Unit Eleven A Friend in Need I. Background Information 1. About the author  Somerset Maugham (1874 --- 1965) is a British novelist, playwright, short-story writer, highest paid author in the world in the 1930s. Despite his popularity, Maugham did not gain serious recognition. This was expressed in his autobiography THE SUMMING UP (1938) that he stood 'in the very first row of the second-raters'. In many novels the surroundings are international and the stories are told in clear, economical style with cynical or resigned undertone. Popular works: THE MOON AND SIXPENCE His Selected Works: LIZA OF LAMBETH, 1897 ORIENTATIONS, 1899 MRS. CRADDOCK, 1902 - Rouva Craddock A MAN OF HONOUR, 1903 THE BISHOP'S APRON, 1906 THE MAGICIAN, 1908 - (the central character, lightly disguised, is occultist Aleister Crowley) PENELOPE, 1909 LADY FREDERICK. 1912 JACK STRAW, 1912 MRS DOT, 1912 OF HUMAN BONDAGE, 1915 - El?m?n kahle - films: 1934, dir. by John Cromwell; 1946, dir. by Edmund Gouldig; 1964, dir. by Henry Hathaway, Ken Hughes THE MOON AND SIXPENCE, 1919 - Kuu ja kupariraha - film: 1943, dir. by Albert Lewin THE CIRCLE, 1921 - Ympyr? - film: 1925, dir. by Frank Borzage SADIE THOMPSON, 1921 - films: 1928, dir. by Raoul Walsh, starring Gloria Swanson, Lionel Barrymore; Rain (1932), dir. by Lewis Milestone, starring Joan Crawford, Walter Huston; Sade / Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) , dir. by Curtis Bernhardt, starring Rita Hayworth and Mel Ferrer - also a film adaptation under the title Dirty Gertie from Harlem, U.S.A. THE TREMBLING OF A LEAF, 1921 EAST OF SUEZ, 1922 - Suezin it?puolella - film: 1925, dir. by Raoul Walsh ON CHINESE SCREEN, 1922 OUR BETTERS, 1923 - film: 1933. dir. by George Cukor THE PAINTED VEIL, 1925 - Kirjava huntu - film: 1934, dir. by Richard Boleslawski THE CONSTANT WIFE, 1925 - Viisas aviovaimo THE CASUARINA TREE, 1926 THE LETTER, 1927 - Kirje - film: 1940, dir. by William Wyler THE SACRED FLAME, 1928 - Pyh? liekki - film: The Right to Live (1935), dir. by William Keighley ASHENDEN, 1928 - film: Secret Agent (1936), based on the 'The Traitor' and 'The Hairless Mexican', and the play by Campbell Dixon, dir. by Alfred Hitchcock, , starring John Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll, Peter Lorre, Robert Young, Percy Marmont THE BREADWINNER, 1930 CAKES AND ALE, 1930 - El?m?lt? se maistui FIRST PERSON SINGULAR, 1931 COLLECTED PLAYS, 1931-34 THE NARROW CORNER, 1932 FOR SERVICES RENTED, 1932 COLLECTED PLAYS, 1933 SHEPPEY, 1933 - P??voitto AH KING, 1933 COSMOPOLITANS, 1936 THE THEATRE, 1937 - N?yttelij?t?r - film: 2004, dir. by Istvan Szabo, starring Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Shaun Evans THE SUMMING UP, 1938 - Tilinteko CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY, 1939 - film: 1944, dir. by Robert Siodmark THE MIXTURE AS BEFORE, 1940 UP AT THE VILLA, 1941 - film: 2000, dir. by Philip Haas, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Sean Penn STRICTLY PERSONAL, 1941 THE HOUR BEFORE THE DAWN, 1942 THE RAZOR'S EDGE, 1944 - Veitsen ter?ll? - films: 1946, dir. by Edmund Goulding; 1984, dir. by John Byrum, starring Bill Murray, Theresa Russell and Denholm Elliott THEN AND NOW, 1946 - Eik? mik??n muutu CREATURES OF CIRCUMSTANCES, 1947 CATALINA, 1948 A WRITER'S NOTEBOOK, 1949 THE COMPLETE SHORT STORIES, 1951 THE VAGRANT MOOD, 1952 SELECTED NOVELS, 1953 TEN NOVELS AND THEIR AUTHORS, 1954 FAR AND WIDE, 1955 BEST SHORT STORIES, 1957 POINTS OF VIEW, 1958 LOOKING BACK, 1962 SELECTED PREFACES AND INTRODUCTIONS, 1963 SEVENTEEN LOST STORIES, 1969 SEVENTEEN LOST STORIES, 1969 A TRAVELLER IN ROMANCE, 1984 2. Kobe: a seaport on the southern coast of Honshu island, Japan, which was founded in 1868. Yokohama: a seaport on Tokyo Bay, Japan, 29 km. southwest of Tokyo. In 1859 it was the first Japanese port open to foreign trade. 3. Maugham used different methods to convince the reader of his point of view, that first impressions of a person are often more wrong than right. a). The narrative employed in this piece of writing is not in the usual chronological order but flashback is used. b). The writer succeeds in choosing details that are relevant to his purpose and the effect he wants to create. c). Maugham keeps the narrative moving forward through dialogue. d). Maugham uses a narrator who speaks in the first person to tell the story---- to express what they may well also be Maugham’s own point of view. e). The author makes use of what turns out to be an ironic title. II. Language Points in accordance with: in a way that agrees with Mr. Owl did every task in accordance with the regulations of the college. Reform in medical profession is carried out in accordance with the principles set by the State Council. accordingly: It’s a difficult job and they should be paid accordingly. The workforce have recently been calling for their working hours to be reduced. Many companies have accordingly switched to a five-day week. 2. something of an athlete----- rather an athlete, a fairly good athlete He is something of a veterinarian. (He is rather a good veterinarian.) Similar phrase: much of a … He is not much of a cook at home. In my eyes. Tom is more of a teacher than his elder brother. 3. uncanny: mysterious; not natural or usually (synonym: weird) I had this uncanny feeling that Alice was warning me. It seems uncanny to hear hoer voice from the other side of the world. canny: careful and shrewd, especially where one's own interests are concerned The old lady is canny for her age. 4. catch sight of : catch /get a glimpse of ; have a look I caught a glimpse of our new neighbor. Her worried face gave me a glimpse of her true feelings. 5. a namesake of mine: a person who share the same name I often get letters belonging to my namesake John Smith down the street; it’s confusing that we’re namesakes. 6. glimmering: glimmer some glimmerings of interest glimmer: to give a very faint, unsteady light A faint light glimmered at the end of the –passage. a glimmer of hope 一线希望 a glimmer of intelligence 很少一点情报 7. take aback: to surprise and confuse someone The price of the coat rather took me aback. $1000. It’s robbery. Your request took me aback. 8. tin god: a person of limited importance who acts as though he were more important than he is. 9. funk: to shrink from in fright or dread; to avoid because of fear or lack of will to funk a difficulty We all funked telling her the truth. funk: n. coward (rare) 10. constitution: general condition of a person’s body & mind She was born with a strong constitution. (Synonym: physique) He has a weak constitution. be of strong constitution the constitution of one's mind and character某人之心理和性格的素质 the constitution of starch 淀粉的组成 Constitution(宪法) of China constitute: to be the elements or parts of; compose: Correct grammar and sentence structure do not in themselves constitute good writing. Working under a woman constituted the ultimate indignity for me. 11. dissipate: to drive away; disperse; to scatter The wind quickly dissipated the clouds. The office boy tried to dissipate the smoke by opening a window of the meeting room. to spend, waste or use up foolishly Don't dissipate your efforts. Francis dissipated his large fortune inherited from his grandfather in a few years. Quiz 10&11 Name ______________ Score ______________ I. Explain the following words, phrases and sentences in your own words. 1. benign: 2. funk: 3. candid: 4. uncanny: 5. constitution (unit 11): 6. spacious: 7. quintessential: 8. tempo: 9. static: 10. He was only wild: 11. embody: 12. He was down and out. 13. That bespeaks a responsibility on the part of the hearer.. 14. …streaked with human frailties. 15. It is not so much the composer that the listener hears as the interpreter’s conception of the composer. II. Translate the following sentences into Chinese. III. Write out the antonyms of the following expressions. No composer can write into his music a value that he does not posses a man. I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. He was always neatly and quietly dressed in accordance with his age and station. So that in most cases we can take technical proficiency for granted. 1. stray away   2. insane   3. affected   4. mild   5. physical   6. sufficient   7. agreeable   8. ordinary  IV. Make a sentence with each of the following phrases, with no less than 12 words. something of leave no room for derive from take aback 5. be confronted with V. Translate the following into English. 他在债权人的任意摆布下，处境十分危急。 2． 期末考试日期临近， 同学们愈加发愁了。 3． 这位具有高度的责任感和敏锐的洞察力的领导英年早逝，他年迈的父母悲痛欲绝。