现代大学英语精读6第二版教师用书 Unit 3

第一篇：现代大学英语精读6第二版教师用书 Unit 3

Unit 3

What Is News?

Neil Postman and Steve Powers

Structure of the Text Part I(Para.1)

In this beginning paragraph, the authors state the purpose of the essay.Part II(Para.2)

Some people might define the news as what television directors and journalists say it is.The authors, however, think that this definition is too simplistic.Part III(Paras.3–5)

In these paragraphs, the authors explain why the news cannot be simply defined as “what happened that day” or “what happened that day that was important and interesting”.Part IV(Paras.6–11)

In these paragraphs, the authors tell readers that the news is more often made rather than gathered, and it is made on the basis of what the journalist thinks important or what the journalist thinks the audience thinks is important.Therefore, every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story.Part V(Paras.12–15)

In these paragraphs, the authors point out that to make sense of the news, the viewer has to know something about the journalist’s political beliefs as well as his prejudices, interests, and quirks which are, in turn, influenced by his financial status, the companies he has worked for, the schools he went to, the books he has read, etc.Part VI(Paras.16–17)

In these paragraphs, the authors point out that the journalist cannot always impose his/her views on the general public because the television channel or newspaper cannot survive unless the news they provide satisfies the needs of the general public.On the other hand, the viewer/reader must also take into account his or her relationship to a larger audience because television and newspapers are mass media and their news is not intended for an audience of one.Part VII(Paras.18–20)

In these paragraphs, the authors discuss some other possible definitions of news: news as something to give people pleasure;news as something instructive that reveals the mores, values, and ideals of a society;news as living history;news as a source of literature;news as a reflection of human pain, suffering, tragedies and confusion;news as something to inspire people and make them optimistic;news as something to frighten people and make them aware of the seamy side of the reality;last but not least, news as a filler between commercials.Part VIII(Para.21)

In this paragraph, the authors conclude the essay by reiterating their purpose in raising the issue “What is news?” It is to arouse our interest and help us understand the problems, limitations, traditions, motivations, and even the delusions of the television news industry.Detailed Study of the Text 1.We turn to this question because unless a television viewer has considered it, he or she is in danger of too easily accepting someone else’s definition—for example, a definition supplied by the news director of a television station;or even worse, a definition imposed by important advertisers.(Para.1)

news director:(电视台)新闻节目负责人

advertisers: In many countries in the West, television stations largely depend on selling air time to advertisers for their revenue.Therefore, important advertisers can often impose their views and interests on the news supplied by television stations.viewer：Someone who is watching a movie, a television program, or an exhibition Compare: audience: a group of people who watch, read, or listen to something spectator: a person who watches an event, show, game, or activity

2.A simplistic definition of news can be drawn by paraphrasing Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ famous definition of the law.The law, Holmes said, is what the courts say it is… we might say that the news is what television directors and journalists say it is.(Para.2)

Americans generally accept Holmes’ famous definition of the law because they agree that laws must allow for the new interpretations necessary to meet the challenges of a changing nation and a changing world.But to propose a definition of the news by paraphrasing Holmes’ definition of the law probably commits the logical error of false analogy.For example, it would not make much sense if we were to say politics is what politicians say it is, or education is what teachers say it is.simplistic: disapproving too simple;not complete or sufficiently thorough Nothing more.Nothing less.: As simple as that;no more, no less.in similar fashion: in the similar way;likewise;by the similar token

3.But if we were to take that approach, on what basis would we say that we haven’t been told enough? Or that a story that should have been covered wasn’t? Or that too many stories of a certain type were included? Or that a reporter gave a flagrantly biased account?(Para.2)

The fact that people are often unsatisfied with news reporting implies that people have different ideas about what news should be.flagrantly biased: obviously and unquestionably biased

4.In modifying their answer, most will add that the news is ―important and interesting things that happened that day.‖ This helps a little but leaves open the question of what is ―important and interesting‖ and how that is decided.(Para.3)

It is all right to say that news consists of the important things that happened that day.But important to whom? In what sense? For what reason? but leaves open the question: but does not give an answer to the question

5.Of course, some people will say that the question of what is important and interesting is not in the least problematic.What the President says or does is important;wars are important, rebellions, employment figures, elections, appointments to the Supreme Court.(Para.4)

This is an interesting example of hasty generalization.It is true that what important people say or do is often important, but we can’t jump to the conclusion that everything they say or do is always important.On the other hand, sometimes even what happens to someone completely unknown can escalate to a serious crisis.People call that “the Butterfly Effect.” problematic: causing a problem;questionable;uncertain

6.Now, there is a great deal to be said for Saran Wrap.(Para.4)Now, it’s true that Saran Wrap is very useful.7.Saran Wrap is not news.The color of Liz Taylor’s wrap is.Or so some people believe.(Para.4)

Note that the authors are making a word play on the word “wrap,” which has different meanings.8.We shall never learn about these people either, however instructive or interesting their stories may have been.(Para.5)

We will never hear anything about these people either, no matter how instructive or interesting their stories may have been.instructive: providing knowledge or information;educational

9.Of course, there are some events—the assassination of a president, an earthquake, etc.—that have near universal interest and consequences.But most news does not inhere in the event.(Para.6)

to inhere in sth.: formal to be a natural part of sth.;to be inherent in sth.10.In fact, the news is more often made rather than gathered.(Para.6)

In fact, often the news is not something out there for you to pick up;you have to decide what information is newsworthy and make it into news.11． Is a story about a killing in Northern Ireland more important than one about a killing in Morocco?(Para.6)

For Americans of Irish background, the answer will most likely be yes.It is said that the relative importance of an event is often determined by the relative distance of its occurrence to the person involved.12．… every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story.The reporter’s previous assumptions about what is ―out there‖ edit what he or she thinks is there.(Para.6)If news stories were just facts, and facts speak for themselves, then all news stories, though written by different people, would be the same.But news stories are actually all different because every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story, and every reporter has previous assumptions(beliefs, points of view, and biases)which affect what he/she thinks is there.to edit: to decide what will be included or left out, as editors do in preparing, printing, broadcasting, etc.13．The answers to all of these questions, as well as to other questions about the event, depend entirely on the point of view of the journalist.You might think this is an exaggeration, that reporters, irrespective of their assumptions, can at least get the facts straight.(Para.7)irrespective of: regardless of;without thinking about or considering All government officials, irrespective of their rank, must disclose their property.We pursue the diplomatic policy of the five principles of peaceful coexistence in our relationship with all countries irrespective of their size or political system.to get the facts straight: to find out what the facts are without making mistakes now-defunct: now-dead;now no longer existing or functioning

to feature a story: to give a story a prominent place in a newspaper or television news show

14．… who thus earn their 35 rubles a month in lieu of ―relief‖…(Para.8)

Instead of receiving government relief, they are given jobs by the government so that they can earn their money.(这是以工代赈的政策)in lieu of: instead of

(government)relief：money that is given to poor people by the government(政府)救济

15．… it was the policy of the Journal to highlight the contrast between the primitive Russian economy and the sophisticated American economy.(Para.11)

the Journal: This refers to the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, mentioned above.to highlight: to make people notice or be aware of something sophisticated:(the opposite of primitive)highly developed and complex 高级的，复杂的

16．Each of our senses is a remarkably astute censor.We see what we expect to see;often, we focus on what we are paid to see.And those who pay us to see usually expect us to accept their notions not only of what is important but of what are important details.(Para.11)We have five sense organs, and they are all extremely sharp censors.censor: a person who examines books, movies, newspapers, etc.and removes things considered by the authorities to be offensive, immoral, or harmful to society(Note the personification of the word).We do not see or hear everything.We only see or hear what we expect to see or hear because we have been trained that way.We have been paid by our bosses to see or hear what they expect us to see or hear.We have been made to accept our bosses’ notion of what is interesting and important.17． ―We’d have complete dossiers on the interests, policies, and idiosyncrasies of the owners.Then we’d have a dossier on every journalist in the world.The interests, prejudices, and quirks of the owner would equal Z.The prejudices, quirks, and private interests of the journalist Y.Z times Y would give you X, the probable amount of truth in the story.‖(Para.12)

Here the French writer Albert Camus, quoted by A.J.Liebling, is using a mathematic formula to express the relationship between the interests, prejudices and quirks of a newspaper owner, and those of the journalists, and the probable amount of truth in a news story.Z x Y = X

Here, Z = the interests, prejudices, and quirks of the owner

Y = the interests, prejudices, and quirks of the journalists

X = the truth probability of the news Dossiers(on): files(of);records(of)

18．The host might say something like this: ―To begin with, this station is owned by Gary Farnsworth, who is also the president of Bontel Limited, the principal stockholder of which is the Sultan of Bahrain.Bontel Limited owns three Japanese electronic companies, two oil companies, the entire country of Upper Volta, and the western part of Romania.…‖(Para.13)

The implied suggestion is that this television station is quite likely to be biased in its news reporting, reflecting the interests of those who control its finances.19．―The anchorman on the television show earns $800,000 a year;his portfolio includes holdings in a major computer firm.He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas but was a C+ student, has never taken a course in political science, and speaks no language other than English.Last year, he read only two books—a biography of Cary Grant and a book of popular psychology called Why Am I So Wonderful? …(Para.13)

The implication here is that the opinions of the anchorman on a television show are strongly influenced by his financial status, his source of income, the education he has received, and the books he has read.anchorman(anchorwoman):(chiefly in the US)a man or woman who presents and coordinates a television news program(电视和广播电台)新闻节目主持人

Compare: broadcaster: 播音员 host：（游戏，访谈节目）主持人

portfolio：a range of investments held by a person or organization 全部投资；投资组合 holdings：financial assets;land, property, or shares in a company 拥有的财产

20.―The reporter who covered the story on Yugoslavia speaks Serbo-Croatian, has a degree in international relations, and has had a Neiman Fellowship at Harvard University.‖(Para.13)

A reporter who speaks the language, has a degree in a related field, and has done research on journalism at a distinguished university can naturally be expected to be more competent to cover the story on Yugoslavia than one without these qualifications.21.What we are saying is that to answer the question ―What is news?‖ a viewer must know something about the political beliefs and economic situation of those who provide the news.(Para.15)

The point we are trying to make is that a viewer must know something about the political beliefs and economic situation of those who supply the news if he/she wants to answer the question “What is news?”

Note here that the news reporter’s economic situation refers to his/her financial status as well as the way his/her living is made, because a person’s vested interest(his/her personal stake in an undertaking, especially with an expectation of financial or other gain)often affects his/her point of view.22.There is, in fact, a point of view that argues against journalists imposing their own sense of significance on an audience.… What’s our point? A viewer must not only know what he or she thinks is significant but others believe is significant as well.(Para.16)

to keep their own opinions to themselves: To keep their own opinions secret;not to announce their own opinions to advise them of what is important: to instruct them in what is important;to teach them what is important Note that with the verb “advise”, the preposition “of” is used, and “to advise somebody of something” is not to be confused with “to advise somebody to do something”.Liz Taylor’s adventures in marriage: This refers to the actress’s unusually numerous marriages, which were a favorite subject of social gossip at the time.A viewer must not only know what he or she thinks is significant but others believe is significant as well: This may be clearer if we repeat the word “what” after “but”.23.Television is a mass medium, which means that a television news show is not intended for you alone.It is public communication, and the viewer needs to have some knowledge and opinions about ―the public.‖(Para.17)

In defining news it is important for us to remember that a mass medium is not for any single individual alone.It is for the general public, and in a pluralistic society, people’s interests and needs differ.Therefore, viewers must take this fact into consideration and respect the right of other people to be different.24.And this leads to another difficulty in answering the question ―What is news?‖ Some might agree with us that Liz Taylor’s adventures in marriage do not constitute significant events but that they ought to be included in a news show precisely for that reason.Her experiences, they may say, are amusing or diverting, certainly engrossing.In other words, the purpose of news should be to give people pleasure, at least to the extent that it takes their minds off their own troubles.…(Para.18)

This is looking at news from a different perspective.It says that many people read the news not for being educated or enlightened, but simply for entertainment.This may not be the most important purpose of the mass media, but we can’t say it is illegitimate.The question “What is news?” is now becoming increasingly complicated.they want relief, not aggravation: People want the news to give them some relief–meaning here the removal of something painful or unpleasant rather than its opposite, aggravation, which makes the painful or unpleasant situation even worse.to take their minds off their own troubles: to make them forget their own troubles

25.It is also said that whether entertaining or not, stories about the lives of celebrities should be included because they are instructive;they reveal a great deal about our society—its mores, values, ideals.(Para.18)

Even if stories about the lives of celebrities do not amuse or divert us, we still need to read them because these stories tell us a lot about the society we live in.26.Mark Twain once remarked that news is history in its first and best form.(Para.18)People now more or less agree that today’s news is tomorrow’s history, and today’s history was yesterday’s news.So news can be defined as history to this extent.27.The American poet Ezra Pound… defined literature as news that stays news.Among other things, Pound meant that the stuff of literature originates not in stories about the World Bank or an armistice agreement but in those simple, repeatable tales that reflect the pain, confusion, or exaltations that are constant in human experience, and touch us at the deepest levels.(Para.18)

Ezra Pound relates news to literature.Such things as the World Bank and an armistice agreement, regarded as important today, will sooner or later become history, things of the past.However, we remember and retell stories about people’s pain, confusion, or exaltations because they are part of human experience and touch our emotions.This kind of news is the source of literature.28.What are we to make of it? Why him? It is like some Old Testament parable;these questions were raised five thousand years ago and we still raise them today.It is the kind of story that stays news, and that is why it must be given prominence.(Para.18)to make of it: to understand it

to be given prominence: to be treated as important;to be stressed

29.What about… the fires, rapes, and murders that are daily featured on local television news? Who has decided that they are important, and why? One cynical answer is that they are there because viewers take comfort in the realization that they have escaped disaster.At least for that day.(Para.19)

… viewers take comfort in the realization that…: viewers feel relieved or less worried because they know that these terrible things have not happened to them.30.… It is the task of the news story to provide a daily accounting of the progress of society.… These reports, especially those of a concrete nature, are the daily facts from which the audience is expected to draw appropriate conclusions about the question ―What kind of society am I a member of?‖(Para.19)

Another task of the news story is to give a daily accounting of the progress of society so that viewers will understand their society better.31.… heavy television viewers… believe their communities are much more dangerous than do light television viewers.Television news, in other words, tends to frighten people.(Para.19)

This paragraph suggests that television news tends to frighten rather than to enlighten people.Heavy television viewers believe their communities are much more dangerous than light viewers do.This leads to the question that whether news stories should concentrate on the brighter side of social reality.heavy(light)television viewers: people who watch many(only a few)hours of television programs in a day.32.The question is, ―Ought they to be frightened?‖ which is to ask, ―Is the news an accurate portrayal of where we are as a society?‖ Which leads to another question, ―Is it possible for daily news to give such a picture?‖ Many journalists believe it is possible.Some are skeptical.The early twentieth-century journalist Lincoln Steffens proved that he could create a ―crime wave‖ any time he wanted by simply writing about all the crimes that normally occur in a large city during the course of a month.He could also end the crime wave by not writing about them.If crime waves can be ―manufactured‖ by journalists, then how accurate are news shows in depicting the condition of a society?(Para.19)

Is it true that journalists can create events and make them disappear? If it were true, wouldn’t that make it very easy to run a country? Moreover, if it were true, how could we ever trust news provided by the mass media? And wouldn’t that also mean that a country could get along just fine without reliable news? portrayal: depiction;description

33.Besides, murders, rapes, and fires(even unemployment figures)are not the only way to assess the progress(or regress)of a society.Why are there so few television stories about symphonies that have been composed, novels written, scientific problems solved, and a thousand other creative acts that occur during the course of a month? Were television news to be filled with these events, we would not be frightened.We would, in fact, be inspired, optimistic, cheerful.(Para.19)

This paragraph raises a very interesting question: Why are many events that actually have great impact on human life not given any prominence-new philosophical theories and academic achievements for example? Possible answers are given in the following paragraph.to assess the progress: to measure;to estimate;to evaluate;to appraise

regress: moving back to an earlier, less developed and usually worse state or condition.It is usually used as a verb.The noun form is “regression”.Compare: digress v.digression n.moving away from the main subject under discussion in speaking and writing

34.One answer is as follows.These events make poor television news because there is so little to show about them.In the judgment of most editors, people watch television.And what they are interested in watching are exciting, intriguing, even exotic pictures.Suppose a scientist has developed a new theory about how to measure with more exactitude the speed with which heavenly objects are moving away from the earth.It is difficult to televise a theory, especially if it involved complex mathematics.(Para.20)

This paragraph tries to answer the question raised above.According to the authors, one answer may be that television as a means of communication has its limitations.It is good at showing exciting, intriguing, and exotic pictures and events, but not at dealing with ideas, theories, and other abstract things.In other words, it is a visual medium;it is less effective at engaging viewers’ minds.The second, implied answer is that people watch television mainly to be entertained.They have no time or patience for profound subjects.Lastly, most editors and news directors are incapable of immediately realizing the significance of scientific and theoretical discoveries.The conclusion seems to be: The news media are extremely important, but they are incapable of answering all our needs where news is concerned.35.Television sells time, and time cannot be expanded.This means that whatever else is neglected, commercials cannot b, which leads to another possible answer to the question ―What is news?‖ News, … in its worst form,… can also be mainly a ―filler,‖ a ―come-on‖ to keep the viewer’s attention until the commercials come.Certain producers have learned that by pandering to the audience, by eschewing solid news and replacing it with leering sensationalism, they can subvert the news by presenting a ―television commercial show‖ that is interrupted by news.(Para.20)

In the United States, television stations are privately owned.These privately owned stations sell air time to business companies to promote their products.Therefore, presenting the news show is not the television station’s main purpose: “news” serves merely as “filler” to keep the viewer’s attention until the commercials appear, not vice versa.And there is nothing more effective for this purpose than leering sensationalism.This may be an extreme case, but there is certainly some truth in it.36.The purpose of this chapter is to arouse your interest in thinking about the question.Your answers are to be found by knowing what you feel is significant and how your sense of the significant conforms with or departs from that of others, including broadcasters, their bosses, and their audiences.Answers are to be found in your ideas about the purpose of public communication, and in your judgment of the kind of society you live in and wish to live in.We cannot provide answers to these questions.But you also need to know something about the problems, limitations, traditions, motivations, and, yes, even the delusions of the television news industry.(Para.21)

This paragraph concludes the purpose of the essay.The authors do not intend to give us the answer to the question: “What is news?”, because they can’t.The problem is complicated, and each of us has to find his/her own answer.The purpose of the essay is to arouse our interest in answering the question by ourselves, and also to inform us of the important factors we must take into consideration to understand the nature of news.Key to Exercises I

1.a set sequence in a theatrical or comic performance 保留节目（喜剧歌舞等）2.to correct, condense, or modify material when preparing it for publication or presentation 3.in Paragraph 8, financial or practical assistance given to those in need 救济(in Paragraph 18, the removal of something painful or unpleasant 减轻痛苦)4.a man or woman who presents and coordinates a television program（电视新闻）男节目主持人

5.financial assets;land, property, or shares in a company 拥有的土地或股票 6.the extent to which something is probable 几率 7.to consider 8.to watch a television show or listen to radio broadcast 9.time during which a television show or radio broadcast is being transmitted

播放时间 10.a news item, public-service announcement, or music, used to fill time on a radio or television program 11.something intended to allure or attract 12.to undermine the power and authority of a system or institution

V How one defines “the news” depends on what he/she considers interesting and important.2 Now it’s true that Saran Wrap is very useful in many ways, and we guess that in the end facts will show that it is more useful for the happiness of most of us…(But…)But most news is not an essential part of an event.It becomes news only because, in the midst of the noise and disorder of everything happening around us, a journalist has selected it for our attention.… it was the policy of the newspaper to focus on the sharp difference between the backward Russian economy and the advanced American economy.Each of our five senses acts as a censor, screening information.It makes us see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, etc.;and we do so because that is what we have been educated or are paid to do.According to Camus, we would have complete records or files on the(newspaper)owners'

interests, biases, and peculiar traits.Then we would have similarly complete files on every journalist in the world.Camus then proposes: Z×Y= X, where:

Z stands for the prejudices, eccentric habits and private interests of the owner.Y stands for the prejudices, eccentric habits and private interests of the journalist.X is the probable amount of truth in the story.6 Certain producers of television programs have discovered that, by catering to the low tastes and desires of their audience, by avoiding real news and deliberately replacing it with sensational stories, they can transform television news from programs interrupted by short commercials into one long commercial interrupted by snippets of news.VI Phrases 1.一种过于简单化的定义

2.一种公然带有偏见的报道/陈述 3.就业数字统计 4.喜剧保留剧目 5.有教育意义的故事 6.精神状态 7.真实度

8.石油大王/大亨 9.（社会）习俗 10.停战协议

11.在他权力和声名达到顶峰的时候；在他的权势如日中天的时候 12.令人毛骨悚然的谋杀 13.犯罪率的激增/犯罪潮 14.太空飞行物 Sentences 1.霍尔姆斯说，什么是法律？法院说什么是法律就是法律。如此而已，岂有它哉。同样地，我们也可以说，电视新闻负责人和新闻记者们说什么是新闻也就是新闻。换言之，当你打开电视机观看新闻台或地方新闻节目的时候，不管它们讲了些什么，根据定义而言，这就是新闻。

2.这当然有些帮助，但是到底什么是重要或有趣的事情，对此如何判断？这个问题仍然没有解决。

3.……每一个新闻故事都反映出讲述这个故事的记者本人。记者之前对前去采访的地方会遇到什么情况的种种假设，会对他或她在那里的所见所闻进行删减。4.我们的每一种感官都是极其敏锐的审查官。我们见到的往往是我们想要看到的东西。我们常常只集中注意力去看付了钱叫我们去看的东西。5.实际上，有一种观点是不认同新闻记者把他们对事情重要性的观点强加于观众的。这种观点认为，电视新闻只应该呈现那些能使观众感兴趣的事件。新闻记者必须把自己的意见放在自己肚子里。

6.他们会说，她的那些经历很有趣，很有娱乐性，非常引人入胜。换句话说，新闻的目的应该是给观众带来快乐，起码要做到让他们忘记自己的烦心事。7.我们可以说，新闻是最初始而且形式最好的历史，是文学的原材料，是社会状态的记载，是其他某些事物的表现；但是就其最坏的形式而言，新闻也可以是在广告开始之前竭力吸引观众注意力的一种填充和引诱手段。

VII

1.objections;problematic, questionable, doubtful 2.classified as, regarded as;in any sense, by any definition;regardless of, irrespective of, whatever 3.advise 4.simple;rebellions, insurrections, social turmoil;simplistic 5.concept, notion, idea;assumption 6.a lot, a great deal;in the long run, in the final analysis;determine 7.immigrant;famous, renowned;emigrated 8.showed, indicated, revealed;constituted, represented, presented, posed;threat, challenge;plotting;assassination 9.fascinating, intriguing, engrossing;publicity 10.force, impose;similarly, by the same token;force

第二篇：现代大学英语精读

对《大学英语精读》教材进行评价

《现代大学英语精读》是我们大家熟悉的一本教材。精读课，也就是我们上的基础英语课，是高校英语专业基础阶段的一门核心课程，是帮助学生掌握听、说、读、写、译等基本语言技能的基础课。精读教材主要是培养学生的语用能力，使学生能够从书中有所感悟，把所学到的语言知识与生活实际结合起来，使学习过程生活化。该教材还能培养学生的英语思维能力和创新能力，而不是使学生拘泥于书本知识，主要的教学任务不是积累知识，而是开发学生的思维，该教材秉着以学生为中心的教学思想，教材的选材非常广泛,符合学生兴趣，是一本符合当代大学生的优秀教材。

一本好的教材有以下几点特征；(1)、教学内容和语言能够反映快速变化的时代(2)、要处理好专业知识，语言训练和相关学科之间的关系(3)、教材不仅着眼于知识的传授而要有助于学生的鉴赏批评能力、思维能力和创新能力的培养(4)、教学内容要有较强的实用性和针对性。而《现代大学英语精读》教材充分表现出一本好的教材的特点，在英语教学中起着积极的作用，主要表现在以下几个方面。

1、教材具有权威性。教材的权威性主要在于它努力体现新大纲的要求，任何教材的编写都要相对应的教学大纲作指导，而衡量教材的好坏的一个重要标准就是看他是否符合大纲的具体要求。大学英语精读教材是根据国家或地方教育部门颁发的教学大纲或课程标准编写的，能够较好的体现教学大纲或课程标准规定的教学目的、教学目标、教学内容以及教学方法，所以大学英语精读教材完全符合大纲中有关教材的规定，有利于教学大纲和课程标准的有效实施。教材的权威性还取决于编写人员的能力和素质。现代《 现代大学英语精读》教材是北京外国语大学多名教授共同研究而成，这些教授具有丰富的教学经验和深厚的语言功底，而且教材有国内著名的外语出版社出版，还是普通高等教育“十五”国家级规划教材。所以，现代大学英语精读教材在一定程度上能够保证教学内容、教学过程和教学方法的科学性和合理性，从而保证教学质量和教学效果。

2、教材具有系统性。从整体上看，教材体系完整，内容丰富，有利于学生系统的学习语音、词汇、语法等语言知识；材内容从易到难，是一个逐步推进的过程。第一年的教材主要任务是巩固高中所学的内容，这主要是考虑到大学新生需要时间来克服高中阶段应试教学的影响，要尽快帮助他们熟悉大学学习方法，养成良好的学习习惯，纠正他们的语音语调，鼓励他们克服汉语方言对应于发音的负面影响，同时，要让学生意识到学习英语的目的关键是运用，而不是为了做题。第二年的教材，主要是知识积累，要运用各种方法扩大词汇量，提高对语法的掌握和运用能力，还要加强写作和翻译的训练，因为这两种技能需要从实践中得到提高，而不是拘泥于书本知识，第三年的教材主要是培养学生的阅读水平，学生能够独立完成一个章节的阅读，教材增加了阅读的难度，这样有助于提高学生的阅读水平，第四年的精读教材主要是使学生的听、说、读、写、译这五种能力得到全面的培养，是学生对这几种基本技能同时得到训练。

3、教材选文具有多样性。《现代大学英语精读》教材克服了传统教学理念的缺陷，教材编写体现了以应用为本，听、说、读、写、译等多位一体的教材设计理念，把提高学生综合运用能力放在首位。该系类教材的指导思想就是在课堂上创造一个真实的语言教学环境，使学生得各种语言技能得到充分的训练。教材中覆盖的词汇量超过大学英语四六级的水平，在教材的使用中学生强化了对单词的复现率，该教材词汇丰富，词汇重复出现有助于强化记忆。阅读理解的任务活动可以帮助学生检测和深化对课文的理解，掌握各种阅读技巧。在每一章节的联系中还涉及了汉译英和英译汉的翻译练习，这样有助于训练学生的翻译能力。而且，教材中选取的文章题材多样，风格各异，内容丰富，涉及了政治、经济、文化语言、科技、体育、风俗人情等各方面。所以，该教材有利于学生更好地了解世界文化，培养跨文化意识和跨文化交际的能力。

总体来说，《现代大学英语精读》教材合理的教学布局，能够使学生的综合能力得到全面的培养,听、说、读、写、译等各项语言技能在教材中得到了综合呈现,该教材注重语言技能的培养、注重学生独立学习能力的提高。但教材中也有一些不足之处，比如关于综合技能的整体训练,以及学习技能和学习策略的建议有些不足。但整体上该教材是目前最适合大学生学习的一本优秀教材。

第三篇：现代大学英语精读6 课后题答案

Lesson 1 1.An imbalance between the rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of republics.贫富不均乃共和政体最致命疾.2.Their poverty is a temporary misfortune, if they are poor and meek, they eventually will inherit the earth.他们的贫穷只是一种暂时性的不幸，如果他们贫穷但却温顺，他们最终将成为世界的主人.3.Couples in love should repair to R H Macy’s not their bedrooms.热恋的夫妇应该在梅西百货商店过夜,而不是他们的新房.4.The American beauty rose can be produced in the splendor and fragrance which bring cheer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early buds which grow up around it.And so is in economic life.It’s merely the working out of a law of the nature and a law of God.美国这朵玫瑰花以其华贵与芳香让观众倾倒，赞不绝口，而她之所以能被培植就是因为在早期其周围的花蕾被插掉了，在经济生活中情况亦是如此。这是自然规律和上帝的意志在起作用.5.(It has become)an economically not unrewarding enterprise.（它已成为）经济上收入不菲的行业.6.There is...no form of oppression that is quiet so great, no constriction on thought and effort quiet so comprehensive, as that which come from having no money at all.没有哪种压迫比身无分文更厉害，也没有哪种对思想和行为的束缚比一无所有来得更全面彻底

7.Freedom we rightly cherish.Cherishing it, we should not use it as a cover for denying freedom to those in need.我们珍惜自由式对的。正因为珍惜自由，我们就不能以此为借口，不给最需要自由的人自由.8.Whether they be in Erhiopa, the south Bronx, or even in such an Elysium as Los Angeles, we resolve to keep them off our minds.不管他们生活在埃塞俄比亚，还是在纽约的南部布朗克斯区，甚至是洛杉矶这样的天堂，人们都决心不去为这些人操心.9....he is enjoying, as indicated, unparalleled popularity in high Washington circles.如上述所说，他在华盛顿高层当中有无比的威望.10.Compassio , along with the association public effort is the least comfortable, the least convenient course of behavior and action in our time.同情心，加上与之相关的社会努力是人们这个年代，最令人不快的行为何行动方针.Lesson 2 1.It was an idyllic life, and we lived close to our family and to the comforts and safety a small town could afford.这是一种田园式的生活,我们和亲戚们住得很近,享受着小镇生活所能给予我们的舒适和安全.2.But papa was a man of enterprise, he realized that the untouched Ten Thousand Islands off the southwest coast of the sate were rich in soil for crops and in game for food.但父亲是一个很有进取心人, 他知道佛罗里达州西南海岸的万岛群岛还没有被开发,那儿土壤肥沃,适于耕种,而且猎物充足,不必担心食物来源.3.This third day out, and the days to come, found us in the unsettled wilds of Florida.出发的第三天以及以后的日子里,我们都在佛罗里达无人居住的荒野中穿行.4.Its underwater grasses looked like green ribbons, constantly unrolling, and the trees held thick sprays of wild orchids.水下的水草就像绿色的丝带,不断地伸展开来,野兰花一簇簇地挂满了枝头.5.The burly arms of oaks were huge with ferns and blooming bromeliads.Redbirds, tanagers and painted buntings flew back and forth across the trail, leaving a child with the impression that the woods were tossing with jewels...乔叶栎粗壮的枝杆上覆盖着蕨类植物,附生的凤梨科植物也在盛开.红雀,唐纳雀和色彩斑斓的鸟沿着小路飞来飞去,让一个小孩子觉得好像是宝石在树林中跳动.6.The native whites feared him as you would a rattlesnake, but the Indians and black people were susceptible to his manipulations.本地的白人像惧怕响尾蛇一样怕他, 而印第安人和黑人则不得不受他的控制和剥削.7.Our new home was more than safe;it was a joy!

我们的新家不仅安全牢固,它还给我们带来了无尽的乐趣.8.Today I can see in my grandsons and great-grandsons some of those qualities of courage and caring that my father had in such abundance.今天,在我的子孙身上, 我仍然能看到我父亲所拥有的无尽的勇气和爱心.Lesson 3 1.We have been tampering with this powerful force, unaware, like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, of the potentially disastrous consequences of our actions.我们一直在滥用职权这股强大的力量,就像传说中魔术师的徒弟一样,我们并没有意识到我们的这种行为很可能会导致灾难性的后果.2.Even if the global warming catastrophe never materializes, and the ozone hole remains an esoteric, polar phenomenon, already human activity has profoundly altered global conditions in ways that may not register on the camera.即使全球变暖这种灾难永不发生, 即使臭氧空洞仍然只是一种深奥的极地现象,人类活动也已极大地改变了全球条件,这些也许是照相机拍不出来的.3.The technosphere, in contrast, is dominated by linear processes.与生态圈相反,技术圈是由线性流程所决定的.4.The energy sources that now power the technosphere are mostly fossil fuels, stores that, once depleted, will never be renewed.现在技术圈运作的能源主要是矿物燃料,一旦用完,永不再生.5.Nylon...is not biodegradable—that is, there is no enzyme in any know living organism that can break it down.尼龙不能进行生物分解—也就是说,在现存的有机物中还没有发现有哪种没酶可以分解尼龙.6....living things have created a limited but self-consistent array of substances and reactions that are essential to life.…有生命的东西创造了一系列对生命至关重要的有限但独立的物质和反应.7.A free lunch is really a debt, in the technosphere, a debt is an acknowledged but unmet cost...免费午餐实际上是一种债务.在技术圈, 债务是指已承认但尚未归还的欠款….8....when the debts represented by environmental pollution are created by the technosphere and transferred to the ecosphere, they are never canceled, damage is unavoidable.… 当债务以技术圈制造的环境污染的形式出现,然后又转嫁到生态圈时, 这种债务将永远无法消除.造成破坏是不可避免的.Lesson 4 1.Each of the trees on the place had an attitude and a presence--the elm looked serene and the oak threatening, the maples friendly, the hawthorn old and crabby.这里的每一颗树都表现出某种神态。比如,榆树看上去宁静安详，橡树则咄咄逼人，枫树亲切友好，而山楂树则老气横秋，脾气暴躁。

2.There was a keen alarm when the cry came, a wire zinging through your whole body, a fanatic feeling of devotion.当他喊我的名字时，我会紧张万分，全身蹭地就像过了电似的，一种狂热的忠诚感油然而生。3.One morning, of course, the job was all finished, the well capped, the pump reinstated, the fresh water marvelled at.一天早上，工作全部完成，这是意料中的事。井口上了盖子，水泵重新安装好了，大家对清澈的井水赞叹不已。

4.In my kitchen or in hers, once a week or so, distracted by our children and sometimes reeling for lack of sleep, we stoked ourselves on strong coffee and cigarettes and launched out a rampage of talk--about our marriages, our fights, our personal deficiencies, our interesting and discreditable motives, our forgone ambitions.我们大约每周都要在我的厨房或她的厨房聚会一次。孩子们总是不断打扰我们有时我们还会因为缺觉而感到头晕目眩，于是我们就用大量的浓咖啡和香烟给自己提神，开始天南海北的聊大天，所谈的话题无所不包：我们的婚姻，奋斗，个人的不足，既有趣又有些丢脸的动机，以及我们曾有过的理想抱负。

5.Sunny had given him fresh sheets rather than unmaking and making up again the bed he had left for me.苏妮给了他干净的床单，免得在他留给我的床上重新叠被，铺床。

6.My sleep was shallow, my dreams monotonously lustful, with irritating and unpleasant subplots.我睡得很浅，没完没了地做着充满情欲的梦，中间还穿插着令人不快的小情节。

7.The bushes right at the edge of the grass looked impenetrable, but close up there were little openings, the narrow paths that animals or people looking for golf balls had made.挨着草地边上的灌木丛看上去似乎无法穿过，但走近了可以看到一些小缺口和窄窄的小径，这是给动物或者找高尔夫球的人们踩出来的。

8.It looked as if a large portion of the sky had detached itself and was bearing down, bustling and resolute, taking a not quite recognizable but animate shape.看上去，天空的一大部分似乎脱离了主体，喧闹着、果断地压向地面，那形状虽然说不出具体像什么，但像是一种活物的样子。

9.This was more of a ritual, a recognition of survival rather than of our bodies' inclinations.我们拥抱并不是出鱼身体的渴望，而是庆祝劫后余生的一种表示。

Lesson 5 1.The American experience was unique in a number of ways.美国的经验在许多方面都是独特的。

2.The country was blessed by notable advantages—above all, by the the fact that population was scare in relation to available resources.这个国家有着得天独厚的优势-主要是人口相对稀少而资源十分丰富。

3.It arose originally from a philosophical rather than an economic commitment...它源于对思想原则的信仰，而不是出于对经济利益的追求…

4.We have found no better way than democracy to fulfill man’s talents and release his energies.我们发现民主是使人的才智得到充分施展、人的能量得以充分发挥的最好方式。

5.We have found no better way than democracy to fulfill man's talents and release his energies...在意识形态体系与经验主义斗争的历史上，意识形态体系曾吸引了人类历史上一些聪明绝顶的人物….6.In its finest hours, the US has, so to speak, risen above ideology.在她处于最佳时期时.美国可以说超越了所有的意识形态体系。7....hat government was best which governed least...…政府管得越少越好….8.Indeed, the whole ideological enterprise contradicted Jefferson’s temper, which was basically flexible and experimental.说实在的，杰斐逊一生在意识形态体系上所做的努力与他的性格是矛盾的。他的性格特征基本上是灵活的、从经验出发的。

9.Indeed, I would suggest that we might well banish some overloaded words from intellectual discourse...(These words)are sources of heat, not of light.我甚至建议在思想界和学术界讨论中摒弃某些用滥了的词语。… 这些词语只能是头脑发热，而不会给人以智慧的光芒。

10.Free men know many truths, but they doubt whether any mortal man knows the Truth.自由人掌握许多具体的真理，但他们认为没有一个凡人能够掌握绝对真理。

Lesson 6 1.He stood his ground, sucking slightly at the residue of oil;a few drops leaked out of his lips while his wicked eyes, shaded by their coy little lashes, turned on me in disgust and hatred.他站在那儿，轻轻地吸吮着剩下的油，有几滴从嘴唇边漏了出来。他看着我，害羞得短睫毛下那原本淘气的眼睛里充满了厌恶和憎恨。

2.We had been having an unseasonable spell of weather-hot, close days, with the fog shutting in every night, scaling for a few hours in midday, then creeping back again at dark, drifting in first over the trees on the point, then suddenly blowing across the fields, blotting out the world and taking possession of houses, men, and animals.我们正经历一段非常反常的天气，闷热且雾气沉沉。浓雾每晚笼罩着村庄。中午的几个小时雾会渐渐散去，但傍晚时又悄悄地潜回，先是覆盖树梢，接着一下子飘过田地，挡住了外面的世界，将整个村庄的房屋、人和动物都裹在其中。

3.With very small, timid pigs, weanlings, this ruse is often quite successful and will encourage them

to eat;but with a large, sick pig the ruse is senseless and the sound I made must have made him feel, if anything, more miserable.对于羞涩的、刚断奶的小猪，这一招常常很有效，能诱使他们吃东西；但对于一头生病的大猪，这个做法却丝毫没有意义，我发出的声音肯定只会让他觉得更难受。

4.From the lustiness of a healthy pig a man derives a feeling of personal lustiness;the stuff that goes into the trough and is received with such enthusiasm is an earnest of some later feast of his own, and when this suddenly comes to an end and the food lies stale and untouched, souring in the sun, the pig's imbalance becomes the man's, vicariously, and life seems insecure, displaced, transitory.看到一头健康的猪精力充沛，人们常常感到自己也是精力充沛。看到它狼吞虎咽地吃掉食槽中的食物，人们就像是预订了今后的大餐。而当这一切突然结束，槽中的食物丝毫未动，任其在阳光下发馊时，猪的不适也就让人觉得自己也不舒服，生活变得失去了安全感、失去了平衡、变得转瞬即逝。

5.The pig's lot and mine were inextricably bound now, as though the rubber tube were the silver cord.From then until the time of his death I held the pig steadily in the bowl of my mind;the task of trying to deliver him from his misery became a strong obsession.His suffering soon became the embodiment of all earthly wretchedness.现在这头猪的命运和我的命运紧紧地联系在一起，似乎冲洗直肠的橡皮管就是连接我们情感的纽带。从他生病到死去，我无时无刻不想着他。如何想办法使他脱离苦海成了我心里想的唯一的事情。他的苦难很快就变成世间所有悲惨经历的写照。，6.The awakening had been violent and I minded it all the more because I knew that what could be true of my pig could be true also of the rest of my tidy world.1 tried to put this distasteful idea from me, but it kept recurring.这种醒悟来得太过突然，使我深感不安，因为我知道世事难料，在猪身上发生的事情同样也有可能在我身边其他看似平静之处发生。我想忘记这个令人不快的想法，但他总是不停地出现。

7.all of us working in darkness and in comfort, working with the instinctive teamwork induced by emergency conditions, the pig unprotesting, the house shadowy, protecting, intimate.我们大家凭着紧急情况下产生的本能的合作精神，在黑暗中默契地配合。猪并没有反抗，屋子笼罩在黑暗中，给人一种安全感和亲切感。

8.Everything about this last scene seemed overwritten-the dismal sky, the shabby woods, the imminence of rain, the worm(legendary bedfellow of the dead), the apple(conventional garnish of a pig).关于这最后一亩的描写显得有点冗长—阴沉的天空、杂乱的树丛、即将来临的降雨，以及传说中与尸体作伴的蚯蚓和烤猪时常用作点缀的苹果。

Lesson 7 1.We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end as well as beginning—signifying renewal as well as change.我们今天庆祝的不是党派的胜利, 而是自由的选择—象征着一个时代的结束和另一个时代的开始—意味着延续与变化。

2.United, there is little we can’t do in a host of cooperative ventures.Divided, there is little we can do—for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.如果我们团结一致，我们在一系列共同从事的事业中就可以无往而不胜。如果我们四分五裂，我们就会一事无成—因为在意见分歧，四分五裂的情况下，我们不敢迎接强有力的挑战。3.…one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny.….一种殖民控制形式的消失，不应为另一种更为残酷的暴政所取代。

4.… and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger and ended up inside.….要记住，在过去，那些愚蠢地想靠与虎谋皮而得势的最终都为虎所食。

5.…we renew our pledge of support—to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective—to strength its shield of the new and the weak—and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.…

我们重申我们的支持—不让其变成一个相互指责的论坛—加强其对新生国家和弱小国家的保护—扩大其主导作用的领域。

6.For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.只有当我们的军力强大无比时，我们才有把握永不使用武力。7.Let us never negotiate out of fear.But let us never fear to negotiate.我们永远不会由于恐惧而去谈判，但我们永不畏惧谈判。

8.And if a beached of cooperation may push back the jungles of suspicion…

如果小小的一点合作能驱散深深的猜疑…

9.In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.同胞们，我们事业最终的失败不是掌握在我手中，而是掌握在你们手中。

10.Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.不要问你的国家能为你做什么，要自问你能为你的国家作何贡献。

Lesson 8 1.When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old manservant – a combined gardener and cook – had seen in at least ten years.艾米丽·格里尔森小姐过世了，我们全镇人都去参加她的葬礼。男人们去是出于一种尊敬，因为一座纪念碑倒下了；女人们则大多是出于好奇，想看看她房子里面到底是什么样的。因为除了一位兼任花匠和厨师的老男仆之外，至少有十年没人进去看过了。

2.And now Miss Emily had gone to join the representatives of those august names where they lay in the cedar-bemused cemetery among the ranked and anonymous graves of Union and confederate soldiers who fell at the battle of Jefferson.现在艾米丽小姐也加入到那些名门望族代表的行列之中了。他们在令人沉思的雪松的陪伴下长眠于公墓，他们的墓碑周围埋葬着一排排南北战争中在杰斐逊战场上阵亡的南军和北军的

无名战士。

3.Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care;a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town.艾米丽小姐在世时，一直是传统的化身，履行职责和给予关照的对象，这是全镇人沿袭下来的一种义务。

4.They were admitted by the old Negro into a dim hall from which a stairway mounted into still more shadow.老黑鬼把他们引进光线黯淡的门厅，厅里的楼梯通向更加阴暗的楼上。

5.And when they sat down, a faint dust rose sluggishly about their thighs, spinning with slow motes in the single sunray.当他们坐下时，一股细细的灰尘在他们大腿周围慢慢扬起，尘粒在孤独的太阳光束中缓缓地旋转着。

6.Her skeleton was small and spare;perhaps that was why what would have been merely plumpness in another was obesity in her.她的骨架小而瘦，也许这就是为什么别人穿起来只是显得丰满的服装在她身上却显得肥胖。7.So the next night, after midnight, four men crossed Miss Emily’s lawn and slunk about the house like burglars, sniffing along the base of the brickwork and at the cellar openings while one of them performed a regular sowing motion with his hand out of a sack slung from his shoulder.于是，第二天午夜之后，四个男人穿过艾米丽家的草坪，如同窃贼般在她屋子里潜行，沿着房子砖基部分以及地窖的通风处使劲地嗅着。其中一个人不时地将手从背在肩上的麻袋里掏出，做出一个播种的动作。

8.They had not even been represented at the funeral.他们甚至没有派代表出席葬礼。

9.Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted back in order to look him eye for eye, until he looked away and went and got the arsenic and wrapped it up.艾米丽小姐只是盯着她，他的头向后仰，以便能与他对视，直到他移开视线转而去取砒霜并打包。

10.Now and then we would see her in one of the downstairs windows – she had evidently shut up the top floor of the house – like the carven torso of an idol in a niche, looking or not looking at us, we could never tell which.有时我们在楼下的一个窗口可以看到她，显然她已封闭了顶楼，她的身影就像供奉在壁龛里的一尊雕刻成的神像躯体，我们永远分辨不出她是否在看着我们。

Lesson 9

1.They have put in the window the cardboard sign that has a pound measure printed on each of three edges – 10 lbs., 25 lbs., 50 lbs.– and No Ice on the fourth.他们在窗上挂了一块硬纸板做的牌子，上面的三边分别写着10磅、25磅、50磅，第四边写着―不加冰‖。

2.They go to land-grant colleges, normal schools, and learn how to do the white man’s work with refinement: home economics to prepare his food;teacher education to instruct black children in obedience;music to soothe the weary master and entertain his blunted soul.她们就读于政府拨款的大学以及师范学院。她们学习如何把服务白人丈夫的工作做得更细致：学家政是为了给他们烧菜做饭；当老师是为了教育黑人孩子顺从；学音乐是为了抚慰疲惫的主人以及娱乐他那麻木的灵魂。

3A sidelong look will be enough to tell him to smoke on the back porch.一个斜视便足以告诉他抽烟应该到房后的走廊那边。

4.At her gentlest touch he will preen, stretch, and open his mouth.在她最温柔的抚摸下，他舔着毛、伸着懒腰、张开嘴巴。

5.Junior considered the playground his own, and the schoolchildren coveted his freedom to sleep late, go home for lunch, and dominate the playground after school.朱尼尔把操场当做是自己的，小学生们都羡慕他有这么多的自由，可以睡懒觉，可以回家吃午饭，放学后还可以统治整个操场。

6.More than anything in the world he wanted to play King of the Mountain and have them push him down the mound of dirt and roll over him.比起这个世界上的任何东西，他最想玩―山丘之王‖的游戏，被他们推下土山坡，让他们在他身上滚过去。

7.She was deep in admiration of the flowers when Junior said, ―Here!‖ 当朱尼尔说―给你‖的时候，她正深深地欣赏着那些花儿。

8.Pecola’s banging on the door increased his gasping, high-pitched laughter.佩克拉拼命拍门让他笑得更厉害了。他尖声笑着，几乎喘不过气。

9.But she could not hold it low enough to avoid seeing the snowflakes falling and dying on the pavement.但是就算她把头垂得再低，也不足以避免看到雪花纷纷飘落到人行道上并立刻消融。

Lesson 10

1.But it is on the middle classes that the eye of the critic rests – just as it rests on the poor in Russia and on the aristocracy in Japan.但是，最吸引评论者关注的是中产阶级，正如在俄国人们关注的是穷人，在日本人们关注贵族一样。

2.How perfectly it expresses their character – far better, for instance, than does the university, into which social and spiritual complexities have already entered.它比例如带有社会与精神的复杂性的大学更充分的表现了他们的特性。参考资料翻译：英国公学制度比大学更充分地表现了英国中产阶级的特性。社会与精神的复杂性已经进入大学。3.In all these careers his education, or the absence of it, influences him.在上述事业中，他所受的教育，或者说没有受到的教育，深深地影响着他。

4.They remember with regret that golden time when life, though hard, was not yet complex;when they all worked together and played together and thought together, so far as they thought at all: when they were taught that school is the world in miniature and believed that no one can love his country who does not love his school.他们心怀遗憾地怀念那段金色时光。那时生活虽然艰苦，但还不算复杂。他们同学习、同游戏、同思考，如果说他们思考的话。他们受到的教育告诉他们，学校是个微型世界，他们相信，一个人如果不爱自己的学校，那他就不可能爱自己的国家。

5.They go forth into it with well-developed bodies, fairly developed minds, and undeveloped hearts.他们进入社会时，体魄健全，大脑发育还算可以，但是心的发育则不健全。

6.He could not express his sorrow too much.But in me the Englishman came out strong.他过度地表达出自己的悲伤，但是在我身上则变现出强烈的英国人特性。

7.Shelley, at all events, believes that the wealth of the spirit is endless;that we may express it copiously, passionately, and always;and that we can never feel sorrow or joy to acutely.无论怎样，雪莱相信精神的财富是无穷无尽的。他相信我们可以大量地、充满激情地、经常地表达我们的情感；我们永远都不能觉得悲伤或者欢乐过于剧烈。8.The Frenchmen responded at once;the Englishmen responded in time.法国人立即做出反应，而英国人则需过一段时间才做出反应。

9.It acts promptly and feels slowly.Such a combination is fruitful, and anyone who possesses it has gone a long way toward being brave.它行动迅速，感觉却迟缓。这二者的结合富有成效，具备这一结合的人多半都很勇敢。10.But she has a merciless eye for questions of conduct, and the classical example of two English people muddling themselves before they embark upon a wrong course of action is to be found in the opening chapters of Sense and Sensibility.但是在观察行为问题时，她的目光冷酷无情。她的小说《理智与情感》开头前几章提供了一个经典的例子——两个英国人在开始一项错误的做法之前是如何先犯糊涂的。

11.From villainies such as these the average Englishman is free.His character, which prevents his rising to certain heights, also prevents him from sinking to these depths.普通的英国人没有这样的恶行。他的性格会阻碍他上升到一定的高度，同时也防止他堕落到这样的深度。

12.The nations must understand one another, and quickly;and without the interposition of their governments, for the shrinkage of the globe is throwing them into one another’s arms.各民族必须互相了解，而且要快，不要政府的插手和干预，因为世界在缩小，正把他们抛向对方的怀中。参考资料翻译：……，因为世界在缩小，这使得他们不可避免地要进行接触。

Lesson 11

1.If we trace the universe back to its origins in the Big Bang, we find the multiplicity of things fusing into greater and greater simplicity, until at the moment of creation itself there is only pure undifferentiated energy.如果我们追溯宇宙的起源到原始大爆炸，我们就会发现众多的事物逐渐合并成越来越简单的事物，直到创世的那一刻时，就只剩下纯粹而无区别的能量了。

2.I also believe this primal energy continues to feed us, directly through the goods of creation, and indirectly through the experience of beauty.我还认为这种原始能源继续在给我们提供能量，直接地是通过世间万物，间接地是通过美的感受。

3.I study images of quasars giving birth to galaxies, galaxies whirling in the shapes of pinwheels, supernovas ringed by strands of luminous debris, and all the while I am delving back toward that utter beginning when you and I and my daughter and her new husband and the bright heavenly host were joined in the original burst of light.我研究类星体产生星系的图像，这些星系如同玩具风车一样旋转，超新星被一缕缕发光的星体残骸所包围。我不断地探索宇宙的开端，追溯到你、我、我的女儿、她的新婚丈夫以及天空中闪闪发光的星星汇合成原始大耀光。

4.The stimulus might be the sheen of moonlight on the needles of a white pine, or the iridescent glimmer on a dragonfly’s tail.It might be bird song or Bach sonata or the purl of water over stone.It might be a line of poetry, the savor of bread, the sway of a bough or a bow.The provocation might be as grand as a mountain sunrise or as humble as an icicle’s jeweled tip, yet in each case a familiar surge of gratitude and wonder wells up in me.这一刺激也许来自倾泻在白松松针上的月光，或是蜻蜓尾部彩虹色的微光。它可能来自小鸟的歌唱、巴赫的奏鸣曲或流水淌过石头的潺潺声。它可能来自一行诗、面包的香味、树枝或琴弓的摇摆。它可能如同高山日出般雄伟壮观，或如冰柱晶莹的柱尖般谦卑，但不管是何种起因，每次我内心都会涌起同样的感激和惊叹。

5.Do my sensory thrills tell me anything about the world? Does beauty reveal a kinship between my small self and the great cosmos, or does my desire for meaning only fool me into thinking so? 感官的激情是否让我对世界有所了解呢？是美揭示了小自我与大世界之间的紧密关系还是我对事物内涵的追求让我愚蠢地这样认为呢？

6.Mustn’t beauty be shallow if it can be painted on? Mustn’t beauty be a delusion if it can blink off and on like a flickering bulb? 如果美可以被描绘，就一定不会是肤浅的吗？如果它能够像闪烁的灯泡般断断续续地闪光，就一定不会是一种错觉吗？

7.If we take a ride through the suburbs and study the rolling acres of lawn dotted with clumps of trees and occasional ponds, what do we see but a faithful simulation of the African savanna where humans first lived.如果我们坐车穿越郊区，观察一下占地好几英亩的起伏的草坪，点缀其间的树丛及偶尔出现的池塘，我们所看到的不就是人类最早居住的非洲热带大草原的忠实翻版吗？

8.Just so, I believe, the experience of beauty is an echo of the order and power that permeate the universe.因此，我相信对美的感受是弥漫于宇宙中的秩序与能量的共鸣。

Lesson 12

1.As Greek food goes, I was lucky.就希腊菜肴而言，我是幸运的。

2.If you do not drink ouzo as an aperitif in a Greek provincial town, you go without.如果在希腊一个地方城市你不把茴香烈酒当做开胃酒喝的话，你就没到过那里。参考资料翻译：……，那你就只好不喝。

3.Where there was once a narrow pass, there is no room for road and rail, and fields that lap round the corner.起初这里只是一条狭窄的通道，现在已经宽到可以通公路和铁路了，农田一直延伸到山的拐角处。

4.When that assembly of nations heaved itself off the earth and marched, the ground shuddered like the head of a drum.当来自各国的军队起步行进时，大地颤抖，声如擂鼓。

5.It is said that Xerxes leaped from his throne three times in terror for his whole army.据说薛西斯由于担心军心不稳，三次从皇帝宝座上跳了起来。

6.At any moment, rumor could have sent those savage levies scrambling away into the mountains.谣言随时都可能让这些强征来的野蛮人组成的军队争先跑进山里面。参考资料翻译：……作鸟兽散，匆忙逃进周围的高山。

7.Obscurely, and in part, I understood what it had meant to Leonidas when he looked up at these cliffs in the dawn light and saw that their fledging of pines was not thick enough to hide the glitter of arms.朦胧地，我在某种程度上懂得了当利奥尼达斯在拂晓的晨光中抬头看着那些悬崖峭壁，看到松针不够茂密得足以将兵器的锋芒掩盖之时，对他来说意味着什么。

8.If the rest of Greece beyond the wall did not unite and make its stand, the game was up.如果在墙的那一边的希腊余部不能联合起来抵抗，那么一切都完了。

9.It is famous for its reticence and simplicity – has been translated a hundred times but can only be paraphrased.它以其含蓄与简洁著称——虽已被译过上百次，但也只能是意译而已。

第四篇：现代大学英语精读5Book

英语专业精读课教案（第五册）

Lesson One Where Do We Go from Here

Teaching aims:

To grasp the rhetorical device in the text

Teaching difficulties:

To identify the rhetorical deviceS in the sentence

Teaching procedure:

Step 1.Background information

Step 2.Organization of the text

Step 3.Detailed study of the article

I.Background information:

The 1960s were turbulent times for the United States.The anti-war movement, the Civil Right movement, the counter-culture movement, the feminist movement were all unfolding in this period of time.The civil Rights movement was a major movement which began with the Supreme Court decision of Brown v.Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 and the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955.Martin Luther King jr.(1929-1968), as a key leader of the movement, played a significant and irreplaceable role.His name is associated with the march on Washington in 1963 and his famous speech “ I have a dream”, delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial.He was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.this speech, delivered in 1967, in more on the side of reasoning and persuasion and less on emotional appeal.Thus his analysis of riots and revolution in the united states in his speech is sound and convincing.On the night of April4.1968, King was shot dead, as he stood o the balcony of his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.Structure of the text

Part i.Para.1—2 Martin Luther King link the theme of the speech with the question of “Where we are now”.That is, in order to know where we go from here we must first recognize where we are now.Without knowing our present situation, how can we design a policy for the future?

Part ii Para.3--5 This is a transitional paragraph to call for all the African-American must “rise up with an affirmation of his own Olympian manhood”.Part iii(Para.6--9)In this part the author puts forward the second task: how to organize the strength of the Negro in terms of economic and political power.Then the author goes on to define power and points out the consequence of the misinterpretation of power.Part iv(Paras.10--15)This part deals with economic security for the Negro Americans.The speaker advocates guaranteed annual income which he thinks is possible and achievable.He also deals on the advantages of this security.Part v(paras.16—20)In this part, Martin reaffirms his commitment to nonviolence.He explains why he thinks violence is no solution to racial discrimination.He refutes the idea of Black revolution.Part vi(para 21—25)In this part, Dr.King raises a fundamental question—the restructuring of the whole of American society.He points out that the problem of racism.The problem of economic exploitation and the problem of war are tied together.They are the triple evils of the society.Part vii.(para 26—28)This part serves as the concluding remark for the speech: we shall overcome.

第五篇：《现代大学英语精读5》教案

英语专业精读授课教案（第五册）

Lesson One Where Do We Go from Here

Teaching aims: 1.fully understand the article

2.grasp the rhetorical device in the text

Teaching difficulties: how to identify the rhetorical device in the sentence and understand the

implication for some sentences

Time distribution: eight periods

Teaching method: students-centered

Teaching procedures:

I.Background information:

The 1960s were turbulent times for the United States.The anti-war movement, the Civil Right movement, the counter-culture movement, the feminist movement were all unfolding in this period of time.The civil Rights movement was a major movement which began with the Supreme Court decision of Brown v.Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 and the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955.Martin Luther King jr.(1929-1968), as a key leader of the movement, played a significant and irreplaceable role.His name is associated with the march on Washington in 1963 and his famous speech ― I have a dream‖, delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial.He was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.this speech, delivered in 1967, in more on the side of reasoning and persuasion and less on emotional appeal.Thus his analysis of riots and revolution in the united states in his speech is sound and convincing.On the night of April4.1968, King was shot dead, as he stood o the balcony of his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.Part II.Details studies of the text

Part III.Structure of the text:

Part i.Para.1—2 Martin Luther King link the theme of the speech with the question of “Where we are now”.That is, in order to know where we go from here we must first recognize where we are now.Without knowing our present situation, how can we design a policy for the future?

Part ii Para.3--5 This is a transitional paragraph to call for all the African-American must ―rise up with an affirmation of his own Olympian manhood‖.Part iii(Para.6--9)In this part the author puts forward the second task: how to organize the strength of the Negro in terms of economic and political power.Then the author goes on to define power and points out the consequence of the misinterpretation of power.Part iv(Paras.10--15)This part deals with economic security for the Negro Americans.The speaker advocates guaranteed annual income which he thinks is possible and achievable.He also deals on the advantages of this security.Part v(paras.16—20)In this part, Martin reaffirms his commitment to nonviolence.He explains why he thinks violence is no solution to racial discrimination.He refutes the idea of Black revolution.Part vi(para 21—25)In this part, Dr.King raises a fundamental question—the restructuring of the whole of American society.He points out that the problem of racism.The problem of economic exploitation and the problem of war are tied together.They are the triple evils of the society.Part vii.(para 26—28)This part serves as the concluding remark for the speech: we shall overcome.Lesson Two Two Kinds

Teaching aims: 1.fully understand the article

2.present their viewpoint on generation gap

Teaching difficulties: how to identify the development of a story

Time distribution: eight periods

Teaching method: students-centered

Teaching procedures:

Part I.Background information:

The Joy Luck Club, from which ―Two Kinds‖ is taken, explores conflicts between two generations and two different cultures.Set in China and in the United States, the novel is woven by stories of four Chinese mothers and their four daughters.Four Chinese women, who have just arrived in the United States and who are drawn together by the shadow of their past—meet in San Francisco to play mah-jongg, eat dim sum and tell stories.They call their gatherings the Joy Luck Club.While they place high hopes on their daughters, the youger generation think of themselves as Americans and resist their mothers’ attempts to change them into obedient Chinese daughters.Only after they have grown up and become more mature do they realize that the legacy left by their mothers is an important part of their lives, too.The noivel stayed on the best-selling book list of The New York Times for 9 months.A finalist for the national Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, it has been translated into about 20 languages and made into a Hollywood movie.Part II.Detailed Study of the Text

Part III.The Structure of the text:

Part i(paras.1—3)the beginning part of the story provides the reader with some background information.It tells about the mother and her hopes for her daughter.This paves the way ofr the development of the conflict between the daughter and the mother.Part ii(paras.4—11)this part is about the mother’s unsuccessful attempt to change her daughter into a Chinese Shirley Temple.In the beginning the child was as excited as the mother about becoming a prodigy.At this point, the conflict between mother and daughter was not visible.Part iii(paras12—20)in this part we learn that the mother was trying very hard to train her daughter to be a genius.As the tests got more and more difficult, the daughter lost heart.She decided that she would not let her mother change her.This change of attitudes would lead to the gradual development of the conflict.Part iv(paras 21—28)while watching a Chinese girl playing the piano on an Ed Sullivan Show, a new idea flashed into the mother’s head.With the new plan introduced, the ocnflict would develop further.Part v(paras 29—46)it tells about how the girl was made to learn the piano under the instructions of Old Chong.The relationship between mother and daughter was getting more and more tense.Part vi(para.47—60)Jing-mei was to perform in a talent show held in the church.Jing-mei started all right and soon made a mess of her performance.Undoubtedly this was a heavy blow to her mother.The crisis of the story is about to come.Part vii(para 61—76)the girl assumed that her failure at the show meant she would never have to play the paino.Yet two days later her mother urged her to practice as usual.She refused and the mother insisted.They had the most fierce quarrel they had ever had.This is the crisis or climax of the story.Part viii(77—93)this concluding part is narrated from a different point of view.Now the daughter had grown up form a little girl to a mature woman.Part IV.Discussion about generation gap.Part V.Complete the exercises of the text.A report about generation gap

Lesson Three

Goods Move.People Move.Ideas Move.And Cultures Change.Teaching aims: 1.fully understand the article

2.How to develop an argument

Teaching difficulties: how to develop an argument

Time distribution: eight periods

Teaching method: students-centered

Teaching procedures:

Part I.Lead-in : Globalization has become one of those words with the highest frequency of appearance but at the same time it is also a most controversial issue in terms of content, implication and consequence.Since the early 1990s, globalization has developed rapidly and brought great changes to the world.However, groups of people for various reasons oppose globalization and point to the negative effects of globalization.So when we face an article of such an important and sensitive issue, we are apt to ask:

What is the author’s attitude towards globalization? What makes her adopt such an attitude? How does she present her argument?

Part II.Detailed study of the text

Part III.Structure of the text

Part i(para 1—3)Globalization is a reality but it is not something complietly new.What is new is the speed and scope of changes.Part ii(para 4—6)this part deals with different views on globalization.Part iii(para 7—9)three points are made in this part:

a.Westernization is not a straight road to hell, or to paradise either.b.Cultures are as resourceful, resilient, and unpredictable as the people who compose them.c.Teenagers are one of the powerful engines of merging global cultures.Part iv(para 10—13)this part tells of the author’s experience with Amanda Freeman.Part v(para 14—19)in order to prove fusion is the trend, the author used Tom Soper and mah-jongg as an example.Part vi(para 20—24)this part describes the cultural trends in Shanghai.Part viii(para25—28)the author used the experience at Shanghai Theatre Academy to illustrate the point that the change is at the level of ideas.Part ix(para 29—34)the author in this part introduced Toffler’s view on conflict, change and world order.Part x(para35—36)the main idea is there will not be a uniform world culture in the future;the cultures will coexist and transform each other.Part xii(37—39)the author again used an example in Shanghai to illustrate the transformation of culture.Part IV.Complete the exercises in the textbook

Part V.collect their viewpoints about attitude towards globalizaion.Lesson Four

Professions for Women

Teaching aims: 1.fully understand the article

2.grasp the rhetorical device in the text

Teaching difficulties: how to understand the poetic and symbolic sentences in the article

Time distribution: eight periods

Teaching method: students-centered

Teaching procedures:

Part I.Background information: Virginia Woolf is generally regarded as one of the greatest writers of modernism as well as one of the pioneers of women’s liberation from patriarchy.She is known for her experimentation and innovation in novel writing.In her novel, emphasis is on the psychological realm of her characters and the moment-by-moment experience of living, which are depicted by the techniques of interior monologue and stream of consciousness.In this essay, Virginia Woolf gives a clear and convincing presentation of the obstacles facing professional women.Part II.Detailed study of the text

Part III.General analysis of the text

Para 1: In the profession of literature, the author finds that there are fewer experiences peculiar to women than in other profession because many women writers before her have made the road smooth.Para 2: the author responds to the host’s suggestion that she should tell the audience something about her own professional experiences.So she now tells her own story –how she became a book reviewer when she was a girl.Para 3.the speaker focuses on the first obstacle to becoming a professional women writer.She uses a figure of speech ―killing the Angel in the House‖ in describing her determination to get rid of the conventional role of women in her writing.Para 4.after the Angel was dead, the question which remains to be answered is ―what is a woman?‖ it is a transitional link between the quthor’s first and second experience.Paragraph 5.In this paragraph the author talks about her second experience in her profession of literature.As a novelist, she wished to remain “as unconscious as possible” so that nothing might disturb or disquiet the imagination.But she was faced with the conflict between her own approach to art and the conventional approach expected of her by male critics.She believed that sex-consciousness was a great hindrance to women's writing.To illustrate this point, she employs a second figure of speech, “the image of a fisherman lying sunk in dreams on the verge of a deep lake.”

Para 6.This paragraph sums up the author's two experiences, pointing out that the second obstacle is more difficult to overcome than the first.Women have many prejudices to overcome in the profession of literature and especially in new professions that women are entering.Para.7.In this last paragraph Woolf concludes her speech by raising some important questions concerning the new role of women and the new relationship between men and women.Part IV.Complete the exercise of the text

Part V.a report on the professional women in China

Lesson Five

Love Is a Fallacy

Teaching aims: 1.fully understand the article

2.grasp the rhetorical device in the text

Teaching difficulties: how to identify the rhetorical device in the sentence and understand the

implication for some sentences

Time distribution: eight periods

Teaching method: students-centered

Teaching procedures:

Part I.Lead-in:

This is a humorous essay in which the narrator tells his failure to win the heart of a young woman with the force of logic, which therefore proves to him that “love is a fallacy”--“it is inconsistent with logic.”

Part II.Detailed study of the text

Part III.Question on Appreciation:

1.How did the narrator describe himself? What does it show? How does the author bring out the pomposity of the narrator? What makes the satire humorous?

2.why was the narrator interested in Polly Espy? What kind of girl was she.3.How did the narrator's first date with Polly Espy go?

4.How does the language used by Polly strike you? Find some examples from the text and explain what effect her language creates.5.Why did the narrator teach Polly Espy logic? Did he succeed?

6.Did the narrator love Polly Espy? How did he try to “acquaint her with his feeling”?

7.How did Polly respond to the narrator's arguments for going steady with her? Why did she reject him? What does it show? As the story progresses, Polly turned out to be smarter than the narrator had previously thought.How does this contrast contribute to the humor of the piece?

Part IV complete the exercise in the text

Lesson Six

Life Beyond Earth

Teaching aims: 1.fully understand the article

2.learn to analyze the text

Teaching difficulties: how to learn to analyze the text and understand the implication for some sentences

Time distribution: eight periods

Teaching method: students-centered

Teaching procedures:

Part I.General introduction:

The author deals with recent developments in the search for alien organisms.He discusses various arguments about alien civilization.He does not think that such belief and search is irrational or even crazy.He writes that most people with such belief ―operate from the same instinct, which is to know the truth about the universe‖.At the same time he maintains a scientific attitude, pointing out that although there are many persuasive arguments, there is still no hard evidence to prove the existence of alien life.Yet he does not stop there.He further points out that since the world we live in—the only inhabitable world in the universe so far—is still far from perfect, people in the world need to direct more energy to making it better.Life on Earth is his greater concern.Part II.Detailed study of the text:

Part III.Organization of the piece:

1.Analysis of the text:

(1)Paras.1--2

the emergence of life

(2)Para.3

(transition)What else is alive out

(3)Paras.4--10

search for life

(4)Paras.11--23

search for intelligence

(5)Paras.24--42

Mars.(6)Paras.43--45

Dyson's argument

(7)Paras.46--52

conclusion

2.Questions to discuss:

1)What do you think of the opening paragraph? Does the author begin the article in a forceful way?

2)What role does this paragraph play? What is meant by “the enveloping nebula of uncertainties”? What is the contrast involved as imroduced by “despite”?

3)What new idea is introduced in Paras.17--19?

4)Comment on the first sentence in Paragraph 21.5)Comment on the role of Paragraph 35.6)What is the conclusion of the author? What would the author expect of people investigating extraterrestrial life?

Lesson Seven

Invisible Man

Teaching aims: 1.fully understand the article

2.grasp the implied meaning of some sentences

Teaching difficulties: how to identify the implied meaning in the sentence

Time distribution: eight periods

Teaching method: students-centered

Teaching procedures:

Part I.Background Information: 1.about the author

2.about the article

Part II.Detailed study of the text

Part III.Analysis of the text:

Para 1.From this opening paragraph we readers can learn a number of important things:

(l)By saying “It goes a long way back, some twenty years,” the author tells us that the story took place in the past.(2)The “I' here is the narrator, not the author, of the story, and the author is using the first-person narration in telling the story.As we read On, we will find this narrator is also the main character, the protagonist, of the story.(3)Words like ”I was looking for myself“ and ”I am nobody but myself“ point out the central theme of the novel--searching for self-identity.Para.2

This paragraph tells us a bit about the historical background against place.It also introduces a new character--the narrator's grandfather.On his deathbed, he said something that alarmed and puzzled the whole family.Para 3

This paragraph is about the tremendous effect of the grandfather's words upon the narrator, Those words became a constant puzzle for him.As the old man said these words ironically, the boy couldn't understand him.Although the grandfather did not appear in the battle royal scene or any other events in the rest of the book, his words haunted the narrator at every important moment in his life.Para 4

It tells us about the setting of the battle royal.The narrator was to give his speech at a smoker in a leading hotel in the town.The time is round 1950, the place is a hotel in a Southern town, and the occasion is a gathering of the leading white men of the town.Bearing these in mind will help us readers understand why things happened that way and what was the meaning of all this.Para.5 Besides giving more details about the place, this paragraph introduces the people involved in the incident the town's big shots, who were ”wolfing down the buffet food, drinking beer and whisky and smoking black cigars,“ and the other black boys who were to take part, who were ”tough guys".Para 6 to 9

The main body of the battle royal incident is from Paragraph 4 to paragraph 9.It can be further divided into 4 subsections: the naked white girl's dance;the fight itself;the grabbing for the prize money;the narrator's speech.Paragraphs 6 to 9 form the first subsection in which the author describes the white girl's dance.Paras.10--28 They form the second subsection of the battle royal incident violent and brutal fight itself.Pay attention to the use of specific words narration realistic and vivid.Paras.29--46 They describe how the white men further humiliated the black boys even after the battle royal was over.Instead of giving the money the boys were supposed to get for their performance, the white men made fun of them by making them scramble for the money on an electrified rug.This part adds to the general chaos of the whole scene.Para 47--90 They form the last subsection of the whole battle royal incident.In this part the narrator finally got his chance to deliver his well-prepared speech.However, in the middle of his speech, he made a mistake, but everything went well in the end and he was given an award--a scholarship for college.Para.91—94 They bring the story to a final end.The narrator was overjoyed with his triumph, and that night he dreamed of his grandfather and awoke with the old man’s laughter rining in his ears.Part IV.Complete the exercise in the text

Part V.Do some translation work.Lesson Eight

The Merely Very Good

Teaching aims: 1.fully understand the article

2.grasp the development of the text

Teaching difficulties: how to analyze the development of the article and the implied meaning for some sentences

Time distribution: eight periods

Teaching method: students-centered

Teaching procedures:

Part I.Information on the author:

Jeremy Bernstein(1929-): professor of physics and writer.After getting his Ph.D.in physics at Harvard, he spent time at the institute for advanced study in Princeton and at the National Science Foundation.He taught physics for 5years at New York University and then at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey.But Jeremy Bernstein has also spent more than 30 years on the staff of The New Yorker magazine, writing mostly about physics, computers, and other topics in physical science.He moves as comfortably among sentences and paragraphs as among equations.Part II.Detailed study of the text:

Part III.Questions about the article

1.Oppenteimer is called ― Father of the Atomic Bomb‖ and had been in charge of the Los Alamas nuclear laboratory for many years.Yet the author considers him as merely very good.Do you think the author is right and fair in relegating Oppenheimer to the merely very good?

2.Do you think it is right to say to be highly focused or not is the cause separating the great ones from the merely very good? What is your view?

3.How does the author manage to bring the people he wants to compare into the article?

Oppenheimer’s anecdote: Oppenheimer and dirac meeting

Gottingen, talking about poetry and physics

His decision to go to the conference

Spender’s being at the conference—Spender’s obsession with Auden—great versus merely very good.4.How does the author develop the article?

He uses the 1981 conference as the benchmark and goes back to earlier times and in the last two paragraphs returns the scene to the time of writing.This technique of montage is used largely in cinema.For example:

The 1981 conference and the author’s indecision—(flashback to 1925—1927)earlier life of Oppenheimer and his relations with Dirac—(back to 1981)the author’s decision: Spender and Auden—(flashback)Spender and Oppenheimer(1956)—(1958)Oppenheimer, Dirac and the author—(back to 1981)meeting with Spender—(bringing the scene to 1996)concluding remarks.Lesson Nine

The Way to Rainy Mountain

Teaching aims: 1.fully understand the article

2.grasp the rhetorical device in the text

Teaching difficulties: how to identify the rhetorical device in the sentence and understand the

implication for some sentences

Time distribution: eight periods

Teaching method: students-centered

Teaching procedures:

Part I.About the Author

N.Scott Momaday was born in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1934.Momaday belongs to a generation of American Indians born when most tribal communities had long ceased to exist as vital social organizations.His Kiowa ancestors shared with other Plains Indians the horrors of disease, military defeat, and cultural and religious deprivation in the 19th century.Their only chance of survival was to adapt themselves to new circumstances.Momaday’s grandfather, for example, adjusted to changing conditions by taking up farming, a decision pressed upon him by the General Allotment Act of 1887.Part II.Detailed study of the text

Part III.The analysis of the text

Para 1.the opening paragraph of the essay is a lyrical description of the author’s ancestral land, which plays a key role in his exploration of his Kiowa identity.Para 2.the author explains his purpose of his visit to Rainy Mountain: to be at his grandmother’s grave.Para 3.it sums up the history of the Kiowas as a Plains Native culture—the golden time and the decline in their history.Para 4.it is about how the Kiowas migrated from western Montana and how the migration transformed the Kiowas.Para 5.the author returns to his grandmother again.Since she is the immediate reason for him to come to Rainy Mountain, she is the link between the author and his ancestors.Para 6.The Kiowas felt a sense of confinement in Yellowstone, Montana.Para 7.this paragraph is a depiction of the landscape which they came upon when they got out of the highlands in Montana.Para 8.in this para the author describes Devil’s Tower and tells the Kiowas’s legend about it.Para 9.the author tells about the last days of the Sun Dance culture by using his grandmother as a witness.Para 10.for the first time, the author concentrates only on his grandmother’s story rather than mixing it with the history of the whole Kiowa tribe.Also for the first time, the author shifts the focus of depicting the lanscape to describing a person—his grandmother Aho as an old woman.Para 11—12 paragraph 11 is about the old houses at Rainy Mountain, which the author’s grandmother and other Kiowas used to live in, but which are now empty.This paragraph serves as a transition between the depiction of Grandma Aho and the reunion at her house.Para 11 and 12 describe the reunions that were once held at the grandmother’s house when the author was a child.We can see the author accepts change and loss as facts of life.He neither denies nor defies them.Imagination helps him strike a balance between them.So, after depicting his dead grandmother’s old house, he brings to life the joy and activity that once filled it.As a child Momaday took part in those events.By re-creating those scenes, he reminds himself of who he is.Part IV.Complete the exercise of the text