Three Sundays in a Week
郧阳师专英语系综合英语教研室
Background Knowledge
? Time Zones and International Date Line
? In 1884 scientists divided the world into 24 time zones,The
time in the zone containing Greenwich is called Greenwich
Mean Time.
? Going westwards around the world from Greenwich,we
subtract an hour for each 15 degrees of longitude,Going
eastwards from Greenwich we add an hour for each 15
degrees of longitude.
? At 180° longitude we arrive at the International Date Line,
This imaginary line runs north-south through the Pacific
Ocean.
? When crossing the International Date Line,the date is put
forward one day going west (a day is lost); and the date is
put back one day going east (a day is gained).
Introduction of the Author
? Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1848)
? American poet,critic,and short-story writer,is considered one of
the most important American authors of the nineteenth century,
? His short stories deal chiefly with mystery,horror,and crime,
They are considered to be important forerunners of the typical
detective story of the twentieth century.
? As an artist,Poe came to be regarded more highly abroad than
in his own country,His publications include three volumes of
poetry,a large number of short stories,and critical articles.
? His first collection of short stories,Tales of the Grotesque and
Arabesque,appeared in 1840.
? The Raven was published in 1845 as the title poem of a
collection.
? His famous work,To Helen; Annabel Lee; The fall of the House
of Usher.
Type of the Text
? Narration is the form of discourse generally
used in novels,short stories and plays,
Narrative writing tells a story,either briefly or
at some length,In a narrative piece of
writing,the sequential occurrence of events
is vital,
? Three Sundays in a Week is a short
narrative writing,
Questions
? Why did Kate and the writer invite Kate’s
two sailor friends come to their home?
? Did Captain Smitherton circled the Cape of
Good Hope twice?
? Do you believe that sometimes three
Sundays do come together in a week?
? Are you as well as the old man tricked by
their explanation?
Writing Style and Structure of the Text
? Three Sundays in a Week is an excerpt from a short story
and a delightful piece of narration in chronological order,in
which a fact is woven into fiction,giving an impossibility,a
plausible explanation,thus making the story interesting and
intriguing.
? Six Elements of a Narration
? Time On a Sunday afternoon
? Place At writer’s uncle’s home
? Figures Kate,“I”,my uncle,Captain Pratt and Captain
Smitherton
? Events Cause --- Part1 Line (1-4)
? Process --- Part 2 Line (5-20)
? Climax & End --- Part 3 Line (21-63)
Writing Style and Structure of the Text
? The story can be divided into four parts:
a.The first part (Para,1) --- The theme is state
clearly,
b.The second part (Pare,2 - 7) --- This is the
first step in the steering of the conversation.
c.The third part (Para,8 - 15) --- This is the
crucial part of the conversation.
d.The fourth part (Para,16) --- The end.
Detailed Study of the Story
1,narrator (n.)
① a person in some books,television shows,
plays,music,etc,who tells the story or
explains what is happening
② a person who narrates a story
Narrate (v.) narration (n.) narrative (n.)
2,in the care of
“care” refers to charge,protection,usually it needs to be connected with
possessive pronoun or definite article.
under / in one’s care
under / in the care of sb.
E.g.,under the doctor’s care
in a hospital’s intensive care unit
care of,in care of --- used when addressing letters to mean,at the
address of” 由 … 转交
E.g.,Roger Ning,care of Carlos Ung,Forest Street
Phrases have the same form:
take the fancy of; take a fancy to
in front of; in the front of
out of the question; out of question
in possession; in the possession of
3,consent (n.) [U] agreement; permission
(v.) consent to,agree with,permit,allow.
E.g.,John consented to help the old lady.
4,But the old man would not give his consent until three
Sundays came together in a week,--- This sentence
carries a foreshadowing of the story.
5,They had circled it in a year and come back to England,---
It means they had traveled around the world for a year and
now had just come back to England.
6,Kate and I tried to gain our point indirectly,--- It means
Kate and I tried to talk Uncle Rumgudgeon into believing
that 3 Sundays could occur in a week in a roundabout way,
They tried to get what they aimed at.
7,So we invited the pair up to meet my uncle,--- We invited
Kate’s two sailor friends to the place where we were,that is,
to the old man’s home,The word,up” can not be omitted,If
it is omitted,the meaning of the sentence will not be very
clear.
8,… after a half hour or so of idle talk,we began to steer the
conversation,--- After about half an hour of casual chatting,
we began to direct the conversation follow the course as
we had planned.
idle (adj.),having no special value or importance
steer (v.),direct the course of (as a ship or vehicle)
E.g.,steer a conversation into a favourite subject
9,Here I am just a year after leaving England,--- This means
it is just a year since I left England and I am back again.
10,bid my friends goodbye
bid (v.) bid,bid => bade,bidden; bidding
① say or wish (a greeting or goodbye to someone)
E.g.,He bid me good morning as he passed.
② order or tell (someone to do something)
E.g.,She would never do as she was bidden.
③ invite; e.g.,guests bidden to a wedding
11,It does seem a coincidence,really,doesn’t it? --- It looks
as if we had planned the same trip.
coincidence (n.),① a combination of events,happening by
chances,but in such a way that it seems planned or arranged
E.g.,What a coincidence it was to be in Wuhan just when you were?
② [U] the condition or fact of coinciding
E.g.,Is there any coincidence between his opinions and your own?
12,an extraordinary concurrence of events --- an unusual /
amazing coincidence of incidents
concurrence (n.),① an example of actions,events,etc.,
happening at the same time; e.g.,an interesting concurrence of
events
② an agreement of opinion
The concurrence of all 3 judges that the man was guilty.
③ [U] the act of concurring
13,But remember that Captain Pratt didn’t go by the
same route as Captain Smitherton --- that makes a
difference.
?But notice that the two captains traveled in opposite
directions and that is quite important.
make some / no/ a lot of / all the difference
E.g.,It doesn’t make any / much difference to me
whether you go or stay.
14.,Well,” broke in my uncle.
Kate interrupted hastily.
interrupt = break in
This revealed that my uncle and Kate were impatient and
irritable.
15.,Sunday?” Kate demanded.,Come,you know
Robert’s not so bad as that! Today is Sunday,of
course!”
Come here is an interjection,expressing not very
strong disapproval.
This sentence was said by Kate intentionally.
16,Here Smitherton found his voice at last.
?Here Smitherton began to speak at last.
found his voice --- managed to speak in spite of the
argument between Captain Pratt on one hand and
Kate and her uncle on the other hand.
17,He’d been looking at the others as though they were mad.
as though leads an adverbial clause of manner,which refers to,as it
would be if (something were true)”,
18,Today’s Sunday!” my uncle roared,purple with anger.
Roar used here to indicate that my uncle is a bad-tempered man.
purple with anger,purple is a dark colour which is a blend of red and
blue,Usually when a person is extremely angry,his face will turn
purple,Here it shows that the writer’s uncle was so angry and agitated
that his face turned deep crimson,气得脸色发青
Different colour in different culture may have different association,
Language can reflect the cultural feature of one nation,Therefore,in
different languages they may use different colours to describe the
same object or phenomenon,For examples:
他气得脸都红了。 He was red with anger,红茶 black tea;
白发 gray / grey hair; 红糖 brown sugar; 新手 a green hand;
嫉妒得眼都红了 green with envy / be green-eyed;
红眼病 green-eyed monster;
结膜炎，红眼病 pink eye;
吓得脸色苍白 ash-white with terror;
情绪低落 in the blue mood
出身高贵 a real blue blood
19,I am as positive that yesterday was Sunday as I am that
I’m sitting in this chair,--- I am positive that yesterday was
Sunday just as I am positive that I’m sitting in this chair,(To
puzzle people intentionally.)
be sure of / that-clause
E.g.,I’m sure that he is right just as I am sure that one plus
one is two.
20,And here Kate ended the quarrel by jumping up,
as if she had a new thought.
?Kate jumped up to bring the quarrel to the end by
pretending that a new thought had struck her.
21,It’s a judgment on you,papa,about you know
what.
?You can give a judgment for your demands about
the marriage.
?A judgment will be passed on you for your
unreasonable demands made on Robert and me.
22,I can explain it in a minute.
in a minute = immediately,at once
23.,Why,of course!” said Smitherton after a bit of mock
thought.
mock (adj.),artificial; not real or true; like (in appearance,
taste,etc.) something real.
“A bit of mock thought” used in the sentence means
Captain Smitherton was pretending to be thinking for a
while,This way he would appear to be more
convincing than otherwise,that is,he looked as if he
had thought out the truth after some serious thinking.
24,And it spins around from west to east in 24
hours.
spin (v.) spun; spinning
to turn round and round fast; whirl
E.g.,spin a top; a wheel spinning on its axle
I spun round to see who had spoken.
25.,On the contrary” is used when someone says
a statement that is not true,Show a turning
relationship between two sentences.
“On the other hand” is used to add a new different
opposite statement to the original one.
For examples,
A,It’s cold.
B,On the contrary,it’s hot here.
It’s cold,but on the other hand it’s not raining.
“In contrast” is also used in 2 very different
facts that are both true,but it points out the
surprising difference between them.
For example:
It was cold yesterday,but in contrast it’s very hot
today.
26,We are all perfectly correct in our claims about this Sunday.
claim (n.):① a statement of something as fact 声明，说法, For example,
His claim to know the answer was not believed.
② (for,on) a demand for sth,as one’s own by right 要求
③ (to,on) a right to something 权利, For example,
The poor have a claim to our sympathy.
④ a sum of money claimed; esp,from an insurance company 要求保险公
司赔偿的一笔款项
27,keep one’s word 兑现诺言
break one’s word 失信
give one’s word 保证
take one’s word 相信某人的话
eat one’s word 收回自己所说的话，承认说错了
28,plausible (adj.),looks reasonable
Conclusion
? The title arouses our curiosity at once,Most of us are
bound to ask,“Is it possible for three Sundays to occur in
a week?” When we read on,we find the question
answered satisfactorily though plausibly.
? The plot is simple,Uncle Rumgudgeon insists that he will
not give Robert consent to marry Kate until three
Sundays occur in one week,To thwart the old man’s
wishes,Robert and Kate,with the help of two sailor
friends,devise a scheme to trick him into believing that
three Sundays did come together in one week,The
scheme is pre-meditated and cleverly worded out,How
the author develops the plot step by step,basing the
argument on a fact,is well worth studying,
? The language is lucid and it gives clues to
the intention to trick the old man.
? In short,we are told clearly that the young
couple’s plan was cleverly designed and
successfully carried out.
Assignment
? Pick out the key words of the text.
? Write a précis of Three Sundays in a Week.
? Summarize what we have learnt today,
? Write a one-paragraph narrative
chronological order on A Happy / Sad /
Gloomy / An Unforgettable Day in My Life.
OVER
郧阳师专英语系综合英语教研室
Background Knowledge
? Time Zones and International Date Line
? In 1884 scientists divided the world into 24 time zones,The
time in the zone containing Greenwich is called Greenwich
Mean Time.
? Going westwards around the world from Greenwich,we
subtract an hour for each 15 degrees of longitude,Going
eastwards from Greenwich we add an hour for each 15
degrees of longitude.
? At 180° longitude we arrive at the International Date Line,
This imaginary line runs north-south through the Pacific
Ocean.
? When crossing the International Date Line,the date is put
forward one day going west (a day is lost); and the date is
put back one day going east (a day is gained).
Introduction of the Author
? Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1848)
? American poet,critic,and short-story writer,is considered one of
the most important American authors of the nineteenth century,
? His short stories deal chiefly with mystery,horror,and crime,
They are considered to be important forerunners of the typical
detective story of the twentieth century.
? As an artist,Poe came to be regarded more highly abroad than
in his own country,His publications include three volumes of
poetry,a large number of short stories,and critical articles.
? His first collection of short stories,Tales of the Grotesque and
Arabesque,appeared in 1840.
? The Raven was published in 1845 as the title poem of a
collection.
? His famous work,To Helen; Annabel Lee; The fall of the House
of Usher.
Type of the Text
? Narration is the form of discourse generally
used in novels,short stories and plays,
Narrative writing tells a story,either briefly or
at some length,In a narrative piece of
writing,the sequential occurrence of events
is vital,
? Three Sundays in a Week is a short
narrative writing,
Questions
? Why did Kate and the writer invite Kate’s
two sailor friends come to their home?
? Did Captain Smitherton circled the Cape of
Good Hope twice?
? Do you believe that sometimes three
Sundays do come together in a week?
? Are you as well as the old man tricked by
their explanation?
Writing Style and Structure of the Text
? Three Sundays in a Week is an excerpt from a short story
and a delightful piece of narration in chronological order,in
which a fact is woven into fiction,giving an impossibility,a
plausible explanation,thus making the story interesting and
intriguing.
? Six Elements of a Narration
? Time On a Sunday afternoon
? Place At writer’s uncle’s home
? Figures Kate,“I”,my uncle,Captain Pratt and Captain
Smitherton
? Events Cause --- Part1 Line (1-4)
? Process --- Part 2 Line (5-20)
? Climax & End --- Part 3 Line (21-63)
Writing Style and Structure of the Text
? The story can be divided into four parts:
a.The first part (Para,1) --- The theme is state
clearly,
b.The second part (Pare,2 - 7) --- This is the
first step in the steering of the conversation.
c.The third part (Para,8 - 15) --- This is the
crucial part of the conversation.
d.The fourth part (Para,16) --- The end.
Detailed Study of the Story
1,narrator (n.)
① a person in some books,television shows,
plays,music,etc,who tells the story or
explains what is happening
② a person who narrates a story
Narrate (v.) narration (n.) narrative (n.)
2,in the care of
“care” refers to charge,protection,usually it needs to be connected with
possessive pronoun or definite article.
under / in one’s care
under / in the care of sb.
E.g.,under the doctor’s care
in a hospital’s intensive care unit
care of,in care of --- used when addressing letters to mean,at the
address of” 由 … 转交
E.g.,Roger Ning,care of Carlos Ung,Forest Street
Phrases have the same form:
take the fancy of; take a fancy to
in front of; in the front of
out of the question; out of question
in possession; in the possession of
3,consent (n.) [U] agreement; permission
(v.) consent to,agree with,permit,allow.
E.g.,John consented to help the old lady.
4,But the old man would not give his consent until three
Sundays came together in a week,--- This sentence
carries a foreshadowing of the story.
5,They had circled it in a year and come back to England,---
It means they had traveled around the world for a year and
now had just come back to England.
6,Kate and I tried to gain our point indirectly,--- It means
Kate and I tried to talk Uncle Rumgudgeon into believing
that 3 Sundays could occur in a week in a roundabout way,
They tried to get what they aimed at.
7,So we invited the pair up to meet my uncle,--- We invited
Kate’s two sailor friends to the place where we were,that is,
to the old man’s home,The word,up” can not be omitted,If
it is omitted,the meaning of the sentence will not be very
clear.
8,… after a half hour or so of idle talk,we began to steer the
conversation,--- After about half an hour of casual chatting,
we began to direct the conversation follow the course as
we had planned.
idle (adj.),having no special value or importance
steer (v.),direct the course of (as a ship or vehicle)
E.g.,steer a conversation into a favourite subject
9,Here I am just a year after leaving England,--- This means
it is just a year since I left England and I am back again.
10,bid my friends goodbye
bid (v.) bid,bid => bade,bidden; bidding
① say or wish (a greeting or goodbye to someone)
E.g.,He bid me good morning as he passed.
② order or tell (someone to do something)
E.g.,She would never do as she was bidden.
③ invite; e.g.,guests bidden to a wedding
11,It does seem a coincidence,really,doesn’t it? --- It looks
as if we had planned the same trip.
coincidence (n.),① a combination of events,happening by
chances,but in such a way that it seems planned or arranged
E.g.,What a coincidence it was to be in Wuhan just when you were?
② [U] the condition or fact of coinciding
E.g.,Is there any coincidence between his opinions and your own?
12,an extraordinary concurrence of events --- an unusual /
amazing coincidence of incidents
concurrence (n.),① an example of actions,events,etc.,
happening at the same time; e.g.,an interesting concurrence of
events
② an agreement of opinion
The concurrence of all 3 judges that the man was guilty.
③ [U] the act of concurring
13,But remember that Captain Pratt didn’t go by the
same route as Captain Smitherton --- that makes a
difference.
?But notice that the two captains traveled in opposite
directions and that is quite important.
make some / no/ a lot of / all the difference
E.g.,It doesn’t make any / much difference to me
whether you go or stay.
14.,Well,” broke in my uncle.
Kate interrupted hastily.
interrupt = break in
This revealed that my uncle and Kate were impatient and
irritable.
15.,Sunday?” Kate demanded.,Come,you know
Robert’s not so bad as that! Today is Sunday,of
course!”
Come here is an interjection,expressing not very
strong disapproval.
This sentence was said by Kate intentionally.
16,Here Smitherton found his voice at last.
?Here Smitherton began to speak at last.
found his voice --- managed to speak in spite of the
argument between Captain Pratt on one hand and
Kate and her uncle on the other hand.
17,He’d been looking at the others as though they were mad.
as though leads an adverbial clause of manner,which refers to,as it
would be if (something were true)”,
18,Today’s Sunday!” my uncle roared,purple with anger.
Roar used here to indicate that my uncle is a bad-tempered man.
purple with anger,purple is a dark colour which is a blend of red and
blue,Usually when a person is extremely angry,his face will turn
purple,Here it shows that the writer’s uncle was so angry and agitated
that his face turned deep crimson,气得脸色发青
Different colour in different culture may have different association,
Language can reflect the cultural feature of one nation,Therefore,in
different languages they may use different colours to describe the
same object or phenomenon,For examples:
他气得脸都红了。 He was red with anger,红茶 black tea;
白发 gray / grey hair; 红糖 brown sugar; 新手 a green hand;
嫉妒得眼都红了 green with envy / be green-eyed;
红眼病 green-eyed monster;
结膜炎，红眼病 pink eye;
吓得脸色苍白 ash-white with terror;
情绪低落 in the blue mood
出身高贵 a real blue blood
19,I am as positive that yesterday was Sunday as I am that
I’m sitting in this chair,--- I am positive that yesterday was
Sunday just as I am positive that I’m sitting in this chair,(To
puzzle people intentionally.)
be sure of / that-clause
E.g.,I’m sure that he is right just as I am sure that one plus
one is two.
20,And here Kate ended the quarrel by jumping up,
as if she had a new thought.
?Kate jumped up to bring the quarrel to the end by
pretending that a new thought had struck her.
21,It’s a judgment on you,papa,about you know
what.
?You can give a judgment for your demands about
the marriage.
?A judgment will be passed on you for your
unreasonable demands made on Robert and me.
22,I can explain it in a minute.
in a minute = immediately,at once
23.,Why,of course!” said Smitherton after a bit of mock
thought.
mock (adj.),artificial; not real or true; like (in appearance,
taste,etc.) something real.
“A bit of mock thought” used in the sentence means
Captain Smitherton was pretending to be thinking for a
while,This way he would appear to be more
convincing than otherwise,that is,he looked as if he
had thought out the truth after some serious thinking.
24,And it spins around from west to east in 24
hours.
spin (v.) spun; spinning
to turn round and round fast; whirl
E.g.,spin a top; a wheel spinning on its axle
I spun round to see who had spoken.
25.,On the contrary” is used when someone says
a statement that is not true,Show a turning
relationship between two sentences.
“On the other hand” is used to add a new different
opposite statement to the original one.
For examples,
A,It’s cold.
B,On the contrary,it’s hot here.
It’s cold,but on the other hand it’s not raining.
“In contrast” is also used in 2 very different
facts that are both true,but it points out the
surprising difference between them.
For example:
It was cold yesterday,but in contrast it’s very hot
today.
26,We are all perfectly correct in our claims about this Sunday.
claim (n.):① a statement of something as fact 声明，说法, For example,
His claim to know the answer was not believed.
② (for,on) a demand for sth,as one’s own by right 要求
③ (to,on) a right to something 权利, For example,
The poor have a claim to our sympathy.
④ a sum of money claimed; esp,from an insurance company 要求保险公
司赔偿的一笔款项
27,keep one’s word 兑现诺言
break one’s word 失信
give one’s word 保证
take one’s word 相信某人的话
eat one’s word 收回自己所说的话，承认说错了
28,plausible (adj.),looks reasonable
Conclusion
? The title arouses our curiosity at once,Most of us are
bound to ask,“Is it possible for three Sundays to occur in
a week?” When we read on,we find the question
answered satisfactorily though plausibly.
? The plot is simple,Uncle Rumgudgeon insists that he will
not give Robert consent to marry Kate until three
Sundays occur in one week,To thwart the old man’s
wishes,Robert and Kate,with the help of two sailor
friends,devise a scheme to trick him into believing that
three Sundays did come together in one week,The
scheme is pre-meditated and cleverly worded out,How
the author develops the plot step by step,basing the
argument on a fact,is well worth studying,
? The language is lucid and it gives clues to
the intention to trick the old man.
? In short,we are told clearly that the young
couple’s plan was cleverly designed and
successfully carried out.
Assignment
? Pick out the key words of the text.
? Write a précis of Three Sundays in a Week.
? Summarize what we have learnt today,
? Write a one-paragraph narrative
chronological order on A Happy / Sad /
Gloomy / An Unforgettable Day in My Life.
OVER
