1、Unit 5: Fourteen Steps,Warm-up Discussion,Can an invalid lead a happy life? And how?,Disability Etiquette,“Do not assume”: “a person with a disability either wants or requires assistance.” “rejection of aid is meant as a personal offense.” “a person who appears to have one kind of disability also ha

2、s others.” “a disabled person is dissatisfied with her quality of life, and is thus seeking pity.” “that when a person with a disability is in a public place, they are being escorted by a caretaker, instead of traveling alone.”,Structural Analysis,Part I (1-2) It depicts the authors first phase of l

3、ife in which he began to enjoy everything pleasant: excellent health, a good job, a nice house, a happy family and lovely daughters. Part II (3-5) The author describes his second life. Because of his disease, he became miserable and frustrated. Part III (6-8) The authors third life began with the tr

4、ouble of his car on the stormy night and he described the blind mans magnanimous, selfless help. Part IV (9-10) The author reflected on the incident and his life philosophy, from which he discovered the true value of life.,Paragraphs 1-2:,If authors first life could be further divided into two phase

5、s, what would they be? How would you describe the authors first life?,.A cat has nine lives (para. 1),English proverb which indicates that cats are very tough. They seem able to survive accidents and hardships. Ex. God knows how hes still alive. He must have nine lives like a cat.,Language Work:,Be

6、inclined to: to be likely or tend to Ex. Generally speaking, people are inclined to trust people that are formally dressed. Paralyze: to cause to be unable to move; (figuratively) to make sth unable to operate normally; Ex. The power failure left the whole city paralyzed. Ex. The blizzard in south C

7、hina in early 2008 paralyzed the transportation systems of many cities.,*,Afflict: (passive) to cause severe suffering or pain Ex. My aunt has been afflicted with bad eyesight all her life and she is thinking about getting a laser surgery. Ex. Pollution might be one of the major problems currently a

8、fflicting Third World countries. (n.) affliction,Paragraphs 3-5,Whats the significance of the 14 steps in the authors home? What does the author mean by “And I managed to keep my health and optimism, to a degree, because of 14 steps”?,“And I managed to keep my health and optimism, to a degree, becau

9、se of 14 steps”?,In a way, the daily exercise of climbing helped to keep his physical capability (health), which in turn made him optimistic that he could continue living.,Language Work,With the aid of: with the help of install: to set up Ex. The cost of installing a computer system can be justified

10、 in terms of greater efficiency. (n.) installation To a degree: partly Ex. To a degree this course of action was forced upon her.,Split-Level House復(fù)式住宅,A house having its living room area on the main floor, with stairs leading upward to the bedrooms approximately a half-story higher; and other stair

11、s leading downward, a half-story lower, to the kitchen and/or dining areas and to a laundry or utility room; often has no attic, cellar, or porch for reasons of economy.,Language Work,Affair: 1) (infml) an object of specific kind Ex. Her hat was an amazing affair with feathers and a huge brim. 2) af

12、fairs pl. events that are of public interest or political importance; Ex. world/international/business/foreign/current affairs 3) sexual relationship with. Ex. She is having an affair with her boss.,*,Gauge: a fact you can use to judge a person or situation (用以對人或局勢作出判斷的)事實(shí) (n.) instrument of measur

13、ing amount or level of (v.) make an estimate/judgment of/about Ex. We need to gauge where this progressively inflating patriotism will lead us to. Ex. They interviewed employees to gauge their reaction to the changes.,Yardstick: a standard of measurement or comparison (衡量或比較的)標(biāo)準(zhǔn); 尺度 Ex. Do you think

14、 the TOEFL score is a good yardstick for English proficiency? Ex. Exam results are not the only yardstick of a schools performance.,Language Work,utterly: completely Ex. Without UN help it would have been utterly impossible to arrange the conference. Ex. We utterly reject the philosophy of compulsor

15、y wage control. utter (vt.) (formal) to make a sound with your voice Ex. She did not utter a word during lunch (= said nothing). utterance (n.),Language Work,Spent: (literature) extremely tired; exhausted; Ex. After the gruelling test, he felt totally spent. Ex. Mr. Green looked pale and spent after

16、 his trip to South Africa. Through (with): you have finished using sth or have ended a relationship with sb; Ex. Are you through with that newspaper? Ex. Todd and I are through.,Hobble: to walk with difficulty Ex. I hurt my right foot in the baseball match so I had to hobble home. (syn.) limp hobble

17、 skirt,*,Disillusioned: disappointed Ex. Impossibly high expectations of the new regime have left many voters disillusioned. Ex. I hate to disillusion you, but not everyone is as honest as you. disillusionment Hold on to: to keep ones grip on; not to let go of Ex. Jonathan held on to his belief that

18、 he could become very successful in the big apple eventually.,Miserable Steps?,Transferred epithet (移情，移就): is a rhetorical device in which a modifier, usually an adjective, is applied to the wrong word in the sentence. The word whose modifier is thus displaced can either be actually present in the

19、sentence, or it can be implied logically. In everyday speech, a person with a blind dog is more likely to be blind than the dog is. restless night careless error happy morning,More examples,無情的寒意( pitiless cold ) 勞苦的夏日( laborious summer) 辛媚和李梅亭吃幾顆疲乏的花生米, 灌半壺冷淡的茶, 同出門找教育機(jī)關(guān)了( 錢鐘書) Darrow had whispered

20、, throwing a reassuring arm round my shoulder as we were waiting for the court to open. (J. Scopes),What is epithet, then?,An adjective or adjectival phrase used to define a characteristic quality or attribute of some person or thing. Common in historical titles, such as the Great in Catherine the G

21、reat, Charles the Fat alongside Charles the Bald . Ex. The film is long and dramatic but does not quite earn the epithet epic.,Paragraph 6:,Why did the author dismiss the thought at once that anyone would offer help at the moment? How can you understand “as the enormity of the situation swept over m

22、e”?,*,Enormity: the quality of being very great, especially in difficulty; immense size Ex. If Id known the enormity of the task before I took it, I wouldnt have volunteered to do it. Ex. The full enormity of the crime has not yet been revealed. enormities 暴行，嚴(yán)重罪行 sweep: to move quickly and smoothly

23、 (all over) Ex. A wave of panic swept over her. Ex. A new dance craze swept the country.,the enormity of the situation swept over me (Para. 6):,the seriousness and helplessness of the situation gripped me. Or as i was seized with the seriousness and helplessness.,Language Work:,Gusty: characterized

24、by or blowing in strong rushes of wind Ex. This cold and gusty day is really bad for our company picnic. gust Slash: 1) (especially of wind) to come hard down and across 2) often passive (often used in newspapers) to reduce sth by a large amount; Ex. to slash costs/prices/fares, etc. Ex. The workfor

25、ce has been slashed by half.,Language Work:,Slash and burn: relating to a method of farming in which existing plants, crops, etc. are cut down and burned before new seeds are planted: Ex. slash-and-burn agriculture (刀耕火種) Jerk: to pull suddenly and quickly Ex. He jerked the string and the puppet jum

26、ped at once.,*,Blowout: a sudden bursting of a tire Slick: smooth and slippery Ex. Be careful my mom just waxed the floor so it is super slick. Shoulder of the road: 路肩 路肩指公路兩側(cè)由路面邊緣到 路基邊緣的部分。 作用:與行車道連接在一起,作為 路面的橫向支承，可供緊急情況下 停車或堆放養(yǎng)路材料使用,Dismiss: 1) decide that sb/sth is not important and not worth th

27、inking or talking about; Ex. I think we can safely dismiss their objections. 2) to put thoughts or feelings out of your mind; Ex. Dismissing her fears, she climbed higher. 3) to officially remove sb from their job (fire/sack); Ex. She claims she was unfairly dismissed from her post. n. dismissal,*,T

28、hump: to produce a repeated dull sound by driving heavily Ex. The exciting news of winning the lottery made her heart thump. Ex. (informal) Ill thump you if you say that again. Driveway: a road for vehicles that connects a private house Horn: an apparatus, e.g. in a car, which makes a loud warning s

29、ound,Paragraph 7,Was there any hint that indicates something unusual about the man? How did the author feel when the man and the little girl were working in the storm to change the flat tire?,*,Peer at: to look very carefully or hard at, esp. when you cannot see it clearly: Ex. The children are peer

30、ing at Mike because he is a stranger in this town. Ex. She kept peering over her shoulder. Bundle: to put together or store hastily and untidily Ex. She was late for her plane so she bundled her clothes into a bag. Ex. He had been bundled into the back of a Volkswagen by three masked men.,Slacken: t

31、o become slower or less active Ex. The slackening demand for coal in this city is an interesting phenomenon. Ex. She slackened her pace a little (= walked a little more slowly). Ex. He slackened the ropes slightly. (loosen) slacker,*,Jack: an apparatus for lifting a car off the ground Jack up: to li

32、ft with a jack; (figurative) to increase a lot Ex. Theyve jacked up the price of gasoline in order to make a huge profit. Tilt: to cause to slope Ex. The table top suddenly tilted and all the plates crashed onto the floor.,Paragraph 8:,Why did the old man refuse to accept the authors money? When did

33、 the author realize that the old man was blind?,Language Work:,Frail: weak and poor in health Ex. Tim is too wrapped up in his work so he looks very weak and frail. Ex. Human nature is frail. frailty human frailty 人性的弱點(diǎn) Be all set: to be ready; to be prepared Ex. Im all set, lets go shopping now.,Pa

34、ragraphs 9-10,How did the author react to the girls words? He was stunned for a few seconds, filled with shame and horror, because as a handicapped man, he had taken others help for granted, but had never expected that a blind man would work on the dark stormy night for him out of pure warm-heartedn

35、ess for a fellow human being.,Paragraphs 9-10,How did the author re-evaluate the 14 steps? He came to be aware that some people who had the same or more serious adversity were always ready to offer help. For him the 14 steps were not the whole thing in his life. There are other people he should give

36、 help to when he was struggling against the adversity.,In the next fewI had never felt before (Para. 9),In the next few seemingly never-ending seconds I was never so overwhelmed by such shame and horror.,all things whateverso to them (Para. 10):,originally taken from the Bible which is interpreted a

37、s “do to other people whatever you would like them to do to you.” The converse part of the saying is: “do not do to other people whatever you wouldnt like them to do to you.”,*,Penetrate: 1) to enter or see (into/through) Ex. Our eyes could not penetrate the darkness. 2) to succeed in entering or jo

38、ining an organization, a group, etc. especially when this is difficult to do; Ex. The party has been penetrated by extremists. Ex. They are hoping to penetrate the Japanese market with their new product. (figurative) Penetrating: (of sbs eyes or the way they look at you) making you feel uncomfortabl

39、e because the person seems to know what you are thinking: Ex. a penetrating gaze/look/stare Ex. the penetrating cold/damp/smell (spreading deeply or widely),Overflow with: to be very full of Ex. His heart overflowed with gratitude and he suddenly started to cry. Indifference: not caring about Ex. Th

40、e couple is seeing a marriage counselor because the man treats his wife with complete indifference. Whatsoever: whatever Ex. Goats eat whatsoever food they can find.,Scriptural: according to a holy writing, especially the Bible Admonition: an admonishing act Ex. The witness received admonition from

41、the judge for failing to answer the question.,Key to Exercises,Text Comprehension,B 1-5. FTFTF 1. Here walked a sad man with little hope for his future, and everything he possessed at that time(his wife, his home, his job and his normal life) depended on his painful effort to climb these 14 steps. 2

42、. In the next few seconds I was filled with such great shame and horror that I was speechless. I had never been so sick about what I had done before.,Vocabulary,1. a disease that gradually became more and more serious 2. with the help of 3. looking very carefully and hard at 4. are ready 5. not cari

43、ng about,Vocabulary,1. tilted 2. led up to 3. hold on to 4. care for 5. is inclined to 6. make a living 7. follow.example 8. to a degree,Vocabulary,1. inclination 2. indifferent 3. penetration 4. frailty 5. affliction 6. excellence 7. progressively 8. disillusionment 1-4. A C B D5-8. B A D B,Vocabul

44、ary,1. pessimism 2. painfully, desperately 3. cheerless, unhappy, gloomy 4. fortunately 5. weak, feeble 6. disappointed 7. selflessness, unselfishness 8. period,Vocabulary,1. in the same way 2. in progress 3. with no concern 4. coming soon 5. something ready for use 6. handy to use 7. preventing the passage of sound 8. almost or entirely surrounded by land,Grammar,1. About 100 students 2. more or less 40 pages 3. There are 30 or so questions 4. two hours or thereabouts 5. some four miles 6. 50ish,Grammar,1. a nap 2. very good indeed 3. in a mess 4. on hands and knees 5. very much better th