大一英语精读 B1U3

Unit 3Message of the LandI.Introduction1.Background1)Genre (type of writing)This text is different from the previous two, which are both stories. In teaching stories, we must first help students to follow the plot and find out what the author intends to get across to the reader—the thesis, which is often implied, and not directly stated. Readers often have different ideas about the thesis of a story.The present text is an essay in a very broad sense of the word, for it was written down by the writer who interviewed a farmer and his wife. Since the end of World War II it has become popular for writers to interview people, record what they say and, after some, not too much, editing, publish these people’s stories in book form.2)StyleThe style of such writing is colloquial, the language straightforward, and the sentences generally short. When we read the text, we feel as if we were sitting face to face with the couple, listening to their stories and experiences, sharing their joys and sorrows.Note the figures of speech the farmer and his wife use. They are vivid, expressive and appropriate, here are few examples:… and it is like a knife piercing my heart. (para.2)… and it is no longer fertile, bleeding year after year, and like us getting old and exhausted.(para.3)When each of them has a pair of jeans, they are off like birds on the wing. (para.9)3)UrbanizationUrbanization is the process by which more and more people leave the countryside to live and work in cities. We find in the farmer and his wife qualities that are shared by many who till the lad—love of the land, love of physical labor, and above all, lone of family. We are also impressed by their honesty and kindness and by their simple life. Their children, however, are quite different. The way they leave the land is typical of many young people born and brought up in the countryside. They don’t see any attraction in farming and, as soon as possible, leave for the city to seek their fortune. As a result, farming is left to the old people. This is true not only in Thailand but also in may other developing countries.2.StructureThe text can be roughly divided into two parts; both can be further divided into several sections.I.What the farmer’s wife says (paras.1-7)A. A. Her family and their land (paras.1-3)1. How she inherited the land.2. How her four children live and work in cities.3. How she and her husband persisted in working on their land.B.Changes in the village the farmers wife does not like (paras4-7)1.People have to pay their neighbors for services.2.Plastic things have replaced village crafts.3.Y oung people copy fashions of city people.4.She thinks certain things, such as religious beliefs and traditions should notchange.5.She wouldn’t change and doesn’t complain about their hardships.II.What the farmer says (paras.8-11)A.The reason for his silence—he knows the root of all evils (paras.8-9)B.His worry—who he will give his land to when he dies (para.10)C.His love of the land (paras.10-11)1.He finds joy in farming.2.he never wants to leave his land and hopes he can pass on the land’s secretmessage to his grandchildren.3.Teaching Tips1)Rice CultivationTo help students, mostly born in the 1900s, understand the hardships of paddy rice farming, we could give them a brief account of how rice is cultivated with the help of pictures.Rice is cultivated basically in two ways. Rice farmers in developing countries usually sow seeds in small seedbeds, then hand-transplant the seedling into flooded fields that have been plowed and leveled (=made flat and smooth) by water buffalo-drawn plows. One advantage of transplanting seedlings instead of planting seed is that the young plants help limit weed by shading them from needed sun. in industrialized countries, seed is sown with a machine or cast from an airplane into machine-level fields that are then flooded. Herbicides are the primary method of weed control. Transplanting rice seedlings by had is a hard job, for the farmers have to stand in muddy water, barefoot, and push the seedlings into the mud with their fingers, a few at a time.2)Discussion·What kind of people do you think the farmer and his wife are? What fin qualities do you find in them?·Compare the farmer with his wife. What do they have in common? In what ways are they different?·Do you think the farmer and his wife are conservative in some way? Explain.·What do you think is the land’s secret message the farmer wants to pass to his grandchildren? ·Do you agree with all that the farmer and his wife say?·Do you think it’s reasonable for young people in the countryside to leave for the city to seek better opportunities for themselves?nguage Focus1.Key wordsTo get, to put2.Word formation1)prefixes: un-, re-, fore-2)suffixes: -able, -en3)compound words:n + v + -er→n, eg hairdresser;adj + n + ed→adj, eg old-fashioned3.Verb patterns1)link v + adj (as predicatiove)2)verbs frequently used with this pattern: be, become, feel, get, go, grow, keep, look, remain,seem, smell, sound, taste, turn4.Idioms and expressionsa pair ofa strip of landas foras soon asbe able tobe at peace withbe filled withbe good forbe the way with sbbe willing toeven iffrom morning till dusk hundreds ofin a certain wayin infancyin one’s dayin ragsin spite ofno longernot only … but …, too now and thenonly ifused toyear after year5.Verb phrasesbarter for belong to complain of feel a pity for occur to passon put on spring up6.Verb + noun collocations)attract people build a house bully people catch crabs condemn a person dig a well gather flowers lisult people litter the place mind one’s own life paint lips or nails pierce one’s heart plan riceplough the field reap the rice replace sthsmell the scenttill the soil7.Grammar1)ought todo sth2)shouldn’t have done sth3)unreal conditional clasuses (present)4)III.Detailed Discussion of the T ext8.They belonged to my parents and forefathers. (para.1)belong to sb: to be owned by sbeg This computer belongs to my roommate, Wang Lin.Who does the bag on the seat belong to?9.… it was I who stayed with my parents till they dies. (para.1)Learn how to use the emphatic form “it is/was … that/who …”More examples:It was my sister who went to teach in a village school upon graduation.It was in Shanghai that I first met Professor Li.10.My husband moved into our house as is the way with us in Esarn. (para.1)Paraphrase：(When we got married) my husband came to live in our house. It was the tradition here in Esarn that the bridegroom should come to live with the bride’s family.“As” here introduces a defining relative clause, and functions as its subject, representing what is stated in the main clause.More examples:As is often the case, the boy was late for class. (as—subject of the clause)As was only to be expected, the election was very close. (as—subject of the clause)11.The rest, two boys and two girls, went away as soon as we could afford to buy jeans forthem. (para.1)Paraphrase: Our other children—two boys and two girls left as soon as we had the money to buy them jeans.two boys and two girls：appositive of the “rest”the rest (of sth): the remaining people or things; the otherseg Three tall boys were asked to clean the windows; the rest of the class were to sweep the floor and clean the desks.One of the books is quite difficult; the rest are easy.afford sth/to do sth: to have enough money to buy or to do stheg Quite a lot of Chinese families can afford cars.At the moment I can’t afford a trip to Europe.12.They come home to see us now and then, stay a few days, and then they are off again.(para.2)They come home to see us from time to time, stay with us for a few days, and then leave again.(every) now and then: from time to time; now and again; occasionallystay a few days: Here the noun phrase “a few days” is used adverbiallybe off: be away from a placeeg My father is off to Russia next week.13.… and tell us that they are doing well. I know this is not always true. (para.2)…although they always tell us that everything is fine with them, I know they also have difficulties and problems. They just do not tell us because they do not want us to worry. 14.… it is like a knife piercing my heart. (para.2)(When I hear about their hardships) I feel very bad/sad.15.It’s easier fro my husband. He has ears which don’t hear, a mouth which doesn’t speak,and eyes that don’t see. (para.2)Paraphrase: News about my children’s problems doesn’t make my husband as sad as me. He doesn’t bother about what’s happening around us and to our children. Our children’s hardships don’t seem to bother him.which don’t hear and which doesn’t speak: restrictive relative clausesears, mouth, and eyes: parallel structure16.He has always been patient and silent, minding his own life. (para.2)Paraphrase: He’s always been patient and talks little. He just does his duty and carries on his life.minding his own life: present participle phrase functioning as adverbial of accompanying circumstanceNote: The usual phrase is “mind one’s own business” which means “do not interfere”.17.All of them remain my children in spite of their long absence. (para.3)Although they are often away for a long time, I love and care about them as always because they are my children.in spite of sth: although sth is trueeg The children went out to play in spite of the cold.In spite of his age, my grandpa lives an active life.18.Our piece of land is small, and it is no longer fertile, bleeding year after year, and like us,getting old and exhausted. (para.3)Paraphrase: Our land is getting poorer with each passing year, like us who are getting old, weak and tired.bleeding and getting old: personification; present participle phrases functioning as a cause.year after year: every year for many yearsSimilar expressions: day after day, week after week, etc.19.… but in a bad year, it’s not only the ploughs that break, but our hearts, too. (para.3)… but when there is a drought, the soil is so hard that the ploughs break. And we become very, very sad.… but our hearts: the verb in the clause introduced by “but” is omitted to avoid repetition.Note: The verb “break”, used twice in the sentence, has different meanings.(ploughs) break: to separate into two or more pieces(heart) break: (people) to become very sadTwo adjectives derived from the collocation:heartbreaking: causing extreme sadness, as in a heartbreaking storyheartbroken: extremely sad20.Only ten years ago, you could barter for things, but now it’s all cash. (para.4)Just ten years ago, we could exchange one thing for another, but today we have to pay (use money) to get everything we need. (In the past we were more or less self-sufficient. But now we have to buy everything from/in/on the market.21.Men used to make things with fine bamboo pierces, but no longer. (para.4)In the past men made fine bamboo crafts but they no longer do that.used to do sth … but no longer …: this expression is often used to show a changeeg They used to come and see their parents every week, but no longer.22.Shops have sprung up, filled with colorful plastic things and goods we have no use for.(para.4)Paraphrase: Shops have suddenly appeared in the village. They are filled with attractive plastic things and with things we don’t need. / Many shops appeared in a short time. In these shops there arelots of plastic things and things that are useless for us.filled with: past participle phrase functioning as post-modifier to modify “shops”we have no use for: relative clausespring up: to appear or develop quickly and suddenlyfill: to make or become fullbe filled with sth: to be full of stheg The girl’s room is filled with toys.The house is filled with smoke.have no use for sth: to not need stheg Our children are all gone; we have no use for this big house.When boys started school, he had no use for his toys and gave them away.23.These rough fingers and toes are for working in the mud of our rice fields, not forlooking pretty. (para.4)What is the good of painting the nails of my fingers and toes? Their place is in the paddy fields where I work, so there is no point in making them look pretty.Note: Rice plants grow in water until they are ripening. Therefore, rice farmers often have to work in paddy fields.24.In my day, if I were to put on a pair of trousers like they do now, lightning would strikeme. (para.4)When I was young, I surely would be punished by God if I ever wore trousers like that.This means that in those days it was considered very important for girls to wear such trousers.(In Thailand, female wore wraparound skirts.) in some Asian countries, to be struck dead by lightning is believed to be a punishment by God.Note: Don’t confuse “lightning” with “lightening”.lightning: a flash of bright light in the sky which is produced by electricity moving between clouds or from clouds to the groundlightening: the present participle of “lighten”, which means “ (to cause) to become bright”in sb’s day: when sb was young25.… but certain things should not change. (para.5)… but we shouldn’t abandon/give up certain things, for example, our duty to our parents, our religious beliefs, our sympathy for others, etc26.Y oung people tend to leave these things to old people now, and that’s a shame. (para.5)It is a pity that young people don’t so these things, thinking that they are only for the old.tend to do sth: to be likely to do sth (usually sth bad)27.Why, only the other day I heard a boy shout and scream at his mother. (para.6)Recently, I heard a boy shout (or yell) rudely at his mother.the other day: a few days agoshout at sb: to speak loudly, often angrily to sbeg He often shouted at his wife, and this upset her.ef shout to sb: to speak loudlyeg Tom shouted to Jack to pass the ball.28.If that kind of thing had happened when I was young, the whole village would havecondemned such an ungrateful son, and his father would surely have given him a good beating. (para.6)Paraphrase: In my day if a boy had screamed at his mother, the whole village would have scolded him for his lack of gratitude, and his father would certainly have punished him.Note the pattern of unreal conditional clauses.had happened, would have condemned and would surely have given: subjunctive mood More examples:If I had worked harder, I would have passed the exam.If you had come five minutes earlier, you would have caught the train.If he had been in the house, he would have died in the fire.]condemn: scold severelygive him a good beating: hit him as a punishment29.As for me, I wouldn’t change, couldn’t change even if I wanted to. (para.7)I don’t think I would change like that, and it would be impossible for me to change even if Iwanted to. (This implies that it isn’t easy for her to change her ways and her beliefs of a lifetime.)as for sb/sth: used when you start to talk about something new that is connected with what you have been talking abouteg Xiao Wang is now teaching in a middle school; as for Xiao Li, she’s doing a PhD at Peking University.Labor is cheap. Land is also available. As for money, we can borrow from the bank.even if: in spite of the fact or belief thateg Even if I had the money, I wouldn’t buy a thing like that.I’ll go even if no one else does.30.This question has never occurred to me. (para.7)I’ve never asked myself/thought about the question—whether or not I am happy.occur to sb: (of an idea or thought) to come into sb’s mindeg A happy thought occurred to me while I was surfing the Internet.Note: Don’t say “… occur to my mind”.31.Y es, this bag of bones dressed in rags can still plant and reap rice from morning till dusk.(para.7)Paraphrase: It’s true I’m not strong and my clothes are old and patched, but I can still work in the rice fields all day. (So a person’s worth does not lie in his/her appearance but in the strength within.)dressed: past participle functioning as post-modifiera bag of bones: a metaphor; a very thin person, as thin as a bag of boneseg After her illness, she became a bag of bones.in rags: wearing old torn clothsNote:rag: a small piece of old cloth used for cleaning things 抹布rags: clothes that are old and torn32.Disease, injuries, hardship and scarcity have always been part of my life. I don’tcomplain. (para.7)All my life I have suffered from disease, injuries, hardship and shortage of life’s necessities, and I’ve become used to them. I don’t complain because I know that’s my life.33.My eyes do see—they see more than they should. My ears do hear—they hear more thanis good for me. (para.8)I’m not what my wife says I am. I do see and hear—I see and hear to much evil, to many ugly and terrible things, things that I wish I did not have to see and hear. And this is not good for me.do: is used to emphasize verbmore than is good: for me: is the same as more than what is good34.I don’t talk about what I know because I know too much. I know for example, greed,anger, and lust are the roof of all evils. (para.8)I’m silent because I don’t want to talk what I know—I know these things (ie greed, anger and lust) lead to evil.35.I am at peace with the land and the conditions of my life. (para.9)I can face the conditions of the land and of my life, and so I am calm, and not worried.at peace (with sth)eg The country is family at peace with its neighbors.(=…not fighting a war with its neighbors)He’s at peace with their decision. (=He has accepted their decision.)36.But I feel a great pity for my wife. (para.9)feel pity for sb: to have a strong feeling of sadness or sympathy for sb or stheg I feel deep pity for parents who lost their children in the earthquake.37.I have been forcing silence upon her all these year, yet she had not once complained.(para.9)All these years, I hardly talk with her, so she has no one to speak to, to share her feelings and worries with, but she has never told other people about her feeling unhappy about my silence.force sth on/upon sb: to cause sb to accept sth that they do not wanteg Her husband tried to force his will on her.cf force sb to do stheg Parents should never force their values on their children.complain of: to tell other people that sth is making you feel ill/unhappyeg The patient complained of a bad headache.She complained of loneliness when she first came.cf complain about sth/sb: to say that sth is wrong or not satisfactoryeg Many students complain about food served in the university canteens.38.I know every inch of it. (para.10)I know our land thoroughly/inside out.every inch of sth/somewhere: all of a thing or placeThe police searched every inch of the house. (=They searched the house thoroughly.)Every inch of her bedroom wall is covered with photos of her favorite football stars.He looks every inch of a scholar. (used adverbially here)39.Still the land could not tie them down or call them back. (para.10)My children grew up and had happy days n this land. But this couldn’t prevent them from leaving or from wanting to return.tie sb down: (informal) to limit sb’s freedomeg Few young people want to be tied down to the same job all their lives.Having eight children tied down my mother.40.When each of them has pair of jeans, they are off like birds on the wing. (para.11)As soon as they have the chance, they just go away. (The jeans here serve as a symbol of being modern.)like birds on the wing: a simile meaning “like birds that have learned to fly”on the wing: (of birds) flying41.Sickness comes and goes, and we get back on our feet again. (para.11)be/get back on one’s feet:1)to be/become in a healthy condition after an illness or injuryeg The doctor says she’d be back on her feet again in a couple of days.2)to be/become in a good position or conditioneg The country’s economy is finally back on its feet.come and go: to exist or happen somewhere for a short time and then go awayeg The pain comes and goes, but yesterday, it persisted.He said to his friends, “Passion may come and go; friendship can stay for ever.”42.It’s nice to feel the wet earth as my fingers dig into the soil, planting rice. (para.11)planting rice: when young rice plants (called seedlings) are big enough, they are pulled out of the paddy fields and transplanted to large fields by hand. Farmers have to stand in the mud barefoot. This is backbreaking work, yet the farmer finds great joy in the job.various meanings of earth:1)the earth/Earth: the planet on which we live 地球2)earth: land, not the sea, the air 陆地3)earth: the material in which plants grow 泥土soil: the top layer of earth in which plants grow （地球表层的）土壤；泥土43.It’s good to smell the scent of ripening rice in November. The soft cool breeze moves thesheaves, which ripple and shimmer like waves of gold. (para.11)Paraphrase: The ripening rice is so pleasant to smell in November. In the soft cool breeze, the sheaves move and shine in the sun like a golden sea. The sentence tells about another joy working on the land brings to the farmer.ripening: gerund functioning as a modifierwhich ripple and shimmer like waves of gold: non-restrictive relative clauselike waves of gold: a simile44.Y es, I love this land and I hope one of my children comes back one day to live and givesme grandchildren so that I can pass on the land’s secret messages to them.…Y es, I live this land and I hope one of my children returns one day to love on it, and produces a lot of grandchildren for me so that I can tell them what this land means to us. It is our history, our culture, our tradition, and our life.IV.Translation of Text A土地的寓意皮拉·萨哈姆是的，这些是我们家的稻田，以前归我父母，再往前属于我的祖先。