Unit_2_The_Struggle_to_Be_an_All-American
What things did the writer consider to be more important and more useful than learning Chinese?
She considered the following things to be more important and more useful: doing multiplication tables, naming the satellites of Mars, writing reports on Little Women and Black Beauty.
vt. surround, divide, or enclose a field, a garden, etc. witnd is fenced with barbed装倒刺的 wire. (2) The grounds are fenced in to prevent trespassing擅自闯入.
stoically adv. with great self-control and a strong will to endure
pain, discomfort, or misfortune without complaining about it or showing signs of feeling it
Discussion of Paragraph 2-7
What do you know about the headmaster of the Chinese school according to the author's descriptions?
He is a stern man who treats the children severely. He tends to punish those children who are lazy, naughty, and poor in their studies, as well as those who violate the school discipline.
The Struggle to Be an AllAmerican Girl
By Elizabeth Wong
Language work in Paragraph
1
1. Despite the new coat of paint and the high wire fence, the school I knew 10 years ago remains remarkably, stoically the same.
e.g. (1) She behaved stoically during the final phase of her husband's illness. (2)They endured all kinds of hardships stoically.
Analysis of Paragraph 1
Although covered with a new coat of paint and enclosed with a high wire fence, the school I knew 10 years ago continues to be the same, showing remarkable defiance of the vicissitudes of time.
fence n. structure of rails, stakes, wire, etc., esp. one put
round a field or garden to mark a boundary or keep animals from straying
e.g.: (1) The backyard is enclosed with a high wire fence. (2) The field is surrounded with a stake fence.
How did the author describe the classroom where they attended Chinese lessons?
There were little chairs in an empty auditorium
What else was stressed in the Chinese school besides the emphasis on speaking, reading and writing?
This paragraph, the beginning of the narrative text, provides the background of the story. From this we readers learn that the Chinese school on Yale Street, where the author and her brother used to go 10 years ago continues to exist there, remaining remarkably and stoically the same, despite its new coat of paint and its fence.
Politeness was also emphasized in the school. The lessons always began with an exercise in politeness. With the entrance of the teacher, the best student would tap a bell and all the children would get up, kowtow, and chant, "Sing san ho, " the phonetic for "How are you, teacher?"
高中英语-unit2 language points 1
6. rid vt 摆脱，除去 (1)rid...of...使……摆脱或除去
rid/ridded； rid/ridded; ridding
They're working hard to rid the world
___o_f ____ famine.
I wanted to rid _m__y_s_e_lf_ of the burden of the secret.
(2) _s_a_t_is_f_y_in_g_____ adj 令人满意的 (3) satisfied adj.满意的 (4)_s_a_ti_s_fa_c_t_i_o_n___ n 满意，满足
__T__o___ her satisfaction, her daughter made great progress in English.
3. I would rather _g_o_____ to work after my graduation next year, but my father would rather I __w_e_n_t___ abroad for further education. (go)
9. therefore adv 因此，所以
It was _d_i_st_u_r_b_i_n_g_ that she became seriously ill.
The mother opened the door quietly so as not _t_o_d_i_s_tu_r_b_ the sleeping baby. Mary was _d_is_t_u_r_b_e_d__ to hear that her parents were getting divorced.
Unit 2 The Struggle to Be an Allppt课件
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Pre-R: Q2 Picture Activation | Pre-questions
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G-R: culture notes-CAL Text Introduction | Culture Notes | Author | Structure
Chinese American literature (华裔美国文学) is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of Chinese descent. The genre began in the 19th century and flowered in the 20th with such authors as Sui Sin Far, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Amy Tan.
Nowadays, people have more chances to meet others from various cultures. They are likely to find some difficulties or obstacles in communication. What do you think are the essentials of successful cross-cultural communication?
kowtow
Unit 2 The Struggle to Be an All
Unit 2 The Struggle to Be an All-American GirlKey to exercisesText comprehensionI CII. T, F, T, T, F, TIII. (omit)IV.1.My brother and I were unable to walk out quietly and secretly, like other children, to the openfield to play kid’s games, for we were forced to go to Chinese school.2.Our kicking, screaming and pleading could not in the least make our mother change her mindabout sending us to Chinese school.3.She dragged us by force all the way from our home to school, a long hilly distance of sevenblocks, finally leaving us, hostile and tearful, in front of the severe headmaster.4.In Chinatown, large crowds of Chinese were coming and going with their routineresponsibilities in a disorderly, overexcited way.5.He was fastidiously particular about my mother’s English.6.Ultimately I was permitted to stop learning Chinese culture.7.Finally I assumed that I was one of the Americans and that I was not one of the Chinese.Unfortunately, I am, as a matter of fact, still Chinese.Language WorkI.1. escorted on foot; leaving the two of us, hostile and tearful2. unfamiliar exotic stale damp smell3. would rather learn other things than4. Fairly frequently5. dull and, what’s more, lacking individualities6. eventually became the unintendedII.Scent & smell1.smell2. smell3. scent4. scentchant & sing1.chanted2. singing3. chanting4. singingpermit & allow1.allowed; permitted2. allowed; permitted3. permitted4. permittedinfuriate & anger1.angered2. infuriating3. infuriated4. angeredIII.1.grant2.painstaking3.refined4.fragile5.stoical6.pleaded7.nagging8.heritageTranslationI1.Nowadays, some parents are hard on their sons and daughters, asking them to learn English,to learn to play the piano, and to learn many things.2.He is determined to give up gambling, so when he sees his former gambling friends, he ismore than eager to disassociate himself from their company.3.The reporters received s stern warning not to go to the earthquake-stricken area withoutofficial permission.4.Life is tough for parents whose kids fail to keep up in school.5.The suspect considered sneaking away, but his family managed to dissuade him.6.The cables are all bright yellow to prevent pedestrian from tripping over them.7.Infuriated by the decision, he threw up his arms in exasperation.8.The paint on the door of this old house has been blotched and striped by years of weathering.IIWhile absorbing the essence of a foreign culture, we should not be content with imitation without creation. An obsession with simple imitation will sterilize creation, and as such it will be impossible for us to scale new heights in art and impossible to present to novelty and originality. On the contrary, novelty and originality result from the combination of modern and traditional styles, the combination of the distinctive features of foreign countries with those of our own nation, and the combination of artistry and education.。
B5U2The Struggle to be an all-American girl课件
By Elizabeth Discussion of Paragraph 1
1. Why do you think the school was newly painted?
2. As the Chinese school is rather old, its outside must have been discolored and dirty. To make it look attractive, the school was newly painted as a kind of face-lift.
PPT学习交流
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stoically
adv. with great self-control and a strong will to endure
pain, discomfort, or misfortune without complaining about it or showing signs of feeling it
PPT学习交流
3
Language work in Paragraph 1
1. Despite the new coat of paint and the high wire fence, the school I knew 10 years ago remains remarkably, stoically the same.
PPT学习交流
8
How did the author describe the classroom where they attended Chinese lessons?
There were little chairs in an empty auditorium
Unit 2 The struggle to be an all-American girl
stoically adv. in a way that seems unaffected by the surrounding changes or age; or with great self-control and a strong will to endure pain, discomfort, or misfortune without complaining about it or showing signs of feeling it. • She behaved stoically during the final phase of her husband's illness. • They endured all kinds of hardships stoically. --Incidentally, the adverb stoically could be considered as an example of personification, indicating that the school, just like a man, has withstood the test of time without too much obvious change.
dissuade vt. stop sb. from doing sth. by persuasion; to deter (sb.) from a course of action or a purpose by persuasion or exhortation • He wrote a book to dissuade people from using tobacco. • Jim's father tried to dissuade him from marrying Mary. solidly adv. firmly and substantially • The house has a solidly-built foundation. • We are solidly united on this issue.
the struggle to be an all-american girl中文翻译
The Struggle American Girl by Elizabeth Wong It�6�8s still there the Chinese school on Yale Street where my brother and I used go. Despite the new coat of paint and the high wire fence the school I knew 10 years ago remains remarkably stoically the same. 我和哥哥过去常常去的中文学校还在耶鲁街。
尽管刷了新油漆和围了高铁丝网我十年前就熟知的这所学校仍明显没有丝毫改变。
Every day at 5 P.M. instead of playing with our fourth and fifth grade friends or sneaking out the empty lot hunt ghosts and animal bones my brother and I had go Chinese school. No amount of kicking screaming or pleading could dissuade my mother who was solidly determined have us learn the language of our heritage. 每天下午5点我和哥哥不得不去中文学校而不是和四、五年级的朋友们一起玩或溜出去到空地捉鬼寻骨。
再多的乱踢乱叫或请求都不能劝阻我的母亲她坚决要我们学习中文。
Forcibly she walked us the seven long hilly blocks from our home school depositing our defiant tearful faces before the stern principal. My only memory of him is that he swayed on his heels like a palm tree and he always clasped his impatient twitching hands behind his back. I recognized him as a repressed maniacal child killer and knew that if we ever saw his hands we�6�8d in big trouble. 她强行把我们从家里带到学校有七个街区的路程又长又崎岖。
高二英语下册unit-2复习课件(新编2019教材)
N. violinist motorcyclist pesticide (杀虫剂)
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Unit-2-The-Struggle-to-Be-an-All-American-Girl
• Stoically: • in a way that seems unaffected by the
surrounding changes or age; with great self-control and a strong will to endure pain, discomfort, or misfortune without complaining about it or showing signs of feeling it.
paragraph? • From our home to school there are seven long groups of
buildings bounded by streets on all sides and erected on hilly slopes. She forced us to walk past all these blocks, leaving both of us in front of the grim and serious headmaster, our faces showing rebellious reluctance and wet with tears.
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• The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts commissioned her to write an opera libretto from her adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince, with Emmy Award-winning composer Mich ael Silversher. Ms. Wong, a former newspaper reporter on both coasts, was a Disney Writing Fellow, and a staff writer on ABC's groundbreaking sitcom with Margaret Cho, All-American Girl. She is a member of PEN, the Dramatists Guild, ASSITEJ, and the Writers Guild of America, West. She lives in Los Angeles, with two cats inherited from the great actress Claire Trever.
综合英语5Unit2英英解释
• In her strong and efficient way, she dragged us over the seven blocks from home to school.
• Once we finished that long and reluctant journey along the streets with a lot of rises and falls typical of our city, she left us with the stern principal whom we stared at with disobedient and tearful eyes.
• Para. 2 • Every day at 5 o’clock in the afternoon
when we would prefer to play with friends in the fourth-and fifth-grade or go secretly to the empty land to search for ghosts and animal bones, my mother ordered that we go to Chinese school. • No matter how unwilling we were, how fervently we protested or how emotionally we begged, we were unable to get her to change her mind, because she had firmly made up her mind that we should learn the language, which was part of the treasure our ancestors had passed on to us.
Unit 2 The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl Teaching Plan 教案
Unit 2The Struggle to Be an All-American GirlDate of Presentation:Teaching PlanEstimated Time of Lesson: 270 minutes, 6 sessionsLearning Objectives(1) Rhetorical skill: basic features of English narrative writing(2) Key language & grammar points(3) Writing strategies: simile, metaphor(4) Chinese American literature, culture shock and reversed culture shockPre-class Activity: Greeting, Course Rhythm and Task Description Relationship to Current Unit: Unit 1 and 2, English narrative writing Materials: Teacher’s Book (5), English-English Dictionary, Blackboard, PPTTime Allocation:S 1-21.Pre-reading: Picture Activation, Pre-questions 10min2.Global Reading: Text Introduction, Culture notes, Author, Structure 15min3.Detailed Reading (a): Text I: Paragraphs 1-7 65minS 3-44.Detailed Reading (b): Text I: Paragraphs 8-1490 minS 5-65.Consolidation Activities (a): Text Comprehension; Writing Strategies20 min6.Consolidation Activities (b): Language work; Oral Activities; Writing70 min7.Further Enhancement (Optional): Text II / Other Comprehensive PracticesSection One Pre-reading ActivitiesI. Picture activationDiscuss the following questions with your partner.Are you familiar with what's in these pictures? What are they?Moc but kowtow chop sueyII. Pre-questions●It is generally believed that its not easy for a person to adapt himself/herself to newor strange living surroundings even within his/her own country, not to say in a foreign country. However, if he/she takes the right attitude, adaptation can be achieved in the shortest possible time. What do you think?Tips: Attitude is everything!Winkelman's five stages of cultural adaptation:Honeymoon phase→Culture shock→Adjustment phase→Acceptance and Adaptation phase→Reentry shock●Nowadays, people have more chances to meet others from various cultures. They arelikely to find some difficulties or obstacles in communication. What do you think are the essentials of successful cross-cultural communication?Tips: Direct experience is the best way to begin to learn any culture; appropriate topics of conversation; use of humor ;(open for discussion)Section Two Global ReadingI. Text IntroductionIn this poignant remembrance, the author recalls the unforgettable, sorrowful experiences of her childhood when she was forced to learn Chinese, which did not interest her.II. Culture Notes1. Chinese American literature (华裔美国文学) is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of Chinese descent. The genre began in the 19th century andflowered in the 20th with such authors as Sui Sin Far, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Amy Tan.Chinese American literature deals with many topics and themes. A common topic is the challenges, both inner and outer, of assimilation in mainstream, white American society by Chinese Americans.2. Little Women (Paragraph 6): published in 1868-1869, written by Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), is a two-part novel describing essentially the author's own family and its domestic adventures.3. Black Beauty (Paragraph 6): written in 1887 by the British author Anna Sewell, who had a strong love for horses and managed to expose through the book the cruel treatment the horses experienced.4. Nancy Drew (Paragraph 6): one of the several popular children's fiction series characters created at the beginning of the 20th century by the Statemeyer Syndicate Company under pseudonyms. Nancy was depicted as being bold and independent, gentle and well-mannered, which made her one of the most popular heroines of modern times.5. Cinco de Mayo(Paragraph 12): a commemorative celebration on May 5, among Mexican communities in Mexico and North America, of the Mexican defeat of French troops at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.III. AuthorElizabeth Wong, born on June 6, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, is an award-winning contemporary American playwright, television writer, college professor and social essayist. She is the author of such critically acclaimed plays as Letters to a Student Revolution (1991), Kimchee & Chitlins (1994), China Doll (1996), and Dating & Mating in Modern Times (2003), and one of the co-authors of Return to the Upright Position (2002). She wrote for ABC the situation comedy All American Girl in 1994, the second sitcom centered on a person of Asian (Korean) descent.IV. Structural AnalysisPart 1(P1) the background of the textPart 2(P2-7) her bitter experiences in the Chinese schoolPart 3(P8-11) the language gap within the extended familyPart 4(P12-14) sorrow for not having been able to become a real AmericanSection Three Detailed ReadingTHE STRUGGLE TO BE AN ALL-AMERICAN GIRLElizabeth WongI. Analysis1. Paragraph 1 AnalysisThis paragraph, the beginning of the narrative text, provides the background of the story. From this we readers learn that the Chinese school on Yale Street where the author and her brother used to go 10 years ago, continues to exist there, remaining remarkably and stoically the same, despite its new coat of paint and its fence.2. Paragraphs 2-7 AnalysisParagraphs 2-6 dynamically and vividly describe the children's forced walks to the Chinese school, the stern principal, their classroom, the polite formality with which lessons started, etc.Paragraph 7 tells us why the author did not want to learn Chinese.3. Paragraphs 8-11 AnalysisThese paragraphs, the third part of the text, specifically and humorously relate the generation gap in the family: between the writer and her grandmother, and between her brother and mother, presenting a sharp contrast in their language competence.4. Paragraphs 12-14 AnalysisThese paragraphs make up the last part of the narrative text. The writer winds up her narration on a note of regret.II. Questions for Paragraphs:Paragraph 1: questions1. Why do you think the school was newly painted?As the Chinese school is rather old, its outside must have been discolored and dirty. To make it look attractive, the school was newly painted as a kind of face-lift.2. What does the existence of the old school imply?The Chinese school is still there, which implies that still there are many Chinese children attending Chinese lessons in the school. Although they live abroad, Chinese parents never forget their own culture and their own language and require that their children learn their mother tongue.Paragraph 3: questionWhat do you know about the headmaster of the Chinese school according to the author's descriptions?He was a stern man who treated the children strictly.Paragraph 4: questionHow did the author describe the classroom where they attended Chinese lessons?There were little chairs in an empty auditorium. The room smelled like Chinese medicine, an imported faraway mustiness. Like ancient mothballs or dirty closets.Paragraph 5: questionWhat else was stressed in the Chinese school besides the emphasis on speaking, reading and writing?Politeness was also emphasized in the school. The lessons always began with an exercise in politeness. With the entrance of teacher, the best student would tap a bell and all the children would get up, kowtow and chant, "Sing san ho, " the phonetic for "How are you, teacher?"Paragraph 6: questionWhat things did the writer consider to be more important and more useful than learning Chinese?She considered the following things to be more important and more useful: doing multiplication tables, naming the satellites of Mars, writing reports on Little Women and Black Beauty.Paragraph 7: questionWhat did the author think of her grandmother's Chinese?She thought that her grandmother's Chinese sounded rhythmless and patternless, that it was quick, it was loud, and it wasn't beautiful, and that her Chinese sounded pedestrian.Paragraph 8: questionWhat do you know about the author's English proficiency?She spoke English very fast and very well so that she was able to keep up with the world outside Chinatown.Paragraph 8: activityDiscussionIn what way did the author exhibit her preference for American culture over Chinese culture? (Tip: refer to Paragraphs 4-8)She hated that smell of the school auditorium while she favored such scents as the soft French perfume that her American teacher wore in public school. She did not like learning the Chinese language, which she thought sounded pedestrian, nor did she like the Chinese calligraphy, etc.Paragraph 9: questionWhat can you infer from the author’s descriptions of his brother’s attitude toward Chinese culture?He was more radical than the author in his antagonism (对抗) towards Chinese culture, and in his sad earnest effort to be 100% Americanized.Paragraph 10: questionHow was the author’s mother’s level of English?She was not able to speak English well. She spoke pidgin English, and she had trouble pronouncing so me words, particularly words with the “r” sound.Paragraphs 12-14: questionsDid the writer enjoy the Chinese New Year? Why?No. She didn’t like it very much. She wasn’t used to it.Does the author think that she has become Americanized?Yes, she does.III. Language Work of ParagraphsParagraph 1“Despite the new coat of paint and the high wire fence, the school I knew 10 years ago remains remarkably, stoically the same.”Paraphrase Although covered with a new coat of paint and enclosed with a high wire fence, the school I knew 10 years ago continues to be the same, showing remarkable defiance of the vicissitudes of timefence n. structure of rails, stakes, wire, etc., esp. one put round a field or garden to mark a boundary or keep animals from strayinge.g.1. The backyard is enclosed with a high wire fence.2. The field is surrounded with a stake fence.stoic n. person showing no feeling of dislike, worry when faced with sth. unpleasant stoically adv. with great self-control and a strong will to endure pain, discomfort, or misfortune without complaining about it or showing signs of feeling itan absolute stoic in the face of mishapse.g.1. She behaved stoically during the final phase of her husband's illness.2. They endured all kinds of hardships stoically.Note:Incidentally, the adverb stoically could be considered as an example of personification (拟人), indicating that the school, just like a man, has withstood the test of time without too much obvious change.Paragraph 2sneak vi. go quietly and secretly in the direction specifiede.g.1. He stole the money and sneaked out of the house.2. The cat ate the food and sneaked off.3. A thief took all the jewels and sneaked away.the empty lot: the vacant or unoccupied area or landlot n. an allotment or portion of land set aside for a special purposeCollocation: parking lot: an outdoor lot for the parking of motor vehiclestot lot: a small playground for young children“No amount of kicking, screaming, or pleading could dissuade my mother, who was solidly determined to have us learn the language of our heritage.”Paraphrase No matter how desperately my brother and I resisted going to the Chinese school, kicking, yelling, or repeatedly begging, we could not make our mother change her mind, because she was determined to get us to learn Chinese, our mother tongue, which had been passed down from generation to generation.plead v. make repeated urgent requests; offer sth. as an explanation or excuse, esp. for failing to do sth. or for doing sth. wronge.g.1. He pleaded with his parents for a more understating attitude.2. She pleaded with him not to leave her alone.3. The boy pleaded to be allowed to ride on the tractor.4. They asked him to pay for the damage, but he pleaded poverty.dissuade vt. stop somebody from doing sth. by persuasione.g.1. He wrote a book to dissuade people from using tobacco.2. Jim's father tried to dissuade him from marrying Mary.heritage n. such things as works of art, cultural achievements and folklore that have been passed on from earlier generationse.g.1. These ancient buildings are part of our national heritage.2. She is the only heir who is entitled to the heritage.Paragraph 3“Forcibly, she walked us the seven long, hilly blocks from our home to school, depositing our defiant tearful faces before the stern principal.” Paraphrase→From our home to school there are seven long groups of buildings bounded by streets on all sides and erected on hilly slopes. She forced us to walk past these blocks, leaving both of us in front of the grim and serious headmaster, our faces showing rebellious reluctance and wet with tears.forcibly adv.effected by force used against opposition or resistance, obtained by compulsion or violencee.g.The policemen arrested the protesters forcibly.deposit vt. lay or put sth. down; put money in a bank, esp. to earn intereste.g.1. He deposited his papers with his lawyers.2. The money he's deposited in the bank is enough for a new car.defiant adj. openly opposing or resisting someone or sth.e.g.1. The trade union adopted a defiant attitude toward the boss's threat.2. The hardliners are angrily defiant of the government‘s refusal and threaten to take action.sway v. waver, oscillate irregularlye.g.1.She swayed her body in time with the music.2.The wind is swaying the tall grass.3.She swayed the cradle with her foot until the baby went to sleep.4.The trees were swaying gently in the wind.clasp vt.hold sb. or sth. tightly in the hand; hold sb. tightly in one’s armse.g.1.She was clasping a knife.2.The couple clasped hands briefly before saying good-bye.3.He clasped her to his chest.the stern principal→ the girm and serious head of the Chinese schooltwitching hands→ hands that were moving spasmodically(痉挛地);hands with muscles moving rapidly and involuntarily; hands that were violently jerking"I recognized him as a repressed maniacal child killer, and knew that if we ever saw his hands we'd be in big trouble."Paraphrase→ In my opinion, the principal was a man who suffered from suppression of emotions and who was so stern and severe that he would be liable to beat up a child. AndI knew if we ever saw his twitching hands, we would be in for severe physical punishment, extreme pain, anxiety and worry, etc.maniacal adj. violently mad; extremely enthusiastice.g.1. The maniacal expression on his face scared his wife to death.2. These young men are maniacal about football matches.maniac n.lunatic, crazy personmanic adj. behaving in an unusually excited wayNote: -mania (suffix) crazy for, extremely enthusiastice.g. Beatlemania 披头士迷kleptomania 偷窃狂Paragraph 4“The room smelled like Chinese medicine, an imported faraway mustiness.”Paraphrase→ The room gave off a smell very similar to that of Chinese medicine, a stale, mouldy, and damp smell drifting in from a faraway place.“Like ancient mothballs or dirty closets.”Explanation: This is a prepositional phrase, but it stands alone like an independent clause. In fact, it is part of the previous sentence.The writer intended to make it stand alone like a sentence, because she wanted to emphasize the permeation of the room with a very bad smell just like that given off by mothballs or found in dirty closets.mothball n. a small ball made of a strong-smelling substance, used for keeping moths away from stored clothes, books, etc.e.g.1. She regularly puts mothballs in her wardrobe.2. She placed two mothballs in the pockets of each of the woolen sweaters and jackets.closet n. a cupboard or small room for storing thingse.g.This is a very spacious apartment with three big bedrooms, a large hall, a sitting-room, two toilets, a big kitchen, a closet, and two balconies.“I favored crisp new scents.”Paraphrase→ I preferred fresh smells that were characteristically pleasant.“Like the soft French perfume that my American teacher wore in public school.”Explanation: This is another prepositional phrase. It can, of course, be included in the foregoing sentence. A sentence fragment is believed to be more attractive, more impressive and more emphatic. Here, this prepositional phrase provides a vivid example of the writer’s favored scents.scent n. a characteristic or particular odor; especially one that is agreeablee.g.the scent of flowers / perfumeParagraph 5tap a bell: strike a bell lightlytap bell a signal bell giving a single ring, as one announcing the approach to a certain floor of an elevatorchant vt. say, utter, talk or repeat monotonously; sing or intone (a psalm)e.g.1. The pupils chanted, "How are you, teacher?”2. She is chanting a melody.Paragraph 6“Being ten years old, I had better things to learn th an ideographs copied painstakingly in lines that ran right to left from the tip of a moc but, a real ink pen that had to be held in an awkward way if blotches were to be avoided.”Paraphrase As a ten-year-old girl, I had more interesting things to learn than ideograms which were to be written by hand after models, one stroke after another, in lines that ran right to left, from the tip of an ink pen which I had to clasp in a clumsy way if large ink marks, instead of Chinese characters, were not to be made.ideograph n. ideogram; symbol used in a writing system that represents the idea of a thing; any sign or symbol for sth.e.g.1. Chinese characters are ideographs.2. The dictionary includes some ideographs.painstaking adj. taking pains or marked by the taking of pains, expending or showing diligent care and efforte.g.a most painstaking workerthe results of scholarly, painstaking investigation of historical sources painstakingly adv.blotch n. a large, discolored mark, usually irregular in shape on skin, paper, material, etc.e.g.His face is covered in ugly red blotches.To me, that picture of his, though said to be a masterpiece in the world of fine art, is merely a mess of blotches.multiplication table a table of the products of a set of numbers multiplied in some regular order; usually a table of the products of the first 10 or 12 integers multiplied heroine n. the principal female character in a literary or dramatic worke.g.I identified with the heroine of the novel.The novelist makes his heroine commit suicide at the end of the book.Paragraph 7“The language was a source of embarrassment.”Paraphrase→The language caused me to feel self-conscious or ashamed of my racial origin.disassociate vt. separate people or things in one's thoughts or feelingse.g.1. The teacher disassociated the two ideas.2. You cannot disassociate the Government's actions from the policies that underlie them.Collocationdissociate oneself from sb. or sth: say that one does not agree with or support sb. or sth.nag v. scold or criticize continuously; worry or hurt sb. persistentlye.g.1. She nagged at her child all day long.2. The problem had been nagging me for a long time.3. Everybody knows that he's got a nagging wife.“a fragile woman in her seventies who coul d outshout the best street vendor. Her humor was raunchy, her Chinese rhythmless and patternless.” Paraphrase→Already over 70 years old, she was physically weak and feeble, but she was able to speak loudly, even more loudly than the loudest of the street vendors. She was coarse, and her Chinese was without any rhythm or pattern or proper way of expression. fragile adj. easily damaged or broken; delicate; weak; not strong or healthye.g.1.This is fragile vase; please handle it with care.2. A fragile girl is vulnerable to illness.3.The old lady is increasingly fragile after operation.raunchy adj. coarse or obscene; having or showing a sexual desiree.g.1. He seldom feels raunchy.2. That man often tells raunchy stories and cracks raunchy jokes.“It was not like the quiet, lilting romance of French or the gentle refinement of the American South. Chinese sounded pedestrian. Public.”Paraphrase Her Chinese was quite different from the elegant and romantic French or the graceful, cultured sounds of the American South. Chinese sounded very dull, incapable of arousing imagination or inspiration. It sounded average and commonplace, without any distinctive or noble characteristics.lilting romance: romance characterized by a light, lively or very cheerful rhythm; works of a literary genre with romantic love or highly imaginative unrealistic episodes forming the central theme, marked by a light sprightly rhythmrefinement n.refining or being refined; culture or elegance of manners, taste, language, etc.e.g.1.The refinement of oil, sugar, etc. has been improved.2.He is a gentleman of great refinement.3.All the refinements of the 20th century technology are very surprising. pedestrian adj. dull, lacking imagination or inspiration; of or for pedestrianse.g.1. The text provides a pedestrian description of the events that were actually very exciting.2. Life in the rural areas can be pretty pedestrian.3. The highway is flanked by pedestrian walkways.Paragraph 8chaotic and frenzied: completely disorganized and wildly excited, agitated, or frantic; in a state of complete disorder or confusion and extreme excitement or wild activity talking gibberish: talking nonsense; talking unintelligibly; engaging in unintelligible talkssweetly adv. amiably, pleasantly; charmingly, attractivelye.g.1. She smiles sweetly whenever she comes across her colleagues.2. She smiles and nods sweetly before she begins to talk.cluck vi. make a noise that a hen makes when calling her chicks; express sth. by making a similar sounde.g.1. The hen is clucking, while calling her chicks.2. Whenever she has made progress, her mother will cluck and say, "You are a nice girl."do well: be successful or prosperous; be making a good recovery from an illnesse.g.1. The patient is doing pretty well after the operation.2. Mother and baby are doing well. (母子平安。