A NEW ENGLISH COURSE 3 UNIT ONE My First Job I. General understanding of the text Technique of narration, the form of discourse generally used in novels, short stories and plays. Narrative writing tells a story, either briefly or at some length. In a narrative piece of writing, the sequential occurrence of events is vital. II. Duration of Time: Six periods III. Objectives On completion of the unit, students are expected to understand the technique of narration in the text, learn to write the development of a thing or event, and to analyze and appreciate the role of narration. IV. Difficult Points Understanding the significance of narration in the story. The writer’s description of the school, both outside and inside, and of the headmaster’s appearance and his manners, prepares the readers for the unpleasantness of the job interview. The writer’s careful selection and organization of the many specific details contribute effectively to the primary narrative purpose of convincing the reader of the unpleasantness of his first job interview. VI. Teaching Procedures A. Bring out the topic of students’ job hunting experiences during the summer vacation. The teacher either asks some students about their personal bitter/sweet experiences or invite several students to the podium to talk on this topic. Then at the proper time, the teacher take over the topic, naturally shit the topic and draw students’ attention to the text. B. Ask students to guess the main idea of the text, then tell them to go over the text rapidly once without worrying about the new words and phrases. The suggested time limit is 3 minutes. C. Mention to the students the key words and phrases in each paragraph: Para 1. a teaching post advertised, very short of money, I applied Para 2. an interview Para 3. school (a host of supporting details) Para 4. the headmaster himself Para 5. an air of surprised disapproval, proceeded to asks me a number of questions. Para 6. one class of twenty-four boys, teach all subjects except art Para 7. teaching set-up appalled me; I was dismayed Para 8. my salary: 12 pounds a week plus lunch Para 9. last straw Then do comprehension exercise on pages 1 and 2 in Workbook. Key: T. F. F. T. F. F. D. Do the vocabulary exercise on pages 2 and 3. Key: Section A: f. h. c. b. g. e. d. a Section B: 1. inconvenient and uncomfortable; 2. sad, low in spirits; 3. gloomy, cheerless; 4. make a short deep rough sound (like a pig), showing dissatisfaction; 5. very necessary, important; 6. shock deeply, fill with fear; 7. timidly, fearfully; 8. greatest, extreme E. Details of the text. (1) teaching post: position, vacancy (2) be short of money: have little or no money Some euphemistic expressions: needy, in need, be deprived i.e. The timid boy was short of confidence. At the end of the month he was short of money. (3) chances: possibility i.e. Chances are that they will not come to join us. i.e. Chances are that it will rain this afternoon. (4) land: get, obtain (5) slim: pleasantly thin Compare: slim vs. thin/lanky plumb vs. fat/rotund (6) summon sb. to somewhere i.e. The manager summoned his employees to the meeting room. (7) It proved an awkward journey. prove: turn out to be sth. i.e. His efforts proved a big success. The Peterson’s reckless driving proved a disaster to his family. (8) awkward: inconvenient, uncomfortable (9) as a result: in the end, finally (10) depressed: sad, low-spirited (11) dreary: sad, cheerless, equivalent to depressed. The writer used this word in stead of depressed to avoid repetition and monotony. (12) gabled: three-cornered/triangular wall or roof (13) Victorian: refers to the trends in British architecture and furniture in the Victorian era (1837-1901). Building style of the time was typical of brightly painted brick and wrapped in broad porches with strong color contrasts through its materials—red/black brick and cream-colored stone—and through roofs covered with bands of slate in red, black and cream color. (14) staring sash windows: Staring is personification of a person looking at somebody with big eyes, hence, it implies big. The phrase means windows with big frames, and implies unpleasantness. (15) gravel: covered with small stones. (16) struggle to do: try to do (17) survive the dust and fumes: (the shrubs) were still alive even though they were harmed by dust and fumes. i.e. Many villagers survived the heavy floods. Only 12 passengers survived the plane crash. (18) rotund: (humorous) fat and round-shaped (19) sandy-colored: word formation—adj.+n.ed i.e. long-haired, sandy: yellow, tinged with red or brown (20) freckle: small brownish patch on sb’s skin, particularly on the face (21) hardly any hair: implies the headmaster was bald, egg-headed Cf. skin-headed (22) ample: large in physical size, pot-bellied (23) looped: dangling and forming a circular or oval shape (24) silver watch-chain: a vulgar headmaster (25) air: distinctive quality in sb.’s appearance or manner: 态度，样子，神情 i.e. an air of arrogance, an air of complacency (26) stale: not fresh (27) the cream-printed walls had gone: the white walls had faded. (28) dingy: dirty (29) scar: injure with a mark (30) judge by sth. judge according to sth./on the basis of sth. (31) the crumbs on the carpet: “Crumbs” mean small fragments/pieces of something wanted or useless. The phrase implies the carpet is dirty. (32) mantelpiece: the ornamental frame round a fireplace usually made of stone or wood, 壁炉台 (33) cellar: a stock of something (34) proceed to do: go ahead, go on doing. (34) fix me with his bloodshot eyes: stare at me with bloodshot eyes The normal structure of this phrase is “fix eyes on somebody”, and the writer’s peculiar usage is to exaggerate the way the headmaster stared at the interviewee. (35) vital: very important, significant, crucial, very necessary (36) mumble: say something clearly (36) attach something to something (a). attach importance to something/somebody: regard sth./sb. as important; consider sth./sb. important i.e. English majors should attach great importance to their listening and speaking skills. China should attach importance to higher /compulsory education. (b). be attached to something: be a subsidiary part of something i.e. This school is attached to Tsinghua University. This research organization is attached to IBM. (37) have little (nothing, something, a lot) in common (with sth./sb.) (38) teaching set-up: teaching arrangement (39) appall: shock deeply, terrify, make a person full of fear (40) split the class up into three groups: divide the class into three (41) in turn: one after another. Also: take turns to do something (42) dismay: be discouraged or disappointed (43) at the thought of something: when thinking of something. i.e. People feel sorrowful at the thought of the disastrous hurricane in 2005. i.e. The travelers’ legs shook at the thought of climbing up the mountain. (44) not so much … but/as… The structure means “not… but…” i.e. The man isn’t so much a writer as a famous engineer. i.e. We do not worry so much about his qualifications for the work as about his health, for he always works overtime. (45) a crocodile of boys: a line of schoolchildren walking in pairs (46) diffident: lacking in confidence, timid (47) plus: a preposition (48) get to one’s feet: stand up, rise (49) the last straw: the last unbearable trouble (50) constitute: make up the whole or stated part of something Compare: consist of / be composed of / comprise /constitute i.e. The U.K. consists of / is composed of /comprises England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland constitute/comprise the U.K. i.e. The People’s Republic of China consists of / is composed of /comprises 4 municipalities, 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 2 special administrative regions. 4 municipalities, 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 2 special administrative regions constitute/comprise the People’s Republic of China. VII. Teaching Procedures for Text II The Interview (1) Ask students to read the text and do the comprehension exercises in Workbook. (2) Ask students questions to further check their comprehension of the text (a) For what purpose do you think Blakey went to the interview? (b) Why did Blakey feel uneasy when he was asked what had prompted him to want to change to medicine? (c) Why did one of the interviewer say that Blakey was capable of a change of heart? (d) What was the reason that Blakey gave for leaving University without a degree? What did the interviewer think of this reason? (e) Do you think Blakey was well-prepared to answer questions about his financial status? Give your reasons. (f) Why did Blakey at first have a sense of guilt, and why was he then stung by a sense of inadequacy? (g) What do you think was the outcome of the interview? Why do you think so? (3) Let students ask the teacher questions. This is to check if students can take initiatives to study and their attitudes towards their work. VIII. Oral Work A. Role-play: in interview Situation: interviewer—you are the manager of an investment company and you are in urgent need of an efficient secretary. She / He must be good at short-hand and can type at least 60 words per minute. She / He must know at least two foreign languages and have over three years’ experience as a secretary. You are now interviewing Mary. As the interview goes on, you find that she is unqualified for the post. interviewee—you are eager to get a job. You applied for the position of a secretary at an investment company and you are now being interviewed by the manager. You are quite interested in this job because you like doing secretarial work. You have been a typist for two years, but have never learned shorthand. French is the only foreign language you know. You have never been secretary before, but you are willing to learn. In the end, you realize that you are not the right person for the post. B. Interaction Activities: Making Preparations for an Interview Suggestions for the interview: (1) Clothes: desirable—suit, jacket and skirt /trousers, quiet colors, conventional style; undesirable—T-shirt, blue jeans, flared trousers, bright /flowery colors, extremely fashionable style (2) Manners and behavior: desirable—calm, polite, attentive; undesirable—too talkative, too lively, too excited IX. Exercises in Workbook. UNIT TWO Unwillingly on Holliday I. General understanding of the text Technique of narration, the form of discourse generally used in novels, short stories and plays. Students are supposed to recognize that narration includes more than a mere reporting of events, but details finely rendered in plain but effective language. II. Duration of Time: Six periods III. Objectives On completion of the unit, students are expected to understand the technique of narration in the text, learn to analyze the devices that contribute to the effective development of the main idea. V. Difficult Points Understanding how the devices are employed by the writer to arouse the reader’s interest and the detailed description of the boy’s feeling of anger. VI. Teaching Procedures A. Bring out the topic of students’ own holiday spent during their summer vacation. The teacher invites pairs of students to the podium and ask them to talk freely about their holiday. Then at the proper time, the teacher takes over the topic, naturally shit the topic and draw students’ attention to the text. B. Ask students to guess the main idea of the text, then tell them to go over the text rapidly once without worrying about the new words and phrases. The suggested time limit is 5 minutes. C. Draw students’ attention to writer’s good description of the boy’s feeling of anger, echo used in the story and the contradictions on the mind of the mother. The following are some respective examples: a. well-chosen diction for the boy’s feeling of anger: weep tears of anger; raged; bitterly; waved good-bye angrily; in hostile silence; he was being rude b. An echo is created. The story begins with Tom “looking his good-bye” at the garden and ends with his aversion to living in a flat with no garden. c. contradictions on the mind of the mother— She hated to send the boy away, yet she had to do so out of her love for him, so she was apologetic to him, so she was apologetic to him. She didn’t want to see her son unhappy, yet she knew he would be unhappy at his uncle’s, so she tried every means to coax him. Then do comprehension exercise on pages 16 and 17 in Workbook. D. Do the vocabulary exercise on pages 2 and 3. Key: Section A: c. a. g. d. h. b. f. e Section B: 1. yield; 2. look intently and steadily; 3. unpleasantly, crossly; 4. make something unsatisfactory; 5. with obedience; 6. unfriendly; 7. keep in a small space; 8. (of a place) unpleasantly small E. Details of the text. (1) be seen as: be regarded as; be looked at as (2)dread: feel great fear or anxiety about (3) routine: regular or habitual way of doing things (4) account: description (5) look good-by at sth: look at sth., saying good-by (6) rage: be very angry (7) as a rule: usually (8) exception: i.e. You must answer all questions without exception It’s been very cold this month, but today’s whether is an exception. an exception to the rule This problem affects all European countries and Britain is no exception. We don’t usually take cheques, but we’ll make an exception in your case. (9) a vegetable plot: a small piece of land (10) flower-bed: a piece of prepared ground in which flowers are grown (11) rough patch: a uneven piece of land (12) bore: past participle of bear, yield (13) croaking: rough-sounding, hoarse as one has a sore throat (14) cling to sth. past form: clung a. hold tightly, stick firmly i.e. His wet shirt clung to his body The refugees clung to each other for warmth. She is wearing a silk skirt which clung to her figure.她穿一件紧身丝绸裙子 b. figurative meaning i.e. She still clings to the belief that her son is still alivive. (15) be rushed away: be sent away in a hurry. (16) hush: (interjection) silence (17) bend over him: lower one’s body (18) weeks ahead: the coming weeks (19) dismissive push: a push meaning to send to send a person away (20) grateful: thankful. gratitude, ingratitude (21) at short notice: in a hurry i.e. I am sorry I can’t get you a car in such short notice. (22) help sb. out: give help to a person at a time of need (23) wound: past form of wind, turn (24) spoil: ruin (25) careless of: not considering something, regardless of something (26) cost: sacrifice i.e. He saved the children from the fire at the cost of his own life. We must avoid war at all costs / whatever the cost. (27) gesture: a. use of movement of the body, especially of the hands to express certain meaning. i.e. a gesture of impatience, helplessness, despair b. an action which is done to show one’s feelings or intentions i.e. We invited our new neighbors to dinner as a gesture of friendship. (28) hostile: showing extreme dislike or disapproval, unfriendly in hostile silence: trying not to say anything to show a person’s dislike or hate (29) he was being rude: he intended to be impolite temporarily (30) quarantine: separation from a disease i.e. He used to be put under /in quarantine for SARS for a month. (31) be cooped up: be kept in a small place (32) poky: unpleasantly small F. Teaching Procedures for Text II Unwillingly on Holiday (1) Ask students to read the text and do the comprehension exercises in Workbook. (2) Ask students questions to further check their comprehension of the text (a) what is a “rough patch”? (b) What is the implied meaning of the sentence “Tom gazed, and then turned back into the house”? (c) Why did Tom call up at the foot of the stairs instead of going upstairs to say good-bye to Peter? (d) What is meant by “He put his hand out for it”? (e) Why did Tom’s mother mean by “it’s not nice for you to be rushed away like this to avoid the measles”? (f) Why did Tom’s mother whisper something to Tom? (g) What did Mrs. Long mean by “There is so little room in the house when there is illness”? (i) Why did Mrs. Long raise her hands in a gesture of despair? (j) What is meant by “Mother and Father would say I did right”? (3) Let students ask the teacher questions. This is to check if students can take initiatives to study and their attitudes towards their work. VI. Oral Work Role-play: an unforgettable experience You must have had an enjoyable time in the summer vacation. Write down tow of the most unforgettable experiences you had during the vacation, e.g. fishing, reading five of Dickens’s novels, etc. Now exchange experiences with your partner, asking him/her about what hw/she did and telling him/her what you did. After the pair work, decide between your partner and yourself which was the more interesting experience. Then either of you will tell it to the class. VIII. Exercises in Workbook.