1、. Additional background knowledge . Introduction to the passage . Detailed study of the text . Effective writing skills . Logical fallacy . Questions for discussionThe author: MaxShulman(19191988) 20thcenturyAmericanwriter best known as his television, short story and best-selling novels. Hiswriting

2、oftenfocused on youngpeople, particularlyinacollegiatesetting. Additional background knowledgeCarlyle: Thomas Carlyle(1795-1881), British historian and essayist. He developed a peculiar style of his own which was called “Carlylese” which is a compound of biblical phrases, colloquialisms, and his own

3、 coinges, arranged in unexpected sequences.3. Ruskin: John Ruskin(1819-1900), British writer, art critic and social theorist. His works : Modern Painters (1843- 1860), The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849), Sesame and Lilies (1865), The Crown of Wild Olive (1866), Time and Tide (1867), Fors Clavige

4、ra (8 vols,1871-1884).4.Charles Lamb4.Charles Lamb English essayist and poet, famous for his collection: The Essay of Elia (1823,1833) Tales from Shakespeare (1807) his critical comments: Specimens of English Dramatic poets (1808) Introduction to the passage This text is a piece of narrative writing

5、. Narrative writing is a style of writing, which is based on personal experience and change of things development. Narration is the main way of expression. The essential element are: time, person, place and event The author employs a whole variety of writing techniques to make his story vivid,dramat

6、ic and colorful. 1, A large lexical spectrum; 2,figurative language; 3, inversion for special emphasis; 4,many figures of speech like simile: metaphor; hyperbole; metonymy; antithesisDetailed study of each partPart 1:(para1-3)1. Main idea : a brief introduction to, and a comment, on the story. 2. Qu

7、estions to think: 1).What implication does the title contain? 2).What does the writer say about his own essay? Is he serious?3. Words and phrases1) There followsfrontier(Para.1,line3): The informal essay that follows here is freer than the one Charles Lamb wrote. (metaphor)Unfettered (Para.1): v. to

8、 be free from fetters; to be free restraint of any kind (除掉的腳鐐，解放)2) Vague thoughan essay(Para.2): Though its category is vague, it is certainly an essay. (Inversion and ellipsis) 3) Could CarlyleCould Ruskin? Carlyle could not write a better essay than this one. Neither could Ruskin (two rhetorical

9、 questions for emphasis) Part 2 (Para 4-59) 1. main idea: It humorously depicts how the promises of exchanging a girlfriend for a racoon coat is made and fulfilled.2.Language points 1).My brain a scalpel. My brain was like a forceful dynamo, accurate scales, and a fierce scalpel. (simile and hyperbo

10、le) calculating: shrewed or cunning,esp in a selfish way; Scalpel: a small, light,straight knife with a sharp blade used by surgeons 解剖刀,手術(shù)刀 scheming: 精明的,(尤指)專(zhuān)為自己打算的 perspicacious: a. having keen judgement or understanding 聰穎的，敏銳的 astute: a. showing a clever mind; crafty; wily 精明的，狡猾的 dynamo：genera

11、tor 發(fā)電機(jī)2) Fads, I submit are the very negation of reason: fads in my opinion, shows a complete lack of reason.3)To sweptof mindlessness(Para5): It is the greatest of lack of intelligence for me to follow enthusiastically every current fashion that appears, or to indulge yourself to stupid action jus

12、t because everyone else is doing it. Fad: n. passing fashion; craze 一度時(shí)髦的風(fēng)尚，一時(shí)的狂熱 4) Nothing upstairs (slang): empty-headed; 5) Acme：n. the highest point 極點(diǎn)，頂點(diǎn) 6) Mumble: v. speak or say indistinctly and in a low voice; mutter 喃喃地說(shuō)，含糊地說(shuō) 7).Flight: n. the act of escaping from a dangerous situation 逃跑

13、，逃避 e.g seek safety in flight 溜之大吉 8) Temple: either of the flat surface alongside the forehead in front of each ear太陽(yáng)穴，鬢角 9) incredulous: a. unwilling or unable to believe; skeptical e.g: be incredulous of 10) shed: v. cast off or lose hair (毛發(fā)等)脫落11) Unsightly: not sightly; not pleasant to look at

14、 ;ugly 不美觀的，難看的12) in the swim: conforming to the current fashion 趕時(shí)髦e.g She is always involved in the swim. 她總是追求時(shí)髦。13). Making: the material or qualities needed for the making or developed of something. 素質(zhì),內(nèi)在因素 e.g: She has the making of a fine teacher 14) Carriage: conduct, behavior, gesture 行為，舉

15、止，姿態(tài)。15) Bearing: way of carrying and conducting oneself, manner舉止16) Breeding: good upbringing or training 良好的教育17) Specialty: 特產(chǎn), 特制品。18).My brainhigh gear(para20): My brain worked like a precision instrument as well as a machine which began to work at high speed or efficiency. （Mixed-metaphor)19)

16、.He didnt haveon it(para22):注意此處”it”指人Polly Espy,足可見(jiàn)“我”對(duì)她的感情并不是發(fā)至內(nèi)心的，而是出于理智上的考慮。20).I wanted Pollycerebral reason(para23): I wanted Polly for a cleverly thought out and an entirely intellectual reason.21).She was notlack(para25): She was not as beautiful as a pin-up girl but I felt sure she would be

17、come beautiful enough after some time.22).In factopposite direction(para27): In fact, she went in the opposite direction. euphemism. She was not intelligent and she was rather stupid.23).It is, after allgirl beautiful(para27): It is easier to make a pretty stupid girl clever than to make an ugly cle

18、ver girl pretty. (contrast) “beautiful, dumb and smart” to contrast“ ugly, smart and beautiful”.Covet: long for with envy垂涎。e.g:It is a sin to covet.貪得無(wú)厭是一種罪惡。Cerebral: appealing to the intellect rather than emotion, intellectual.理智的，憑理智行事的。Pin-up: desinating a girl whose sexual attractiveness makes

19、 her a object for the kind of pictures often pinned up on walls. 女子其照片可供傾慕者釘在墻上的。Proportion: lines,shape of body線(xiàn)條，身材25) .In other words.would be open(Para 34 ): metaphor. If youre no longer involved with her( if you stop dating her ) others would be free to compete for her firendship. out of the pi

20、cture: not considered as involved in a situation 出局,與某事無(wú)關(guān)field: an area where games or athletic events are heldopen : free to take part or compete in (games being held in the field） 26).I said . wink. (Para 40 ) : a transferred epithet. He said mysteriously with a wink (the wink was not mysterious).

21、wink:v./n.V. (1) to close one eye and open it again quickly,especially as a private signal to sb,or to show sth is a joke.眨一只眼,眨眼示意(尤指使眼色或表示開(kāi)玩笑)eg:He winked at her and she knew he was thinking the same thing that she was 他沖她眨了眨眼,她便知道他的想法和她一樣 blink:shut and open your eyes quickly. 眨眼睛He blinked in th

22、e bright sunlight.他在強(qiáng)烈的陽(yáng)光下直眨眼睛eg:I ll be back before you can blink(=very quickly) 我眨眼的功夫就回來(lái).(2).to shine with an unsteady light;to flash on and off 閃爍,明滅.eg:We could see the lights of the ship winking in the distance我們看見(jiàn)船在遠(yuǎn)方忽明忽暗地閃著燈光.PHR V:wink at sth.(尤指對(duì)壞事)視而不見(jiàn),睜一只眼閉一只眼.N. an act of winking,especi

23、ally as a signal to sb.眨一只眼,眨眼示意,眼色.27).He plunged his hands into the raccoon coat and then his face. (para.42) First he threw both his hands into the raccoon coat,then he threw his head into the raccoon coat too.他先是將雙手猛地插入浣皮大衣,接著把臉也撲到里面. plunge into:to throw sb or sth into sth else.跳進(jìn),闖進(jìn) eg:The van

24、 broke through the parapet(矮墻,護(hù)墻) and plunged into twenty feet of water 這輛裝運(yùn)車(chē)撞毀欄桿,沖進(jìn)20英尺深的水里.28).You girl,I said,mincing no words.(para 45) I said directly and forcefully,i want your girl. mince:to lessen the force of;weaken,as by euphemism. V.(1) to cut food,especially meat,into very small pieces u

25、sing a special machine(=call a mincer)用絞肉機(jī)絞(食物,尤指肉) eg:minced beef 絞碎的牛肉 (2) (v+adv./prep)(disapproving)to walk with quick short steps,in a way that is not natural 裝腔作勢(shì)的用小步走. eg:He minced over to serve us 他邁著碎步過(guò)來(lái)招待我們. not mince(your)words:to say sth in direct way even though it might offend other pe

26、ople. 毫不言諱,直言不諱. N.(BrE)絞碎的肉,肉末(尤指牛肉) eg:a pound of mince 一磅碎肉29.He flung the coat from him.Never.he said stoutly.(para 48)stout: adj. (1) (of a person人)rather fat 肥胖的,肥壯的 (2) (usually before n)strong and thick 粗壯結(jié)實(shí)的,厚實(shí)牢固的 eg: a stout pair of shoes 一雙厚而耐穿的鞋 (3) (usually before noun)(formal)brave and

27、 determined 頑強(qiáng)的, eg:He put up a stout defence in court. 他在法庭上進(jìn)行了頑強(qiáng)的辯護(hù) eg:This requires a stout heart. 這需要有毅力的人來(lái)做 adv.stoutly n. stoutness eg:He was tall and stoutly built 他長(zhǎng)得五大三粗的 eg:I disagree,said Polly stoutly 我不同意.Polly拒不妥協(xié)的說(shuō). n. strong dark beer.烈性黑啤酒30).if you dont want to be in the swim.(para

28、. 49)in the swim(of things):(informal) involved in things that are happening in society or in a particular situation.積極參與社會(huì)生活(或者活動(dòng)),合潮流.31) .a torn man.(para. 50)torn man:He was agitated and tormented,not knowing what was the right thing to do.tear:to divide with doubt,uncertainty,etc32).First he lo

29、oked.a bakery window.(para.50) simile:comparing his torn expression with the expression of a hungry homeless child looking longingly at the bread at a bakery window.33) Set his jaw (para 50): he put his jaw in a fined or rigid position. This action shows fixed,unyielding determination.34) .Back and

30、forth. waning (para 50) : antithesis. Desire waxing is balanced against resolution waning. His head turned back and forth (look at the coat then looking away from the coat) .Every time he look his desire for the coat grew strong and his resolution not to give away Polly became weaker.35).he just sto

31、od . at the coat (para 50): hyperbole. Its an exaggeration to describle his great longing for the coat as mad lust . He just stood there , looking with great longing at the coat. mad lust : frantic, insane, overmastering desire.Part 3 Part 3(para 60-125) 1.Main idea: It vividly describes the incredi

32、bly tough project of making dumb Polly smart ,and the seeming success.Part 32. Language points1).Gee, that was delish dinner (para 60): the writer deliberately makes Polly Espy use a lot of exclamatory words like:Gee, Oo, wowdow and clipped vulgar forms like:delish, marvy, sensaysh, ect. to create t

33、he impression of a simple and rather stupid girl. This contrasts strongly with the boasting of the narrator and thus helps to increase the force of satire and irony. gee : an exclamation of surprise, wonder, etc. delish: clipped vulgar form for delicious Gee. movie (para60): Oh! That was a marvelous

34、 movie Gee. a sensaysh time (para60): Oh! I had a sensational time.2).I had . following evening (para60): I had my first social engagement (outing) with Polly the next evening.3).This was . survey (para60) : The aim of this date was to find out how stupid (or intelligent）Polly was (so that he would

35、have an idea of how much work he had to do to make her intelligent enough to be his wife)4) This loomed as a project of no small dimensions, and at first I was tempted to give her back to Petey. : This appears to me a great and hard task with little possibility of achievement, so at first I had the

36、intention to give Polly back to her boyfriend Petey. loom v. appear, or come in sight indistinctly. 隱約出現(xiàn)隱約出現(xiàn) e.g. A warship loomed up through the heavy fog.6). dimension (Para.61 line5) n. space; size and extent; scale. 體積，容積，面積，體積，容積，面積，范圍，規(guī)模。范圍，規(guī)模。 e.g. What are the dimensions of this language lab

37、oratory? have at ones finger tips: to be completely familiar with.精通精通 e.g. We have all the facts and figures at our fingers tips. 7).(Para63 line2): You would go faragreeable you would achieve much success if you could find another girl who was so agreeable. It isnt easy to find a girl so agreeable

38、. go far: to accomplish much; achieve much success.成功，大有前途。成功，大有前途。 e.g. Ginnys a smart girl, and Im sure she will go far.8).Para.64 line1 We went to old oak: We went to the Knoll, the campus meeting place, and sat down under an old oak.（引用了羅（引用了羅賓漢的典故。）賓漢的典故。）9). wince v. (para69, line1) escape or

39、draw back when having a feeling of pain or embarrassment. （ 因疼痛、窘迫等）畏縮，退縮。因疼痛、窘迫等）畏縮，退縮。 e.g. He winced at the insult. 他因受到侮辱而躲開(kāi)了。他因受到侮辱而躲開(kāi)了。10).unqualified adj. not modified by conditions or reservations; absolute. 絕對(duì)的，沒(méi)有被條件或保留意見(jiàn)所限定的。絕對(duì)的，沒(méi)有被條件或保留意見(jiàn)所限定的。 e.g. an unqualified refusal 斬釘截鐵的拒絕。斬釘截鐵的拒絕。1

40、1).Otherwise you have Simpliciter: Otherwise you have committed a logical fallacy called “a dicto simpliciter ad dictum secundum quid” . (借代借代 metonymy)12).tug (para.75 line1) v. to pull sth hard; drag; haul 用力拉，用力拉，拖曳。拖曳。 e.g. The child tugged at my hand to make me go with her.desist v.(para75 line

41、2) to stop doing; cease 停止。停止。 e.g. You had better desist.你最好打消念頭。你最好打消念頭。13) Really . Nobody: It is the truth that everybody at the University of Minnesota cant speak French?14). I hid my exasperation: I was greatly irritated and annoyed by Pollys stupidity. I controlled my voice and temper to hide

42、 my true feelings. 15).exasperation n. the state of being exasperated; frustrated annoyance. 激怒激怒。 e.g. Constant interruption of his work made him full of exasperations.16).I fought of a wave of despair. : I struggled to keep away the feeling of despair.17).You are guilty of Post Hoc: you have commi

43、tted the logical fallacy called Post Hoc.18).contrite adj. (para83,line1) feeling very sorry what you have done wrong.懺懺悔的，深感懊悔的?；诘?，深感懊悔的。 e.g. with a humble and contrite heart. 懷著謙恭并悔罪的心情。懷著謙恭并悔罪的心情。19). premise n. (para86) an idea or a statement forming the bases of a reasonable argument.前提前提 20).

44、chirp v. (para87) to speak cheerfully and lively.嘁嘁喳喳地說(shuō)嘁嘁喳喳地說(shuō)。 e.g. “Yes, all finished!” he chirped. 21) .If there is an irresistible force, there can be no argument. If there is an immovable object, there can be no irresistible force. (p94)： An irresistible force and an immovable object cannot coex

45、ist. (如果存在不可抵抗的力量，就不存在搬不動(dòng)的東西。如果存在搬不動(dòng)的東西，也就不存在不可抵抗的力量。）22).I deposited her at the girls dormitory.(p97) deposit vt. put down or lay down 放下，擱下 eg. Deposit the sand here. put sth. valuable or important in a place where it will be safe 寄放，寄存 eg. Guests may deposit their valuables in hotel safe. Deposit

46、 account 定期存款用戶(hù)23).Maybe somewhereinto flame.(p98) : Perhaps there is still some intelligence left in her stupid and empty mind. Maybe I could develop the little intelligence still existing in Pollys mind. 或許在她頭腦的死火山口的某個(gè)地方，還有余燼尚存呢。沒(méi)準(zhǔn)我還可以煽風(fēng)點(diǎn)火，使之成為萬(wàn)丈高焰呢。24).Smolder (p98) v. Burn slowly without a flame

47、悶燒，熏 燒 eg. The campfire smoldered for hours after the blaze died out. to be filled with a strong emotion that you do not fully express(感情）郁積，壓在心頭 eg. His eyes smoldered with anger.25).Lawyers have a trail (p105): Lawyers have a written summary of the main points of a case to guide them during a trai

48、l.(律師在審案時(shí)可以查看辯護(hù)狀。）If Madame Curiewould not know about radium.(p111) : It is a drawer with a chunk of pitchblende, that people nowadays know about radium. 假如當(dāng)初居里夫人不是湊巧把一張相片底片落在裝有一塊瀝青鈾礦石的抽屜里，那么，當(dāng)今世人或許還不知道鐳究竟為何物呢26).Fracture (Pa112) v. to make fascinated about sth. （ 美俚）使著迷. eg. Her beauty fractured me

49、.Gurgle v. (嬰兒高興時(shí)）發(fā)出咯咯的笑聲Notorious adj. well known for being bad 聲名狼藉的， 臭名昭著的 eg. Those days everyone in the town was talking about the notorious murderer and his gang. 反義詞 famous celebrated renowned Indignation n . a feeling of anger and surprise coming out of a sense of unfairness 義憤 ， 憤慨 eg. Indi

50、gnation at the injustice對(duì)不公平的憤慨Exultant adj. Feeling great happiness and excitement 興高采烈的 eg. Exultant crowds were dancing in the street Hamstring v. disable by cutting a hamstring; lessen or destroy the power or effectiveness of使不能正常（或行動(dòng)）；妨礙 eg. Police officers claim that they are hamstring by regu

51、lation and paperwork .警官們聲稱(chēng)他們的活動(dòng)受到了規(guī)約條款和文書(shū)工作的限制 27).There is a limit to what flesh and blood can bear . synecdoche， flesh and blood 代替human being28).The first man has poisoned the well before anybody could drink from it . metaphor ，把說(shuō)話(huà)者的個(gè)人攻擊比作投毒下井。Part 4 Part 4(126-154) 1. main idea: It ironically r

52、epresents the seemingly Pygmalion effect, which turns out to be a Frankenstein tragedy and forms the climax of the story.2. Questions to think1).After the failure of logic teaching, why he still want a more try?2).Dobie first described Polly as “a logic-proof head” and then said “ Im proud of you.”

53、Was it the fact that Polly suddenly became clever due to Dobies teaching of logic?3).Pay attention to the language of Polly, which is full of slangs and colloquialisms. Does her language create a effect of irony?4).Someone said that Dobie always think sth with ration, while Pollys brain is full of e

54、motion, the different thinking style predict Dobies failing .Do you agree ? If so, Find out some examples in the text. 5).Do you think true love is based on the management of logic or the gradual develpment of emotion? why?6). Why does the narrator refers to Pygmalion and Frankenstein ?7).Are these

55、allusions chosen aptly ?2. Language points:1).“You are the whole world to me ,and the moon and the stars space .” (Para 135)For me you are as important as the whole world ,the moon ,the stars ,and the universe .- Exaggeration2).Languish : lose vigor and strength ; become weak 變得衰弱無(wú)力，長(zhǎng)期受苦 Her interes

56、t has greatly languished . 她的興趣已經(jīng)大減了.3）.That did it ,” (Para 147) That made me lose my self-control . - Ellipsis4）.After he promised ,after he made a deal ,after he shook my hand .” ( Para 151 ) He did traitorous act after he promised ,after he made a deal , after he shook my hand .(省略句省略句）5）.Modula

57、te: change the quality of the voice by making it lower ,louder or safer 變調(diào)，調(diào)節(jié)音量 eg : The music modulates from G to D .6.“Lets look at this thing logically , a guy wholl never know where his next meal is coming from .”( Para 153 ) antithesis Brilliant , intellectural 和assured 對(duì)照knothead ,jetterbug 和n

58、ever know where next meal is coming from .1. fast pace with a racy dialogue full of American colloquialism and slangs. He employs a great variety of writing techniques to make his story vivid, dramatic and colorful. . Effective writing skills2.The lexical spectrum is colorfulfrom the ultra learned t

59、erms to the infra clipped vulgar forms to fit in each fuse figurative language and also grammatical inversion for special emphasis. The speed of the narration is maintained by the use of short sentences, elliptical sentences and dashes throughout the story. This mix adds to the realis

60、m of the story. Logical fallacy1.Dicto Simplicity the fallacy is committed by an argument that applies a general rule to a particular case in which some special circumstances make the rule inappropriate. Car is fast. Therefore every time we hang out, we should drive a car. Dog is a pet. Everyone lik