculiar, uncommon (denotation)

singularit y = oddity, peculiarity, sth. that singles a man out from other men

single = only one and no more, solitary, separate, individual

e.g. - singular behavior / dress / opinion

- single-minded: steadfast or firm to the purpose in mind, / single dress These two words also have the same root but different senses.

4. (para. 9) Look at the sentence All that was ever thought or written about

Christmas is imprisoned in this sentence... Why is imprisoned not the “mot juste”? Why are the words contained, summed up, epitomized and distilled better than imprisoned in this sentence?

The word imprison…suggests to put in with force, coercion (pressure, compulsion) as if the meaning were held against its will.? (l.59)

Contain and sum up are more commonly used.

Epitomize has the same semantic meaning with contained and summed up, but it is rather a clumsy-sound word, because it is too academic, more formal, so inappropriate in this informal context.

Distill means to leave out the impurities and make purifying essence (e.g. distilled water), so the essence of the meaning of this sentence can be better expressed in the following sentence: The essence of all that was ever thought or written about Christmas is distilled in this sentence.

5.(para.10) Tell the differences between

In my childhood I loved to watch trains go by.

When I was a child I loved watching trains go by.

and He died poor.

He expired in indigent circumstances.

a. At first glance these two sentences are exactly the same. But look more closely and you will see that there are very tiny differences.

in my childhood - more abstract than when I was a child

watching - more emphasis on the action of looking at trains than to watch

in one?s childhood / adolescence / youth / adulth ood / old ages

b. He died poor.

He expired in indigent circumstances

These two sentences are of similar lexical interpretations, but the feelings each of them gives the reader are quite different since the words are changed. The first is a rather common statement, nothing special is contained in it while the latter epitomizes strong emotion, which may arouse the reader a kind of sympathy. So The change in words is a change in style, and the effect on the reader is quite different, as Prof. Raleigh stated:’ There are no synonyms, and the same statement can never be repeated in a changed form of words.’

Therefore, as para.10 concludes, we should …increase our skills? in using the right word for our purpose and increase our …sensitivity? with the sh ades of difference in vocabulary.

Section Two

6.(Para.11) The study of words, of their origins and shifting meanings, can tell us a great deal about human life and thought. It is difficult and sometimes impossible to translate a word from one language into another. Why? Supply some such examples with English and Chinese. (comp.3-7)

Those are words denoting notions which are existent only in specific cultures, not universally shared by all cultures.

English words difficult to be turned into Chinese: privacy, party, lobby(v.), highlight, etc.

Chinese words difficult to be turned into English: 吹风会，粽子，五保户, 五

讲四美，etc.

Comp. 2-5: The examples of untranslatability of some words given in this para. Best illustrate: the 3rd sentence

7. (Para.12) Another reason for increasing our skills and sensitivity is that: there are many synonyms in English language, i.e. different words bearing the similar meaning.

LW1, 2 & 4

8.What do all these specific examples serve in this article?

to support the main ideas. Remember the title is Hit the nail on the head,a proverb which indicates here to use the exact words to express oneself, or to express your right meaning by using the precise words.

Para.13

What does the writer conclude in the last paragraph? Retell this paragraph in your own words.

Better know two words exactly than three vaguely.

Post-reading Discussion

1.Can you draw the main ideas of this article?

One must be able to choose the right word from the extensive vocabulary of the English language to facilitate one?s own process of cognition and one?s communication with others. (Comp. 1-B)

Section Three

Analysis

1.Encourage the students to make their presentation on analogy. (10 mins.)

What is an analogy? What?s the advantage of using it / when is it necessary to use

it? Illustrate it by analyzing the text or give your own examples.

Analogy is a special kind of comparison and a more concrete way to explain things. Like comparison, analogy shows similarities, but unlike comparison, analogy aims at what is common between two things of different classes. e.g. (P.7) We are likely to turn to an analogy to bring it to life when we have to explain sth vast, remote, abstract or specialized. e.g. (P7)

2. Ask the whole class to identify the places where the analogy is referred to in the article. (Comp.3-8) (10 mins.)

3. Supply more analogies showing the use of analogies. (10 mins.)

Suppose you are going to write a passage discussing the learning of a foreign language. Use an analogy to help you explain. (LW 7)

Text II The Maker’s Eye: Revising You r Own Manuscripts

Donald M. Murray

Questions for individual pre-class work:

1. What difference is there between the professional writers and the amateurs? What does Murray mean by Writers must learn to be their own best enemy? (paras. 1, 2, 3, 4)

A professional regards the 1st draft as the beginning of the job, …the 0 draft?, never finished

An amateur as the end of the job, done, finished

Writers must learn to be fastidious and exacting, i.e., severely critical with their own writing.

2.What does a professional writer usually do when finishing his first draft? Identify

the senten-

ces in paras. 2-6.

(para. 2) discover what they have to say and how best they can say.

(para. 3) say more and say it more clearly,change and rearrange the words to avoid confusion

and clarify meaning

(para. 4) accept criticism and praise of others and be suspicious of it

(para. 5) detach themselves from their own pages, then reread hem as strangers

(para. 6) be critical of everything, be passion-hot and critic-cold simultaneously

(para. 8) be critical and constructive simultaneously, to cut what is bad and to reveal what is good so that in the end the writing still maintains its original freshness and spontaneity.

3.What is the problem arising for the writers doing these kind of work and for the

majority of

students? (para. 7)

They are overly too critical to complete a draft, tear up page after page, think everything dreadful, see the task as hopeless

4.What are the possible ways of rewriting for writers? (paras. 11-2)

A few writers seem to do little rewriting, but they create and review the invisible

drafts in

their minds before approaching the page.

Some writers revise page by page.

Most writers revise draft by draft, catching the larger problems of subject and form, then moving in closer and closer.

5. What are the 8 points that M. thinks writers must consider when revising their drafts? How do you explain them?

Information, meaning, audience, form, structure, development, dimension, voice. Refer to paras.13-20.

6. What else does M. think a writer should do in revising apart from these 8 points?

(para.21) Line-by-line editing. Study individually all the clauses, phrases, words, and even the punctuation marks.

(para. 22) once a word is changed, … all the words used … must be considered and reconsidered.

(para. 23) read aloud / mutter to himself part of his manuscript at a certain stage of revising, because our ears are very good judges of language, being sensitive to the flow of words. What is right should sound right, and what sound right should be right.

(para. 25) choose the precise word for words have double, triple, even quadruple meanings.

(para. 26) from word to phrase to sentence to paragraph, then backward, to achieve variety, balance, coherence, unity, emphasis, firmer structure and appropriate form

7. How does M. End his essay? Comment on the way M. concludes his essay. (para.

30)

The apparently unfinished essay is a good illustration of his idea that a piece of writing is never really finished, it can always be re-read, and re-written, with sth deleted and sth added.

8. What will you be benefited in your writing practice if you follow M?s suggestions? Group work and class presentation:

Gp1: Work out a presentation of paras. 1-12 based on questions 1-4.

Gp 2: Work out a presentation of paras. 13-26 based on questions 5-6.

Class discussion on Qs. 7-8.

Questions on TEXT II, UNIT I for pre-class work: 1. What difference is there between the professional writers and the amateurs? What does Murray mean by Writers must learn to be their own best enemy? (paras. 1, 2, 3, 4)

2.What does a professional writer usually do when

finish-

ing his first draft? Identify the sentences in paras. 2-6, 8?

3.What is the problem arising for the writers doing

these

kind of work and for the majority of students? (para.

7)

4.What are the possible ways of rewriting for writers? (paras. 11-2)

5. What are the 8 points that M. thinks writers must

consider when revising their drafts? How do you explain them? (paras. 13-20)

6. What else does M. think a writer should do in revising apart from these 8 points?(paras.21-6)

7. How does M. End his essay? Comment on the way M. concludes his essay. (paras. 27-30)

8. What will you be benefited in your writing practice if you follow M?s suggestions?

Unit 1-1

Para.1

--- Comp. 2-1, 3-1

--- Tell the literal and figurative meanings of …hit the nail on the head? and …drive sth home?. Para. 2

--- Comp. 2-2, 3-2, 3, LW6 – 2

--- Who is Gustave Flaubert? How much do you know about him? Why does the author say that he is a scrupulous writer?

Para. 3

--- Comp. 2-3, LW6 – 3, 4

--- What does the example in para. 3 demonstrate?

Para. 4

--- Why will you be at a slight disadvantage if someo ne knows your name but you don?t know his?

Paras. 5-10

--- Distinguish the following pairs of words and

sentences and explain what the author demonstrates by making all these examples.

- human & humane, anxiety & eagerness, singularity & singleness,

- imprison & contain, sum up, epitomize, distill

- In my childhood I loved to watch trains go

by.

& When I was a child I loved watching trains go by.

- He dies poor.

& He expired in indigent circumstances. Para. 11

--- Comp. 2-5, 3-7

Para. 12

--- Make a careful distinction among the words given in para. 12 and complete LW1.

Para. 13

--- What does the author conclude in the last paragraph?

e.g. The writer, at the conclusion, uses repetition and parallelism to drive home the thesis so that no one who has read this article can ever forget.

1. hit the (right) nail on the head / hit it = guess right, say or do exactly the right thing, make a point or interpret a remark precisely

e.g. - Jane?s father hit the nail on the head when he said that her chief fault was vanity.

- The report spoke of corruption, which hit the nail squarely on the head.

- You?ve hit it.