UNIT 6 The Human Touch
Text A The Last Leaf
Objectives,
? Students will be able to,
1,understand the main idea and structure of the
text;
2,appreciate how the repeated use of clues helps
weave a piece of narration together;
3,grasp the key language points and grammatical
structure in the text;
4,conduct a series of reading,listening,speaking
and writing activities related to the theme of the
unit,
Background,
? O,Henry ( 1862-1910); pseudonym of William Sydney
Porter (1862-1910),American writer of short stories,best
known for his ironic plot twists and surprise endings,Born
and raised in Greensboro,North Carolina,O Henry
attended school only until age 15,when he dropped out to
work in his uncle’s drugstore,During his 20s he moved to
Texas,where he worked for more than ten years as a clerk
and a bank teller,O Henry did not write professionally until
he reached his mid-30s,when he sold several pieces to
the Detroit Free and the Houston Daily Post,In 1894 he
founded a short-lived weekly humor magazine,The Rolling
Stone,
? In 1896 O,Henry was charged with embezzling
funds from the First National Bank of Austin,
Texas,where he had worked from 1891 to 1894,
The amount of money was small and might have
been an accounting error; however,he chose to
flee to Honduras rater than stand trial,Learning
that his wife was dying,he returned to Texas in
1897 and,after her death,turned himself in to the
authorities,He served three years of a five-year
sentence at the federal penitentiary in Columbus,
Ohio,where he first began to write short stories
and use the pseudonym O,Henry,
? Released from prison,O,Henry moved to
New York City in 1901 and began writing full
time,In his stories he made substantial use
of his knowledge of Texas,Central America,
and life in prison,He also became
fascinated by New York street life,which
provided a setting for many of his later
stories,During the last ten years of his life,
O,Henry became one of the most popular
writers in America,publishing over 500 short
stories in dozens of widely read periodicals,
? O,Henry’s most famous stories,such as,The
Gift of the Magi,”,The Furnished Room.” and
“The Ransom of Red Chief., make simple yet
effective use of paradoxical coincidences to
produce ironic endings,For example,in,The Gift
of the Magi” a husband sells his watch to buy his
wife a Christmas present of a pair of hair combs;
she cuts and sells her long hair to buy him a
Christmas present of a new chain for his watch,
His style of storytelling became a model not only
for short fiction,but also for American motion
pictures and television programs,
? Writing at the rate of more than one story per week,
O,Henry published ten collections of stories during a
career that barely spanned a decade,They are Cabbages
and Kings (1904),The Four Million (1906),Heart of the
West (1907),The Trimmed Lamp (1907),The Gentle
Grafter (1908),The Voice of the City (1909),Roads of
Destiny (1909),Whirligigs (1910),and Strictly Business
(1910),The collections Sixes and Sevens (1911),Rolling
Stones (1912),and Waifs and Strays (1917) were
published after his death,In 1919 the O,Henry Memorial
Awards for the best American short stories published each
year were founded by the Society of Arts and Sciences,
The Complete Works of O,Henry was published in 1953,
Text Structure,
? Paras 1-2
Sue’s roommate Johnsy caught pneumonia,
? Paras 3-8
The doctor told Sue that Johnsy needed a strong will to live on,
? Paras 9-17
Johnsy decided that she would die when the last ivy leaf fell,
? Paras 18-21
Sue told Behrman about Johnsy’s fancy,
? Paras 22-33
As Johnsy was encouraged by the last leaf that wouldn’t give in to
the weather,her will to live returned,
? Paras 34-37
The doctor told Sue that Johnsy would recover,but Behrman caught
pneumonia himself and his case was hopeless,
? Paras 38-39
Sue told Johnsy that Behrman has performed a kind deed without
any thought of self,
New Words,
joint
1),a,shared by or belonging to two or
more people
e.g,We have opened a joint account at the
bank,
collocation, joint venture
2),n,the place where two things are fixed
together连接处，结合点
3),n,关节
mock
1),v,make fun of sb,(at)
e.g,He always feels that Peter is mocking him a
little,
It is cruel to mock at the disabled,
2),a,模仿的，仿制的
collocation, mock examination,
an examination that is intended to be like the real so
students can practise and prepare themselves for the real
one,
fancy
1),n,an idea that is untrue or unlikely
[C,U]幻想，空想
uncontrolled imagination
[U] 异想天开
2),a,special,unusual,extravagant
3),v,want to have sth,or to do sth,(v,+ o/-ing)
e.g,Do you fancy a cup of coffee?
I don’t fancy going back to that dreary house alone,
stream
1),v,move in a continuous flow,pour out
e.g,Blood was streaming out of his arm,
She stood in the doorway,tears streaming down her face,
2),n,a long or continuous line of sth./sb,traveling in the
same direction,
e.g,A steady stream of workers came in looking for job,
工人川流不息涌来找工作
Local airfields had been receiving a continuous stream of
reinforcement,
当地的飞机场连续不断的得到增援
mingle v,
CF, mingle,mix/blend
多种事物 mingle后，各事物仍保持其个性，
而且可以区分或辨别出来，各种东西
mix/blend 后，就不可区分
e.g,When oil and water mingle,they are
easy to tell apart,
Language Points in the text,
hang on to sth,(cling on to),
work hard to keep sth,
e.g,She’s the patient who manages to hang on to
life for three or four months,
What’s his motive for hanging on to power?
CF, hang onto, hold sth,tightly
e.g,She hung onto the key for fear that it would be
taken from her hand,
the doctor held out little hope for her,
the doctor offered little hope for the survival of
the girl hold out,
1).寄予（希望），抱有（希望）
e.g,I don’t hold out much hope,
Science may hold out some prospect of protecting environment,
2),hold out (for sth.),
refuse to accept sth,which you don’t think is adequate,
and you continue to demand more 拒绝妥协
e.g,Women all over the country are holding out for more freedom,
妇女拒不妥协，要争取更多自由。
result vi,
1),(in) bring about,happen,come into existence
产生，发生，导致
e.g,The use of such techniques could result in ecological
changes,
2),(from) be caused by
e.g,Inflation results from an excess of demand over
supply,
Ecological changes result from the use of such
techniques,
subtract vt., take away from
e.g,When total taxes are subtracted from
personal income,the remainder is called
disposable income,
If you subtract 3 from 5 you get 2,
CF, add vt,( add…and….)
together,
e.g,I worked for nine
hours together before I
got it finished,
As a sailor,he is
away from home for
months,
? if you do sth,for
days or hours
together,you do it
continuous
without stopping
接连地，不停地
have to do with / be to do with sth.,
be connected
e.g,This point of view has nothing to do with
agriculture,
It’s got something to do with an economic
crisis,
excess n.,
a larger amount than is actually needed
超过，过量
e.g,Physical exercise can help us reduce an
excess of flat,
phrase, 1),in excess of,
more than a particular amount 超过
e.g,Only a few years ago attendance in
excess of 60% is unthinkable,
2),to excess, to an extreme
degree
e.g,His father never smoked or drank to
excess,
* excessive a,过多的，极度的
motion v,
make a movement with your hand in order to show
them where you want them to go or what they should do
用手势（向 …… ）示意，（朝 …… ）打手势
pattern, ( V + A to,V+ O + A to)
e.g,Ben motioned to Joe to sit down,
Usually he would motion me to a sofa,
endure vi.,
~~,continue to exist
e.g,Certain kinds of relationships endure
longer than others,
* enduring a,(lasting)
stand out
can be seen very clearly
引人注目，显眼
be much better or much more important than other
things of the same kind
突出,出色
e.g,This is one of the things that stand out in my
memory,
On the record I have just played,the first song
stands out from all the others,
,
wear away
1),(of time) pass gradually
e.g,They didn’t reach an argument,Instead they wore
the afternoon away in arguing,
The day wore away,and we still couldn’t find a
solution to the problem,
2),(cause to) become thin or damaged by constant
use
e.g,The grass was worn away where the children used
to play,
The steps have been worn away by the feet of thousands
of visitors,
sit up,
raise yourself into an upright sitting
position after you have been lying down or
leaning back
e.g,The patient is well enough to sit up in bed now,
The teacher asked his students to sit up
straight,
even a,
1),to describe probability of sth,happening is
the same as the probability of sth,not
happening
对半的，相等的
e.g,She would have only an even chance of being
saved,
2),不相上下的，平衡的
e.g,This is an even contest,
Text A The Last Leaf
Objectives,
? Students will be able to,
1,understand the main idea and structure of the
text;
2,appreciate how the repeated use of clues helps
weave a piece of narration together;
3,grasp the key language points and grammatical
structure in the text;
4,conduct a series of reading,listening,speaking
and writing activities related to the theme of the
unit,
Background,
? O,Henry ( 1862-1910); pseudonym of William Sydney
Porter (1862-1910),American writer of short stories,best
known for his ironic plot twists and surprise endings,Born
and raised in Greensboro,North Carolina,O Henry
attended school only until age 15,when he dropped out to
work in his uncle’s drugstore,During his 20s he moved to
Texas,where he worked for more than ten years as a clerk
and a bank teller,O Henry did not write professionally until
he reached his mid-30s,when he sold several pieces to
the Detroit Free and the Houston Daily Post,In 1894 he
founded a short-lived weekly humor magazine,The Rolling
Stone,
? In 1896 O,Henry was charged with embezzling
funds from the First National Bank of Austin,
Texas,where he had worked from 1891 to 1894,
The amount of money was small and might have
been an accounting error; however,he chose to
flee to Honduras rater than stand trial,Learning
that his wife was dying,he returned to Texas in
1897 and,after her death,turned himself in to the
authorities,He served three years of a five-year
sentence at the federal penitentiary in Columbus,
Ohio,where he first began to write short stories
and use the pseudonym O,Henry,
? Released from prison,O,Henry moved to
New York City in 1901 and began writing full
time,In his stories he made substantial use
of his knowledge of Texas,Central America,
and life in prison,He also became
fascinated by New York street life,which
provided a setting for many of his later
stories,During the last ten years of his life,
O,Henry became one of the most popular
writers in America,publishing over 500 short
stories in dozens of widely read periodicals,
? O,Henry’s most famous stories,such as,The
Gift of the Magi,”,The Furnished Room.” and
“The Ransom of Red Chief., make simple yet
effective use of paradoxical coincidences to
produce ironic endings,For example,in,The Gift
of the Magi” a husband sells his watch to buy his
wife a Christmas present of a pair of hair combs;
she cuts and sells her long hair to buy him a
Christmas present of a new chain for his watch,
His style of storytelling became a model not only
for short fiction,but also for American motion
pictures and television programs,
? Writing at the rate of more than one story per week,
O,Henry published ten collections of stories during a
career that barely spanned a decade,They are Cabbages
and Kings (1904),The Four Million (1906),Heart of the
West (1907),The Trimmed Lamp (1907),The Gentle
Grafter (1908),The Voice of the City (1909),Roads of
Destiny (1909),Whirligigs (1910),and Strictly Business
(1910),The collections Sixes and Sevens (1911),Rolling
Stones (1912),and Waifs and Strays (1917) were
published after his death,In 1919 the O,Henry Memorial
Awards for the best American short stories published each
year were founded by the Society of Arts and Sciences,
The Complete Works of O,Henry was published in 1953,
Text Structure,
? Paras 1-2
Sue’s roommate Johnsy caught pneumonia,
? Paras 3-8
The doctor told Sue that Johnsy needed a strong will to live on,
? Paras 9-17
Johnsy decided that she would die when the last ivy leaf fell,
? Paras 18-21
Sue told Behrman about Johnsy’s fancy,
? Paras 22-33
As Johnsy was encouraged by the last leaf that wouldn’t give in to
the weather,her will to live returned,
? Paras 34-37
The doctor told Sue that Johnsy would recover,but Behrman caught
pneumonia himself and his case was hopeless,
? Paras 38-39
Sue told Johnsy that Behrman has performed a kind deed without
any thought of self,
New Words,
joint
1),a,shared by or belonging to two or
more people
e.g,We have opened a joint account at the
bank,
collocation, joint venture
2),n,the place where two things are fixed
together连接处，结合点
3),n,关节
mock
1),v,make fun of sb,(at)
e.g,He always feels that Peter is mocking him a
little,
It is cruel to mock at the disabled,
2),a,模仿的，仿制的
collocation, mock examination,
an examination that is intended to be like the real so
students can practise and prepare themselves for the real
one,
fancy
1),n,an idea that is untrue or unlikely
[C,U]幻想，空想
uncontrolled imagination
[U] 异想天开
2),a,special,unusual,extravagant
3),v,want to have sth,or to do sth,(v,+ o/-ing)
e.g,Do you fancy a cup of coffee?
I don’t fancy going back to that dreary house alone,
stream
1),v,move in a continuous flow,pour out
e.g,Blood was streaming out of his arm,
She stood in the doorway,tears streaming down her face,
2),n,a long or continuous line of sth./sb,traveling in the
same direction,
e.g,A steady stream of workers came in looking for job,
工人川流不息涌来找工作
Local airfields had been receiving a continuous stream of
reinforcement,
当地的飞机场连续不断的得到增援
mingle v,
CF, mingle,mix/blend
多种事物 mingle后，各事物仍保持其个性，
而且可以区分或辨别出来，各种东西
mix/blend 后，就不可区分
e.g,When oil and water mingle,they are
easy to tell apart,
Language Points in the text,
hang on to sth,(cling on to),
work hard to keep sth,
e.g,She’s the patient who manages to hang on to
life for three or four months,
What’s his motive for hanging on to power?
CF, hang onto, hold sth,tightly
e.g,She hung onto the key for fear that it would be
taken from her hand,
the doctor held out little hope for her,
the doctor offered little hope for the survival of
the girl hold out,
1).寄予（希望），抱有（希望）
e.g,I don’t hold out much hope,
Science may hold out some prospect of protecting environment,
2),hold out (for sth.),
refuse to accept sth,which you don’t think is adequate,
and you continue to demand more 拒绝妥协
e.g,Women all over the country are holding out for more freedom,
妇女拒不妥协，要争取更多自由。
result vi,
1),(in) bring about,happen,come into existence
产生，发生，导致
e.g,The use of such techniques could result in ecological
changes,
2),(from) be caused by
e.g,Inflation results from an excess of demand over
supply,
Ecological changes result from the use of such
techniques,
subtract vt., take away from
e.g,When total taxes are subtracted from
personal income,the remainder is called
disposable income,
If you subtract 3 from 5 you get 2,
CF, add vt,( add…and….)
together,
e.g,I worked for nine
hours together before I
got it finished,
As a sailor,he is
away from home for
months,
? if you do sth,for
days or hours
together,you do it
continuous
without stopping
接连地，不停地
have to do with / be to do with sth.,
be connected
e.g,This point of view has nothing to do with
agriculture,
It’s got something to do with an economic
crisis,
excess n.,
a larger amount than is actually needed
超过，过量
e.g,Physical exercise can help us reduce an
excess of flat,
phrase, 1),in excess of,
more than a particular amount 超过
e.g,Only a few years ago attendance in
excess of 60% is unthinkable,
2),to excess, to an extreme
degree
e.g,His father never smoked or drank to
excess,
* excessive a,过多的，极度的
motion v,
make a movement with your hand in order to show
them where you want them to go or what they should do
用手势（向 …… ）示意，（朝 …… ）打手势
pattern, ( V + A to,V+ O + A to)
e.g,Ben motioned to Joe to sit down,
Usually he would motion me to a sofa,
endure vi.,
~~,continue to exist
e.g,Certain kinds of relationships endure
longer than others,
* enduring a,(lasting)
stand out
can be seen very clearly
引人注目，显眼
be much better or much more important than other
things of the same kind
突出,出色
e.g,This is one of the things that stand out in my
memory,
On the record I have just played,the first song
stands out from all the others,
,
wear away
1),(of time) pass gradually
e.g,They didn’t reach an argument,Instead they wore
the afternoon away in arguing,
The day wore away,and we still couldn’t find a
solution to the problem,
2),(cause to) become thin or damaged by constant
use
e.g,The grass was worn away where the children used
to play,
The steps have been worn away by the feet of thousands
of visitors,
sit up,
raise yourself into an upright sitting
position after you have been lying down or
leaning back
e.g,The patient is well enough to sit up in bed now,
The teacher asked his students to sit up
straight,
even a,
1),to describe probability of sth,happening is
the same as the probability of sth,not
happening
对半的，相等的
e.g,She would have only an even chance of being
saved,
2),不相上下的，平衡的
e.g,This is an even contest,
