Unit Two
Perseverance
Title is…?Perseverance
Similar expressions,never give up; stick to the purpose;
hold till succeed; there is always a way where there is a will…
About perseverance
? Formation,
per +severe+e/ance
toward a noun form
hard/tough/harsh
? Meaning,continuation in spite of hardship
Passage
? Global View of the Text
? Development of the Message
? Focus on the Language
? efforts
Global View of the Text
? I got a dream to be a writer
? The dream is laughed at by
teachers and others
? I put my dream into action
and taste the first success
? I go through all kinds of trouble
but I don’t care
? I make more efforts and achieve
more and more,My dream came
true
? I want to tell you,writing is easy
and it’s fun and everyone can do
it!
Check your understanding
1.Match,dollar amount” with,item”
? $2 Webster’s dictionary
?
? 89 ￠ best year’ income
? $129 a short poem
? $36.000 electric typewriter
Check your understanding
2,Match A with Column B
A B
? Crying Wind dream killers
? Children talk show
? Capri’s Weekly best seller
? K-mart C minus average
? Friends first poem
? Finish high school Webster’s dictionary
? TV diapers
Find Synonyms from the Text
? show
? earn
? Laugh
? dictionary
? send
? here and there
? child
? luck
? old
? travel
illustrate
make
sneer
thesaurus
at random
kid
odds
ancient
tour
Paragraph One
When I was fifteen,I announced to my English
class that I was going to write and illustrate my
own books,Half the students sneered; the rest
nearly fell out of their chairs laughing.,Don’t
be silly,,only geniuses can become writers,” the
English teacher said smugly,“and you are
getting a D this semester.” I was so humiliated
that I burst into tears.
ParagraphTwo
That night I wrote a short sad poem about broken
dreams and mailed it to the Capri’s Weekly newspaper.
To my astonishment,they published it and sent me
two dollars,I was published and paid writer,I showed
my teacher and fellow students,They laughed.,Just
plain dumb luck,” the teacher said,I tasted success,I’d
sold the first thing I’d ever written,That was more
than any of them had done and if it was just dumb luck
that was fine with me.
ParagraphThree
During the next two years I sold dozens of
poems,letters,jokes and recipes,By the time I
graduated from high school,with a C minus
average,I had scrapbooks filled with my
published work,I never mentioned my writing
to my teachers,friends or my family again,They
were dream killers and if people must choose
between their friends and their dreams,they
must always choose their dreams.
Paragraph Four
I had four children at the time,and the oldest was
only four,While the children napped,I typed at my
ancient typewriter,I wrote what I felt,It took nine
months,just like a baby,I chose a publisher at random
and put the manuscript in an empty Pampers diapers
package,the only box I could find,I’d never heard of
manuscript boxes,The letter I enclosed read:“I wrote
this book myself,I hope you like it,I also do the
illustrations,Chapter six and twelve are my favorites.
Thank you.”I tied the string around the diaper box and
mailed it without a self addressed stamped envelope
and without making a copy of the manuscript.
Paragraph Five
A month later I received a contract,an advance and
royalties,and a request to start working on another
book,Crying Wind,the title of my book,became a
best seller,was translated into fifteen languages and
Braille and sold worldwide,I appeared on TV talk
shows during the day and changed diapers at night,I
traveled from New York to California and Canada on
promotional tours,My first book also became required
reading in native American schools in Canada.
Paragraph Six
The worst year I ever had as a writer I earned two dollars,I was fifteen,remember? In
my best year I earned 36,000 dollars,Most years I earned between five thousand and
ten thousand,No,it isn’t enough to live on,but it’s still more than I’d make working in
spare time and it’s five thousand to ten thousand more than I’d make if I didn’t write at
all,People ask what college I attended,what degree I had and what qualifications I have
to be a writer,The answer is:“none.”I just write,I’m not a genius,I’m not gifted and I
don’t write right,I’m lazy,undisciplined,and spend more time with my children and
friends than I do writing,I didn’t own a Thesaurus3 until four years ago and I use a
small Webster’s dictionary that I’d bought at K-Mart for 89 cents,I use an electric
typewriter that I paid 129 dollars for six years ago,I’ve never used the word processor,I
do all the cooking,cleaning and for a family of six and fit my writing in a few minutes
here and there,I write everything in longhand on yellow tablets while sitting on the sofa
with my four kids eating pizza and watching TV,When the book is finished,I type it
and mail it to the publisher,I’ve written eight books,Four have been published and
three are still out with the publishers,One stinks,To all those who dream of writing,
I’m shouting at you:“Yes,you can,Yes,you can,Don’t listen to them.”I don’t write
right but I’ve beaten the odds,Writing is easy,it’s fun and anyone can do it,Of course,
a little dumb luck doesn’t hurt.
Gradual Achievements
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
stage1 stage2 stage3 stage4
poem
letters
books
others
Grading systems
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
GPA=grade point average
college entrance heavily depends on
GPA and references from teachers
Unusual Expressions
? I bought a small Webster’s dictionary for 89 cents,
? I use an electric typewriter that I paid 129 dollars for six
years ago
? Write in long hand
? Humiliate
? That was fine with me.
? Beat the odds
? Still out with the publishers
? One little dumb luck doesn’t hurt.
? Choose between
Make sentences with the following
? sneer
? qualification
? recipe
? address
? announce
? smugly
? stink
1) announce,v,to make known publicly; make known to
the senses or mind; make known the arrival or approach of;
serve as an announcer of
An occasional shot announced the presence of the enemy.
?The servant came in and announced "Mr.Carson!"
2) illustrate,v,using a picture or example to show
something more clearly.
?e.g,He told a story to illustrate the fact that power changes
people.
?If you illustrate the book it will be more expensive
Half the students sneered.
?sneer,v,talking or smiling in a nasty way to show that one thinks
someone is poor,weak,stupid,etc.
? e.g,It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time.
?The boys sneered at him because his family was poor.
I was so humiliated that I burst into tears.
?1) humiliate,v,make sb feel ashamed or disgraced; lower the dignity or
self-respect of
?使（人）蒙羞，伤害 … 的自尊
? e.g,He felt utterly humiliated.
?humiliate oneself 丢脸,蒙羞
That was more than any of them had done and if it was
just dumb luck that was fine with me,
Although my teachers and classmates laughed at me,I
had succeeded in writing a short poem and had had it
published,I didn’t mind their saying,dumb luck”,those who
laughed at me had never had this kind of experience and
which made me feel good.
They were dream killers
pain killer time killer joy killer sleep killer
I chose a publisher at random and put the manuscript in
an empty Pampers diapers package,…
?e.g,The two friends had a random encounter on the street.
?Tom was not listening and made a random answer when
called upon to recite.
at random here and there; with no order
The letter I enclosed read,…
?enclose,vt,put inside a cover,put in with a letter
?e.g,The letter enclosed a check.
?I enclose my photograph with this letter.
A month later I received a contract,…
? contract,n,legally binding agreement; usu,in writing
?v,1) to make a contract
? 2),to become or make shorter or smaller
?e.g,He contracted to supply me with coal regularly.
? The metal contracts with cold.
?Their foreign markets are contracting.
I traveled from New York to California and Canada on
promotional tours,I received various kinds of encouragement
so I traveled from New York to California and Canada.
?promotion,n,raising a higher rank or position; encouragement
or aid to the progress of
?e.g,He got his promotion in that company last autumn.
? the promotion of health
? the promotion of learning
1) genius,n,exceptionally great mental or creative ability;
capacity; ability; exceptional natural ability for sth.
?e.g,The man(Darwin) was something of a genius.
?Li Bai and Du Fu were two great geniuses in the Tang
dynasty.
?He has a genius for making things with his hands.
2) gift,n,a natural power; talent
?e.g,He has a gift for foreign languages.
gifted,a,having a great deal of natural ability or talent; very
intelligent or talented
?e.g,He is gifted in music,She is gifted with a good memory.
如果这是瞎猫逮着死耗子，那么我不在乎。
他们都是无情的摧梦者。
我就在 那台老掉牙 的打字机前打字，写下自己的感受。这花了我九
个月的时间，就像十月怀胎。
。
没有随稿寄去一个填有自己地址并贴着新邮票的信封
我从来不使用电脑。
使用的打字机也是六年前我花 129美元买来的。
一字不漏地 写在黄色的笔记簿上
short hand long hand(without omission)
还有一本写砸了。
Page 46
? II,1,Mr,Smith announced that he had
found a new job.
? 2,They were so moved that they burst into
tears
? 3,He felt utterly humiliated.
? 4,To my astonishment,he had scrapbooks filled
with his published work.
? 5,He knows a lot about flowers,but he didn't
mention it in his speech
? 6,I've caught cold and can't taste (anything).
? 7,The teacher illustrated the history lesson
with pictures of castles.
? 8,I opened the book at random and found a
number of mistakes,
Page 46 from English
?Ⅰ.
?1,突然大笑起来
?2,梦想音乐
?3,如上所提到的
?4,多才多艺的人
?5,平均成绩 C-
?6,随意挑选货物
?7,令某人感到震惊的是
?8,抱怨天气
?II,1,Mr,Smith announced that he had found a new
job.
?2,They were so moved that they burst into tears
?3,He felt utterly humiliated.
?4,To my astonishment,he had scrapbooks filled with his
published work.
?5,He knows a lot about flowers,but he didn't mention
it in his speech
?6,I've caught cold and can't taste (anything).
?7,The teacher illustrated the history lesson with
pictures of castles.
?8,I opened the book at random and found a number of
mistakes,
老师自以为是地说，“这学期你只能得
60来分。
pay in advance ahead of
