Unit Seven A Sunrise on the Veld I. Background Information 1. veld: ( a stretch of ) wild, high, flat, mostly treeless grassland in South Africa bush: wild, uncultivated land, especially in Africa or Australia A Sunrise on the Veld: This is the moving story of a fifteen-year old boy who, while out hunting before dawn, comes across a sight which shocked him --- he finds a wounded young buck being eaten by ants. 2. About the author: Persian (Iranian)-born British writer, whose novels and short stories are largely concerned with people caught in the social and political upheavals of the 20th century. Central themes in Lessing's works are feminism. Her works include: The Grass Is Singing, Five, African Stories, The Summer Before the Dark, The Story of a Non-Marrying Man and Other Stories. Doris Lessing spent her early childhood in Kermanshah, Persia (now Iran), where her English-born father was a bank clerk. In the mid-1920s her father bought a maize farm in Zimbabwe (former Rhodesia), where she grew up. Lessing was educated in Salisbury at a Roman Catholic convent. She left the school at the age of fourteen and worked as a nursemaid, telephone operator and clerk. From the age of 18 she worked at the Rhodesian parliament and helped to start a non-racist left-wing party in the country. Her first marriage ended in 1943. She joined the Communist Party and married the German political activist Gottfried Lessing, who later became the German ambassador to Uganda and was accidentally killed in the 1979 revolt against Idi Amin. Lessing's second marriage did not succeed and in 1949 she moved to England with her youngest child and the manuscript of her first novel, The Grass is Singing, which appeared in 1950. The story was set in Rhodesia and depicted a poor white farmer whose wife has a relationship with their African servant, and who eventually kills her. II. Language Points prey upon ---- hunt and eat (living things) for food Cats prey on mice. Remorse preyed upon his mind. 悔恨使他内心痛苦。 prey: n. an animal hunted or caught for food; quarry. The eagle carried its prey in its claws. become a prey to, fall a prey to a beast of prey 食肉兽, 猛兽 a bird of prey 猛禽 He found her an easy prey. 他觉得她可欺。 2. wipe out: destroy or get rid of wipe out a mark wipe out a whole army An epidemic wiped out the entire population of the out-of-the-way village. 3. And, as he drew in his breath…… and the screaming stopped. Just as he took a breath, feeling pity for the buck and somehow afraid, the buck was no longer on its feet and became silent. 4. He peered over at the writhing blackness that jerked convulsively with the jerking nerves. He looked closely at the twisting body of the buck covered with black ants, its only movement now was short, quick twitches. peer: peer at the traffic lights peer into the distance 凝视着远方 She peered at the tag to read the price. "The new postman peered through the mist, trying to find the right house The sun was peering through the clouds. writhe: to twist, as in pain, struggle, or embarrassment writhing in pain; 5. scurry: move in a haste We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. The wind -ried the snow south and east. 6. vague: not clear (antonym: clear) a vague idea Through the fog we saw the vague outline of a ship. He was a little vague when I asked what had happened. 7. trickle: 1) to flow or fall in drops or in a thin stream. Blood trickled from the wound. There was a trickle of blood from the wound. (noun) 2).to move or proceed slowly or bit by bit: The audience trickled in. The kids trickled into the classroom. 8. stride: to walk with long steps, especially in a hasty or vigorous way He strode angrily into the classroom. With two strides he crossed the room. (noun) They are striding forward both in English and in mathematics. 9. word formation clean-picked hard-hearted long-winded ready-made true-born warm-hearted open-minded slow-footed tree-lined 10. exhilarated: to cause to feel happily refreshed and energetic; elate: We were exhilarated by the cool, pine-scented air. to invigorate; stimulate 鼓舞，刺激： bold designs that exhilarate the viewer's imagination. Text II. Questions for discussion: 1. The savagery of the soldier ant is a legend in Africa. Why? 2．What is an ants’ nest like in structure? 3. How is a Queen ant different form ordinary ants? 4. What task do the soldier ants have when the queen is disturbed? Language Points 11. wriggle: to turn or twist the body with sinuous writhing motions; squirm.. He wriggled on the hard chair. wriggle along / through The snake wriggled through the grass. wriggle one's way Children wriggle themselves when they are bored. 12. savage: a. not domesticated or cultivated; wild: not civilized; barbaric: ferocious; fierce: vicious or merciless; brutal: savage beasts of the jungle. a savage people. in a savage temper. a savage attack on a political rival. v. He was savaged by wild animals. The horse threw its rider to the ground and savaged him. The drink had savaged him. 酒使他变得野蛮。 13. People groggy with sleeping sickness have been known to collapse near ants’ nests: only skeletons are found the next day. groggy: weak because of illness, shock The last attack of influenza has left me rather groggy. sleeping sickness: a serious disease, occurring especially in Africa, carried by the tsetse fly ( a type of blood-sucking fly), causing loss of weight, fever, and great tiredness. Quiz 7 　(Unit 6 & 7) Name ______________ Score ______________ I. Explain the following words, phrases and sentences in your own words. 1. carnivore: 2. stride: 3. fancy(v.): 4. anguish: 5. skeleton: 6. frisk: 7. exhilarated: 8. array: 9. eliminate: 10.free of / from: 11. the writhing blackness 12. Such a sure swiftfooted thing could surely not be trapped by a swarm of ants? II. Match each adjective in the left column with a noun or noun phrase in the right column according to the texts. 1. formidible prey III. Fill in the following blanks..  2．glistening feeling of rage and misery 1. a _________ of sugar  3．whispering claws 2. a ___________ of bees  4．prime, healthy animals 3. a __________ of rooms  5．swelling black water 4. a ________ of ships  6．glittering sickness 5. a __________ of mountains  7．swiftfooted grass 6. a __________ of fish  8．sleeping eyes 7. a _________ of flowers  IV. Make a sentence with each of the following phrases, with no less than 12 words. take to interfere with past (+ noun) wipe out 5. have an easy time of it V. Translate the following into English. 看着眼镜蛇让我想起绳子，我的第一反应（instinct）是不理它，但它可能要捕食小鸡，我决定把它赶到远处的树丛里。 2. 热带鱼 虾 布谷 天鹅 金丝雀 鸵鸟 羚羊 她吓得不敢说话。她倒吸了一口气，恐惧万分。（seize） 4. 当得知她儿子的热情非但没有减退，反而更加高涨时，她脸上露出了将信将疑的神色。