Unit 5 Cruelty
Text A A Friend In Need
1,Objectives
2,Background
3,Discussion
4,Structure Study
5,Language Study
6,Content questions
7,Essay Writing
Objectives
The students will be able to,
1,Learn the main idea and structure of the
text;
2,Give reasons when they do the ranking
activities and make predictions;
3,Grasp the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text;
Background
Somerset Maugham (1874-1965),an
English writer considered to be one of
the best writers of short stories in
the English language,He also wrote
plays and novels,His novels and short
stories are characterized by great
narrative facility,simplicity of style,
and a disillusioned and ironic point of
view,
Maugham was born in Paris and
studied medicine at the University of
Heidelberg and at Saint Thomas?s
Hospital,London,
Somerset Maugham
(1874-1965)
His partially autobiographical novel Of Human
Bondage (1915) is generally acknowledged as
his masterpiece and is one of the best realistic
English novels of the early 20th century,
The Moon and Six Pence (1919) is a story of the
conflict between the artist and conventional
society,based on the life of the French painter
Paul Gauguin;
Other novels are The Painted Veil (1925),Cakes
and Ale(1930),Christmas Holiday(1939),The
Hour Before the Dawn(1942),The Razor?s
Edge(1944),and Cataline,A romance(1948),
Among the collections of
his short stories are The
Trembling of a
Leaf(1921),which
includes,Miss
Thompson,” later
dramatized as Rain;
Ashenden,or The
British Agent(1928);
First Person
Singular(1931); Ah
King(1933); and
Quarter(1948),
Discussion
1) Why do some people tend to be heartless
and cruel? Were they born that way or did
circumstances harden them?
2) What are the determining forces in shaping
human nature?
? Some people seem easy to understand,their
character appears obvious on first meeting,
Appearances,however,can be deceptive,
Structure Study
Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas
Part One Para 1
Part Two Paras 2-3
Part Three Paras 4-51
Keys to last exercise,
? Part one,It is no easy job to judge
people,for they aren?t always what
they appear to be,
? Part two,Kind and gentle,Edward Burton,
a wealthy merchant,appeared as if he
could not bear to hurt a fly,
? Part three,As it turned out,Burton was
cold-blooded enough to send a friend to
certain death,
Language Study
deceptive,likely to deceive; misleading
deceptively adv,deceptiveness n,
? Appearances are deceptive,
? The newspapers promised not to run
deceptive ads in the future,
? The company was charged with deceptive
advertising for a number of products,
? The play is also an observation about the
deceptive nature of appearances,
for sb.?s (own) part /the part of,
as far as sb,is concerned
? For my part I prefer living in the country,
? Some young students,for their part,can
stay up late playing computer games,
similar expressions,
? from the perspective of sb
? in the case of
compare,
on sb's part/ the part of sb
definite,clear; that can’t be doubted
? I was wandering round the shop with no
very definite aim,
? Doctors have found a definite link between
smoking and lung cancer,
compare, sure; positive;
compare,infinite
(all) of a piece,the same in all parts;
the same as sth,Else
= all of one piece
? The style of the book is all of piece,in both
illustrations and text,
? The essays he completed in the latter part of
his life are of a piece with his earlier work,
? The testimony was all of a piece with the
professor’s version of events,
Other usages of piece
master piece 杰作 ; 杰出的事
tear to pieces 撕碎 ; 彻底摧毁 ; 痛斥
wrinkle,tighten the skin of the face into lines
or folds
? The woman was forty,but looked fifty,Her
cheeks were sunken and her skin was
wrinkled and yellow,
? The skin on her cheeks and around her eyes
was beginning to wrinkle,
? My dress wrinkles easily,
Other usages,wrinkled her nose in disdain,
皱鼻子以示不屑
in accordance with,in agreement or
harmony with
? Students will be criticized or punished
if their behavior is not in accordance
with school regulations,
? Some young people are self-centered,
which is not in accordance with
Chinese traditional values,
act in accordance with the rules
根据条例行事
elderly,(adj,& n,)(of) people rather old;
past middle age
adj,to be getting elderly 年纪渐老
? He was rather elderly with grey hair and
clear blue eyes,
? Traveling at 97 km/h (60mph),an elderly
driver may miss the information he or she
needs or may act on the wrong information,
? Most of the residents in the old district are
the elderly as their offspring have moved to
new residential areas,
evidently,obviously; it appears that
? Evidently our living conditions are much
better than before,
? He was evidently upset when he learned
that he failed in the final examination,
? The stranger approached the microphone,
evidently intending to speak,
mild,(of people or their manner) gentle and
kind; not severe or harsh
? Peter is a mild man,never getting angry
easily,
? She has inherited my husband’s milder
nature,I’m glad to say,
? The weather is mild today； it is neither hot
nor cold,
? He has too mild a nature to get angry,even
if he has good cause,
? a mild cheese 味不足的奶酪,
spicy,exciting,esp,because of being slightly
indecent; containing or tasting like spice
? You can often read spicy stories about film
stars in the local newspapers,
? People from Sichuan province like to eat
spicy food,
? spicy criticism辛辣的批评
? a spicy magazine淫秽下流的杂志
something of,to some degree
? They haven’t got a loan from the bank,
which is something of disappointment,
? It’s something of a disadvantage
nowadays if you can’t use a computer,
Compare,kind of,sort of
instinct,
a tendency that one is born with to behave in a
certain way without reasoning or training
? It is the mother’s instinct to protect her
children,
? He always knew what time it was,as if by
instinct,
? Trust your instincts and do what you think
is right,
? I knew by instinct that he had come to
deliver bad news,
? Birds learn to fly by instinct,
Other usages,
? by instinct出于本能
? act on instinct凭直觉行动
? have an instinct for生来就有,..的本能,生
性爱好
? instinct with充满着,..; 受,..的鼓舞
clap,strike (the inner surface of one’s hands)
together
? The noise of conversation rose,and the teacher
clapped her hands for silence,
? The audience clapped enthusiastically as the
singer stepped on to the stage,
? The nursery teacher clapped her hands to attract
the children's attention,
? When the singer finished,we clapped
? He clapped his son on the back,
c.f,applaud
other usages,clap eyes on看见
? It's many years since I clapped eyes on him,
oddly enough,used to say that sth,seems
strange or surprising
? oddly enough = strangely enough
? Children’s books,oddly enough,continued
to have a big place in retail sales,
? Oddly enough,some of the students don’t
know how to log on the internet,
similar expressions,strange enough
sip,
drink (sth),taking a very small amount each
time (used in the patterns,sip sth,At / from
(sth))
? Jessica sipped her coffee,listening to the
music,
? He sipped at the glass and then put it down,
? He lifted the water bottle to his lips and
sipped,
in a way,to a certain extent but not entirely
? I agree with you in a way,but there are still
some areas on which I can’t see eye to eye
with you,
? It’s easier for men to get work in a way,
similar expression,
? in a sense
? to some degree
c.f,
? in a big way大规模地 ; 豪华地 ; 隆重地
? in a great way大规模地 ; 豪华地 ; 隆重地
? in a family way不拘礼节地,家常随便地 ; 怀
孕
? in a general way一般说来,大体上
? in a good way昌盛地,富裕地
? in a hundred and one ways千方百计地
with (a) bad/good grace,unwillingly and
rudely/willingly and happily
? After I talked to him for an hour,he
admitted his mistake with bad grace,
? My mentor accepted my invitation to
dinner with good grace,
c.f,
? get into sb,good graces博得某人的欢心
? good graces好意,友意 ; 宠爱
? have the grace to (do) 有,.,的雅量,有勇
气,.,
? in sb.'s good /bad graces受某人照顾 [白眼 ]
? make one?s graces行礼
? with an ill grace勉强地,不情愿地
? with a good grace高兴地,欣然地
? with an easy grace态度自若
stroke,pass the hand gently over (a surface ),usu,
several times
? At the sight of her husband getting off the
train,the woman walked forward and
embraced him and stroked his white hair,
? I reached out and stroked the baby’s cheek
tenderly,
Other usages,
at the stroke of midnight.午夜钟声
a stroke of lightning,一个闪电
shave,cut(hair) off one’s face,etc,with a
razor; cut or scrape thin slices from the
surface of
? He washed and shaved,then hurried out of
the house,
Other usages,shave a meadow,
The bus just shaved me by an inch,
? In the Qing dynasty men shaved the front of
the head and wore the hair ant the back tied
in a queue or pigtail,
shave,cut (hair) off one’s face,etc,with a
razor; cut or scrape thin slices from the
surface of
? In the Qing dynasty men shaved the front
of the head and wore the hair and the back
tied in a queue or pigtail,
? He washed and shaved,then hurried out of
the house,
Other usages,
shave a meadow,修剪草坪
The bus just shaved me by an inch.(擦过 )
transparent,allowing light to pass through
so that objects behind can be seen clearly
? The cup is made of transparent colored
plastic,
? Transparent plastic is often used for
packaging foods,enabling the consumer to
see the product inside,
go broke,have no money; go bankrupt
? Many multinational companies went broke
during the financial crisis,not to speak of
small businesses,
? He invested all his money in stocks;
unfortunately he made one wrong choice
after another and finally went broke,
c.f,
? go for broke 全力以赴 ; 孤注一掷
? go broke 破产
? clean broke身无分文,一文不名
? dead broke身无分文,一文不名
? stone broke身无分文,一文不名
[USA] flat broke flat-broke 身无分文,一
文不名
hitherto,(fml)
until now; until a particular time
? The Hope Project sent money to student’s
hitherto unable to afford their tuition fees,
? The printing press made books available to
people hitherto unable to afford them,
? He has hitherto achieved great success in
his career,
stick to,refuse to abandon or change (sth.)
? Mike,you just tell the cops what you saw;
stick to your story,
? The old man stuck to jogging every
morning although he was eighty years old,
trim,v,defeated; make (sth.) neat or smooth
by cutting away irregular parts
? They were trimmed by 3goals to 2,
? My friend trimmed my hair last week,
n,in good trim,状况很好
? Grass shears are specially made to trim
grass growing in awkward places,
down and out,having no money,home,etc,
? When he was down and out,none of his
friends gave him a helping hand,
? Shortly after his company was
declared bankrupt,the manager
became down and out,
commit,do (sth,illegal or wrong)
? It is illegal to commit violations of the
copyright,
? The man was suspected of committing
murder,
? compare,do; perform; conduct
Other usage,To make known the views of
(oneself) on an issue,
? I never commit myself on such issues,
? To bind or obligate,as by a pledge,
? They were committed to follow orders,
be/go (all) to pieces,(of a person) have a
breakdown; lose control of oneself
? I was attracted by the story of a housewife
who went to pieces as one disaster followed
another,
? She nearly went to pieces when she heard
that her husband was among those buried in
the ruins of the World Trade Center,
insane,(informal) very foolish
? an insane laugh;疯笑；
insane babbling,疯言乱语
an insane asylum.疯人院
insane jealousy.疯狂的妒
? You would be insane to refuse the
invitation to attend the conference,
? Your plan to walk through the desert on
your own is quite insane
drive at,be trying to say
? I have no idea what you’re driving at,
? The teacher didn’t mention the word
“cheating” but knew what he was driving at,
current,continuous flow of water or air in a
particular direction
? Swimming against the current is energy-
consuming,
? Under normal conditions,the ocean currents
of tropical Pacific travel from east to west,
? I felt a current of cool air blowing in my
face,
be taken aback,be shocked or surprised
? She was taken aback when a man answered
the phone,
? I was taken aback when I found my
computer was gone,
in bad /good condition,
in bad / good health
? He is in good condition again after a long
holiday,
? In spite of the surgery he is still in bad
condition,
turn up,arrive; make one’s appearance
? He didn’t turn up until the end of the
examination,
? Some students always turn up late for
class,
funk,(informal)
avoid because of fear
? They were given a chance of taking part in
the speech contest,but funked it,
? He promised to climb the mountain with us,
but he funked it at the last moment,
funk a trouble 逃避困难
constitution,condition of a person’s body
with regarded to health,strength,etc,
? A boxer must have a strong constitution,
? Having been ill for several years,he has a
particularly fragile constitution,
n,宪法 ; 法规
? According to the American Constitution,
Presidential elections are held every four
years,
? This is an unwritten constitution
c.f,by constitution天性，体质上
have a good/poor constitution
体质好［差］
agree with/suit sb,'s constitution
适合某人体质［性格］
undermine sb.'s constitution
(因,..)伤害某人身体
trifle,a thing,a matter or an activity that has
little value or trifles
? My daughter always wastes her money on
trifles,
? The couple often quarreled about some
petty trifle connected with the housework,
a trifle,slightly,very little,somewhat
? George was a trifle awkward with girls but
fond of dancing,
? She was a trifle breathless after the run,
trifling,petty; unimportant
candid,not hiding one’s thoughts; frank and
honest (followed by about,with)
? Let me be absolutely candid with you,your
work is not good enough,
? Nancy is candid about the problems
she is having with Steve,
Other usage,
a candid snapshot,一张偷拍的快照
rub,move one’s hand,an object,etc,
backwards and forwards repeatedly on a
surface while pressing
? Coat the shoes with polish,then rub hard
with a soft cloth to give a shine,
? He looked tired and sat rubbing his eyes,
Other usage,To irritate; annoy,
? e.g,His laziness was beginning to rub me,
rub elbows or rub shoulders,to mix or socialize
closely
? Diplomats rubbing elbows with heads of state,
rub (one's) hands,to experience or display
pleased anticipation,self-satisfaction,or glee
rub (someone's) nose in (Slang),to bring
repeatedly and forcefully to another's attention
rub (someone) the wrong way,to annoy; irritate
rub up on,To refresh one's knowledge of
? I have to rub up on my French,
vacancy,unfilled position or post
? The company has a vacancy in the accounts
department,
? He didn’t want to fill the short-term
vacancy in the office,
? The college has no vacancies for professors,
Content Questions,
1.Does the narrator think our first impressions of
a person are always right? Why or why not?
2.What was Edward Burton by profession? How
did he look?
3.What struck the narrator most about Edward
Burton? How does the narrator describe this
obvious side to Burton’ s character?
4.Who was Lenny Burton? How did Edward
Burton get to know him?
5.What was Edward Burton impression of
Lenny?
6.How did Lenny manage to support
himself?
7.Why did Lenny call at his namesake’s
office one day?
8.How did Edward respond to his request?
9.How did the response help to show him up
in his true colors?
10.What idea did Edward think of when
Lenny begged again for a job?
11.Why did Lenny hesitate before he agreed
to do as he was told to? 12.When Edward
set a condition for offering a job,was he
aware Lenny would be drowned? How do
you know?
Does the title A Friend in Need help
bring out the theme of the story? How?
? No,the first sight of the title may render us
to suppose this is another story about how
people helped their friend in need,but …
? it turns out to be a story about how a
kindly person in appearance strikes a cruel
blow at a friend in need
“You can?t judge a book by looking
at its cover”,Do you agree? Why?
? Yes,it is an enlightening saying which tells
the complicatedness of the things in the
world,Not only does a book contain
something more than its cover can hold,
people,the most sophisticated creature in
the universe,bear very contradicting
character that nobody can clearly expound
it,
? Do you think most people are self-
contradictory rather than all of a piece?
? Give examples
Essay writing
Title,Molding of Character as I See It
Outline,
1,Give e.g,to illustrate what you mean by
"internal and external causes"
2,How the two kinds of causes contribute to
the molding of a person's character
3,Your conclusion
Thank You
Text A A Friend In Need
1,Objectives
2,Background
3,Discussion
4,Structure Study
5,Language Study
6,Content questions
7,Essay Writing
Objectives
The students will be able to,
1,Learn the main idea and structure of the
text;
2,Give reasons when they do the ranking
activities and make predictions;
3,Grasp the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text;
Background
Somerset Maugham (1874-1965),an
English writer considered to be one of
the best writers of short stories in
the English language,He also wrote
plays and novels,His novels and short
stories are characterized by great
narrative facility,simplicity of style,
and a disillusioned and ironic point of
view,
Maugham was born in Paris and
studied medicine at the University of
Heidelberg and at Saint Thomas?s
Hospital,London,
Somerset Maugham
(1874-1965)
His partially autobiographical novel Of Human
Bondage (1915) is generally acknowledged as
his masterpiece and is one of the best realistic
English novels of the early 20th century,
The Moon and Six Pence (1919) is a story of the
conflict between the artist and conventional
society,based on the life of the French painter
Paul Gauguin;
Other novels are The Painted Veil (1925),Cakes
and Ale(1930),Christmas Holiday(1939),The
Hour Before the Dawn(1942),The Razor?s
Edge(1944),and Cataline,A romance(1948),
Among the collections of
his short stories are The
Trembling of a
Leaf(1921),which
includes,Miss
Thompson,” later
dramatized as Rain;
Ashenden,or The
British Agent(1928);
First Person
Singular(1931); Ah
King(1933); and
Quarter(1948),
Discussion
1) Why do some people tend to be heartless
and cruel? Were they born that way or did
circumstances harden them?
2) What are the determining forces in shaping
human nature?
? Some people seem easy to understand,their
character appears obvious on first meeting,
Appearances,however,can be deceptive,
Structure Study
Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas
Part One Para 1
Part Two Paras 2-3
Part Three Paras 4-51
Keys to last exercise,
? Part one,It is no easy job to judge
people,for they aren?t always what
they appear to be,
? Part two,Kind and gentle,Edward Burton,
a wealthy merchant,appeared as if he
could not bear to hurt a fly,
? Part three,As it turned out,Burton was
cold-blooded enough to send a friend to
certain death,
Language Study
deceptive,likely to deceive; misleading
deceptively adv,deceptiveness n,
? Appearances are deceptive,
? The newspapers promised not to run
deceptive ads in the future,
? The company was charged with deceptive
advertising for a number of products,
? The play is also an observation about the
deceptive nature of appearances,
for sb.?s (own) part /the part of,
as far as sb,is concerned
? For my part I prefer living in the country,
? Some young students,for their part,can
stay up late playing computer games,
similar expressions,
? from the perspective of sb
? in the case of
compare,
on sb's part/ the part of sb
definite,clear; that can’t be doubted
? I was wandering round the shop with no
very definite aim,
? Doctors have found a definite link between
smoking and lung cancer,
compare, sure; positive;
compare,infinite
(all) of a piece,the same in all parts;
the same as sth,Else
= all of one piece
? The style of the book is all of piece,in both
illustrations and text,
? The essays he completed in the latter part of
his life are of a piece with his earlier work,
? The testimony was all of a piece with the
professor’s version of events,
Other usages of piece
master piece 杰作 ; 杰出的事
tear to pieces 撕碎 ; 彻底摧毁 ; 痛斥
wrinkle,tighten the skin of the face into lines
or folds
? The woman was forty,but looked fifty,Her
cheeks were sunken and her skin was
wrinkled and yellow,
? The skin on her cheeks and around her eyes
was beginning to wrinkle,
? My dress wrinkles easily,
Other usages,wrinkled her nose in disdain,
皱鼻子以示不屑
in accordance with,in agreement or
harmony with
? Students will be criticized or punished
if their behavior is not in accordance
with school regulations,
? Some young people are self-centered,
which is not in accordance with
Chinese traditional values,
act in accordance with the rules
根据条例行事
elderly,(adj,& n,)(of) people rather old;
past middle age
adj,to be getting elderly 年纪渐老
? He was rather elderly with grey hair and
clear blue eyes,
? Traveling at 97 km/h (60mph),an elderly
driver may miss the information he or she
needs or may act on the wrong information,
? Most of the residents in the old district are
the elderly as their offspring have moved to
new residential areas,
evidently,obviously; it appears that
? Evidently our living conditions are much
better than before,
? He was evidently upset when he learned
that he failed in the final examination,
? The stranger approached the microphone,
evidently intending to speak,
mild,(of people or their manner) gentle and
kind; not severe or harsh
? Peter is a mild man,never getting angry
easily,
? She has inherited my husband’s milder
nature,I’m glad to say,
? The weather is mild today； it is neither hot
nor cold,
? He has too mild a nature to get angry,even
if he has good cause,
? a mild cheese 味不足的奶酪,
spicy,exciting,esp,because of being slightly
indecent; containing or tasting like spice
? You can often read spicy stories about film
stars in the local newspapers,
? People from Sichuan province like to eat
spicy food,
? spicy criticism辛辣的批评
? a spicy magazine淫秽下流的杂志
something of,to some degree
? They haven’t got a loan from the bank,
which is something of disappointment,
? It’s something of a disadvantage
nowadays if you can’t use a computer,
Compare,kind of,sort of
instinct,
a tendency that one is born with to behave in a
certain way without reasoning or training
? It is the mother’s instinct to protect her
children,
? He always knew what time it was,as if by
instinct,
? Trust your instincts and do what you think
is right,
? I knew by instinct that he had come to
deliver bad news,
? Birds learn to fly by instinct,
Other usages,
? by instinct出于本能
? act on instinct凭直觉行动
? have an instinct for生来就有,..的本能,生
性爱好
? instinct with充满着,..; 受,..的鼓舞
clap,strike (the inner surface of one’s hands)
together
? The noise of conversation rose,and the teacher
clapped her hands for silence,
? The audience clapped enthusiastically as the
singer stepped on to the stage,
? The nursery teacher clapped her hands to attract
the children's attention,
? When the singer finished,we clapped
? He clapped his son on the back,
c.f,applaud
other usages,clap eyes on看见
? It's many years since I clapped eyes on him,
oddly enough,used to say that sth,seems
strange or surprising
? oddly enough = strangely enough
? Children’s books,oddly enough,continued
to have a big place in retail sales,
? Oddly enough,some of the students don’t
know how to log on the internet,
similar expressions,strange enough
sip,
drink (sth),taking a very small amount each
time (used in the patterns,sip sth,At / from
(sth))
? Jessica sipped her coffee,listening to the
music,
? He sipped at the glass and then put it down,
? He lifted the water bottle to his lips and
sipped,
in a way,to a certain extent but not entirely
? I agree with you in a way,but there are still
some areas on which I can’t see eye to eye
with you,
? It’s easier for men to get work in a way,
similar expression,
? in a sense
? to some degree
c.f,
? in a big way大规模地 ; 豪华地 ; 隆重地
? in a great way大规模地 ; 豪华地 ; 隆重地
? in a family way不拘礼节地,家常随便地 ; 怀
孕
? in a general way一般说来,大体上
? in a good way昌盛地,富裕地
? in a hundred and one ways千方百计地
with (a) bad/good grace,unwillingly and
rudely/willingly and happily
? After I talked to him for an hour,he
admitted his mistake with bad grace,
? My mentor accepted my invitation to
dinner with good grace,
c.f,
? get into sb,good graces博得某人的欢心
? good graces好意,友意 ; 宠爱
? have the grace to (do) 有,.,的雅量,有勇
气,.,
? in sb.'s good /bad graces受某人照顾 [白眼 ]
? make one?s graces行礼
? with an ill grace勉强地,不情愿地
? with a good grace高兴地,欣然地
? with an easy grace态度自若
stroke,pass the hand gently over (a surface ),usu,
several times
? At the sight of her husband getting off the
train,the woman walked forward and
embraced him and stroked his white hair,
? I reached out and stroked the baby’s cheek
tenderly,
Other usages,
at the stroke of midnight.午夜钟声
a stroke of lightning,一个闪电
shave,cut(hair) off one’s face,etc,with a
razor; cut or scrape thin slices from the
surface of
? He washed and shaved,then hurried out of
the house,
Other usages,shave a meadow,
The bus just shaved me by an inch,
? In the Qing dynasty men shaved the front of
the head and wore the hair ant the back tied
in a queue or pigtail,
shave,cut (hair) off one’s face,etc,with a
razor; cut or scrape thin slices from the
surface of
? In the Qing dynasty men shaved the front
of the head and wore the hair and the back
tied in a queue or pigtail,
? He washed and shaved,then hurried out of
the house,
Other usages,
shave a meadow,修剪草坪
The bus just shaved me by an inch.(擦过 )
transparent,allowing light to pass through
so that objects behind can be seen clearly
? The cup is made of transparent colored
plastic,
? Transparent plastic is often used for
packaging foods,enabling the consumer to
see the product inside,
go broke,have no money; go bankrupt
? Many multinational companies went broke
during the financial crisis,not to speak of
small businesses,
? He invested all his money in stocks;
unfortunately he made one wrong choice
after another and finally went broke,
c.f,
? go for broke 全力以赴 ; 孤注一掷
? go broke 破产
? clean broke身无分文,一文不名
? dead broke身无分文,一文不名
? stone broke身无分文,一文不名
[USA] flat broke flat-broke 身无分文,一
文不名
hitherto,(fml)
until now; until a particular time
? The Hope Project sent money to student’s
hitherto unable to afford their tuition fees,
? The printing press made books available to
people hitherto unable to afford them,
? He has hitherto achieved great success in
his career,
stick to,refuse to abandon or change (sth.)
? Mike,you just tell the cops what you saw;
stick to your story,
? The old man stuck to jogging every
morning although he was eighty years old,
trim,v,defeated; make (sth.) neat or smooth
by cutting away irregular parts
? They were trimmed by 3goals to 2,
? My friend trimmed my hair last week,
n,in good trim,状况很好
? Grass shears are specially made to trim
grass growing in awkward places,
down and out,having no money,home,etc,
? When he was down and out,none of his
friends gave him a helping hand,
? Shortly after his company was
declared bankrupt,the manager
became down and out,
commit,do (sth,illegal or wrong)
? It is illegal to commit violations of the
copyright,
? The man was suspected of committing
murder,
? compare,do; perform; conduct
Other usage,To make known the views of
(oneself) on an issue,
? I never commit myself on such issues,
? To bind or obligate,as by a pledge,
? They were committed to follow orders,
be/go (all) to pieces,(of a person) have a
breakdown; lose control of oneself
? I was attracted by the story of a housewife
who went to pieces as one disaster followed
another,
? She nearly went to pieces when she heard
that her husband was among those buried in
the ruins of the World Trade Center,
insane,(informal) very foolish
? an insane laugh;疯笑；
insane babbling,疯言乱语
an insane asylum.疯人院
insane jealousy.疯狂的妒
? You would be insane to refuse the
invitation to attend the conference,
? Your plan to walk through the desert on
your own is quite insane
drive at,be trying to say
? I have no idea what you’re driving at,
? The teacher didn’t mention the word
“cheating” but knew what he was driving at,
current,continuous flow of water or air in a
particular direction
? Swimming against the current is energy-
consuming,
? Under normal conditions,the ocean currents
of tropical Pacific travel from east to west,
? I felt a current of cool air blowing in my
face,
be taken aback,be shocked or surprised
? She was taken aback when a man answered
the phone,
? I was taken aback when I found my
computer was gone,
in bad /good condition,
in bad / good health
? He is in good condition again after a long
holiday,
? In spite of the surgery he is still in bad
condition,
turn up,arrive; make one’s appearance
? He didn’t turn up until the end of the
examination,
? Some students always turn up late for
class,
funk,(informal)
avoid because of fear
? They were given a chance of taking part in
the speech contest,but funked it,
? He promised to climb the mountain with us,
but he funked it at the last moment,
funk a trouble 逃避困难
constitution,condition of a person’s body
with regarded to health,strength,etc,
? A boxer must have a strong constitution,
? Having been ill for several years,he has a
particularly fragile constitution,
n,宪法 ; 法规
? According to the American Constitution,
Presidential elections are held every four
years,
? This is an unwritten constitution
c.f,by constitution天性，体质上
have a good/poor constitution
体质好［差］
agree with/suit sb,'s constitution
适合某人体质［性格］
undermine sb.'s constitution
(因,..)伤害某人身体
trifle,a thing,a matter or an activity that has
little value or trifles
? My daughter always wastes her money on
trifles,
? The couple often quarreled about some
petty trifle connected with the housework,
a trifle,slightly,very little,somewhat
? George was a trifle awkward with girls but
fond of dancing,
? She was a trifle breathless after the run,
trifling,petty; unimportant
candid,not hiding one’s thoughts; frank and
honest (followed by about,with)
? Let me be absolutely candid with you,your
work is not good enough,
? Nancy is candid about the problems
she is having with Steve,
Other usage,
a candid snapshot,一张偷拍的快照
rub,move one’s hand,an object,etc,
backwards and forwards repeatedly on a
surface while pressing
? Coat the shoes with polish,then rub hard
with a soft cloth to give a shine,
? He looked tired and sat rubbing his eyes,
Other usage,To irritate; annoy,
? e.g,His laziness was beginning to rub me,
rub elbows or rub shoulders,to mix or socialize
closely
? Diplomats rubbing elbows with heads of state,
rub (one's) hands,to experience or display
pleased anticipation,self-satisfaction,or glee
rub (someone's) nose in (Slang),to bring
repeatedly and forcefully to another's attention
rub (someone) the wrong way,to annoy; irritate
rub up on,To refresh one's knowledge of
? I have to rub up on my French,
vacancy,unfilled position or post
? The company has a vacancy in the accounts
department,
? He didn’t want to fill the short-term
vacancy in the office,
? The college has no vacancies for professors,
Content Questions,
1.Does the narrator think our first impressions of
a person are always right? Why or why not?
2.What was Edward Burton by profession? How
did he look?
3.What struck the narrator most about Edward
Burton? How does the narrator describe this
obvious side to Burton’ s character?
4.Who was Lenny Burton? How did Edward
Burton get to know him?
5.What was Edward Burton impression of
Lenny?
6.How did Lenny manage to support
himself?
7.Why did Lenny call at his namesake’s
office one day?
8.How did Edward respond to his request?
9.How did the response help to show him up
in his true colors?
10.What idea did Edward think of when
Lenny begged again for a job?
11.Why did Lenny hesitate before he agreed
to do as he was told to? 12.When Edward
set a condition for offering a job,was he
aware Lenny would be drowned? How do
you know?
Does the title A Friend in Need help
bring out the theme of the story? How?
? No,the first sight of the title may render us
to suppose this is another story about how
people helped their friend in need,but …
? it turns out to be a story about how a
kindly person in appearance strikes a cruel
blow at a friend in need
“You can?t judge a book by looking
at its cover”,Do you agree? Why?
? Yes,it is an enlightening saying which tells
the complicatedness of the things in the
world,Not only does a book contain
something more than its cover can hold,
people,the most sophisticated creature in
the universe,bear very contradicting
character that nobody can clearly expound
it,
? Do you think most people are self-
contradictory rather than all of a piece?
? Give examples
Essay writing
Title,Molding of Character as I See It
Outline,
1,Give e.g,to illustrate what you mean by
"internal and external causes"
2,How the two kinds of causes contribute to
the molding of a person's character
3,Your conclusion
Thank You
