1、A Dill PickleKatherine Mansfield,A Dill Pickle Katherine Mansfield,About the Author About the Text main idea / word study / sentence paraphrase In-class Discussion Key to the Exercises After-class Questions,About the Author,Katherine Mansfield An outstanding short story writer. She was born in Welli

2、ngton, New Zealand in 1888. She studied at Queens College, London, where she met D.H. Lawrence and John Middleton Murry, a famous critic, whom she later married. After years of ill-health and struggle as a freelance writer and reviewer, she achieved success with Bliss and Other Stories (1920) and Th

3、e Garden Party (1922). Just as she won world fame, however, her health grew worse. She died of tuberculosis in 1923.,About the Author,Katherine Mansfield Critics praised her for her capturing the essence of Chekhovs art for stories emphasizing atmosphere and actual life rather than exciting plot, an

4、d for her “refreshing originality” and “ sensitivity to beauty”.,New Zealands most famous writer, who was closely associated with D.H. Lawrence and something of a rival of Virginia Wolf. Mansfields creative years were burdened with loneliness, illness, jealousy, alienation - all this reflected in he

5、r work with the bitter depiction of marital and family relationships of her middle-class characters. Her short stories are also notable for their use of stream of consciousness. Like the Russian writer Anton Chekhov, Mansfield depicted trivial events and subtle changes in human behavior.,About the A

6、uthor,About the TextMain Idea,This is a story about a young man and a young woman who had been lovers once and now meet again after six years of separation, and as they reminisce, we begin to know what happened six years ago that finally led to the end of their relationship. In the story, the author

7、 artfully points up Vera, the heroines sensitivity and the mans insensitivity to others their feeling, attitudes and motivations,and the mans self-involvement.,About the TextWord Study,egoist: n. a person who is always thinking about themselves or what is best for themselves. egoism n. egoistic/egoi

8、stical adj. luxury n. sth that is expensive and enjoyable, but not essential, e.g. a luxury hotel/flat; live in luxury; live/lead a life of luxury luxurious adj.,About the TextWord Study,exasperate: n. annoy, vex, irritate very much, e.g. She was exasperated at/by his stupidity. haunt: vi. to visit

9、(said of ghosts) regularly; Here: to return repeatedly to the mind, e.g. a haunting melody,About the TextWord Study,maniac n. (1) mad person;wild and foolish person (2) (derog or joc) person with extreme liking (for sth) e.g. Shes a football maniac. maniacal adj : violently mad; extremely enthusiast

10、ic e.g. maniacal behavior, a maniacal expression on his face air n. appearance, manner, carriage,bearing e.g. She set about her task with an air of quiet confidence.,About the TextWord Study,grimace n. an ugly twisted expression on the face to cause laughter or to show pain,disgust,etc e.g. Bernie g

11、ave a grimace of disgust and left the room. grimace vi (at sb/sth) e.g. She grimaced in/with distaste a the thought of it. pagoda n. religious building on Asia, usu a tall tower with several stories each of which has its own overhanging roof,About the TextWord Study,infuriate: vt. make sb extremely

12、angry e.g. I was infuriated by/with their constant criticism. It infuriated me to think of the money weve wasted. infuriating adj. very annoying e.g. It was infuriating to be so close and get unable to contact them. melancholy: adj. very sad,causing sadness e.g. A funeral is a melancholy occasion.,A

13、bout the TextWord Study,impulsive adj. (of people or their behavior) marked by sudden action that is undertaken without careful thought e.g. an impulsive man, comment, decision In a burst of impulsive generosity, I offered to pay. impulse n. (on impulse) impulsive adj. impulsion n. impulsiveness n.,

14、About the TextWord Study,barbarian: n. a person who is primitive or uncivilized barbaric/barbarous adj. barbarism n. barbarity n. decorate: vt. to put things in a room or house to make it more beautiful, e.g. We decorated the Christmas tree with tinsel lights. decorator n. decorative adj. decoration

15、 n.,About the TextWord Study,loathe: hate sth very much Expansion: the synonyms of a word which are in meaning, e.g. to dislike (to loathe); to like (to adore); small (tiny); big (huge, enormous, immense, colossal); sure (positive); possible (probable); to surprise (to stun; to shock); angry (furiou

16、s); hungry (famished); tired (exhausted); pleased (overjoyed); interesting (fascinating); many (numerous); fine (excellent; superb); poor (destitute); old (ancient),About the TextWord Study,mysterious adj. 1. full of mystery; hard to understand or explain, e.g. a mysterious event/crime 2. Keeping or

17、 liking to keep things secret e.g. He was being very mysterious ,and wouldnt tell me what he was up to. mystery n. mysteriously adv. self-engrossed adj occupied with ones own thoughts or interest; paying no attention to anything other than ones own business,About the TextExpressions,peel an orange:

18、take off the peel of an orange to peel potatoes; to husk the rice; to shell the peas; to wed the garden; to skin a cat; to gut the fish; to dust the tables You were saying: an expression used to encourage someone you just interrupted to continue to speak this thick of his: more emphatic than “ his t

19、rick”, e.g. “ look at that son of yours,” the husband shouted at his wife, “ he stinks!”,About the TextExpressions,for all: in spite of all, e.g. (1). For all our efforts, we still couldntt save his life. (2). For all his power,he is still the most despised person. out of all proportion to the occas

20、ion: (1).completely uncalled for; totally unnecessary under the circumstances (2).a reaction, result, emotion, etc that is out of proportion is too strong or great, compared to the situation in which it happen. e.g. The fear of violent crime has now out of proportion to the actual risk.,About the Te

21、xtExpressions,find ones place in life: to find a successful career apart from: some distance away from compare: Apart from (Besides) these reasons, there is yet another factor. mournful lover: sad lovers whose greatest wish is to die together,1. But now,as he spoke,that memory faded. His was the tru

22、er. (para 15) But now, as he spoke, that memory about the ridiculous scene gradually disappeared. After all, his memory was the truer one. They did have a good time on the whole that afternoon. 2. He had lost all that dreamy vagueness and indecision. Now he had the air of a man who has found his pla

23、ce in life. At that time, the man was much younger, full of dreams,very unpractical, very unclear about what he should do with his life. But now he looked like a man who has found a successful career.,About the Text Sentence Paraphrase,About the Text Sentence Paraphrase,3. As he spoke,she felt the s

24、trange east that had slumbered so longhungry stare upon those places. “ The strange beast” probably refers to her long-cherished wish to travel to all those distant and mysterious places. It had been hidden deep in her heart for quite a long time because it was impossible for her to realize it given

25、 her financial and health conditions. But now this old wish seemed to be suddenly awakened.,About the Text Sentence Paraphrase,4. Only I did desire, eventually, to turn into a magic carpet and carry you away to all those lands you longed to see. a) magic carpet: The allusion comes from the story in

26、the Arabian Nights which describes how a magic carpet can carry people wherever hey wish to go. b) Once again we see the other side of the man. He can sometimes say beautiful things.,About the Text Sentence Paraphrase,5. As he spoke she lifted her head as though she drank something; the strange beas

27、t in her bosom began to purr She had just heard something which was so comforting and refreshing that she felt good. Her long buried love for the man seemed to wake up again.,In-class Discussion,Questions on Comprehension Two, she had to go from place to place, chasing after warm sunshine, and there

28、fore found it impossible to carry the piano with her; Three, she was financially hard up and needed money.,Read for Details,4. (a). It indicates that Vera was going to leave. (b). The ma said “It seems such ages ago” whereas it was only 6 years, showing that he had practically forgotten everything a

29、bout their past love; The man also said that he had to take such a leap to that time, showing again that he had ceased to cherish that memory. What hurt her most however, was the way he described how he couldnt help laughing the other day when he read her last latter again, the letter she must have

30、found it very difficult to write six years ago. He practically treated the whole thing as a joke.,Read for Details,5. It is just a pretty accurate description of the man himself. He is making an important confession: he really has not a corner in his heart for anyone else. Therefore Vera was right to leave him 6 years ago and she is also right to leave him now.,Key to the Exercises Pre-class work, decor