Unit 3 The Million Pound Bank-Note

Mark TwainMark Twain

Samuel Samuel LanghornLanghorne Clemense Clemens

1835 1835 — — 19101910

Fill in the blanks

Real name

Meaning of his pen name

Birth date

Birthplace

Place where he grew up

His famous stories

Fill in the blanks

Real name Samuel

Langhorne Clemens

Meaning of his pen name

the water is two fathoms deep

Birth date November 30th,1835.

Birthplace Hannibal, Mossouri

Fill in the blanks

Place where he grew up

Hannibal, Missouri,

along the Mississippi

His famous stories

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Imagine that

somebody gives you

a large sum of

money to spend as

you like. What

would you do with

it?

The Million Pound Bank Note

Henry :

a lost American businessman in London

Roderick and Oliver:

two brothers who are rich

Englishmen

Characters （人物）

The Million Pound Bank-note Act One

Brief introduction to the story:

Two brothers Oliver and Roderick

brothers bet on what would happen if

one had nothing but a bank-note of

￡ 1,000,000. They made a bet on a

poor man Henry, who was in rags.

Brief introduction to the story:

They gave him a million pound bank

note and saw whether he could win

other’s respect even though he was in

rags and looked poor. So the story

began…

ACT

1

SCENEThe story began

What do you think of Henry?

It is my first trip here.

Well, to be honest, I have none. (no money)

Well, I can’t say that I have any plans.

I earned my passage by working as an unpaid hand.

Could you offer me some kind of work here?

I don’t want your charity, I just want an honest job.

Well, it may seem luck to you but not to me.

If this is your idea of some kind of joke, I don’t think it’s very funny.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll be on my way.

Comprehending: For each statement, write “F” if it is a fact. Write “O”if it is an opinion. 1. _____ Henry wants to find a job in

London.

2. _____ Henry is given an envelope by the two brothers.

3. _____ Henry is an unlucky young man.

4. _____The servant is called James.

5. _____ Henry is foolish to go and meet the two brothers.

F

F

OFO

Read Act 1, Scenen3 carefully

and find all the examples of

polite requests in it. Then

rewrite them in information

language.

Polite language Simple alternative

1Would you step inside a moment please?

Come in, please.

2

3

4

5

6

Polite language Simple alternative

1Would you step inside a moment please?

Come in, please.

2 Good morning, sir, would you please come in?

Hello. Please come in.

3 Permit me to lead the way, sir.

Let me show you the way.

4 How do you do, Mr…er…?

Hello Mr…

5 I wonder, Mr Adams, if you’d mind…

Mr Adams, is it OK if…

6 May we ask what you’re doing in this country…?

Why are you in England?

7 Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll…

Please excuse me.

Find what Henry says or

does on the following

occasions and then use

your own words to

describe how you think

he feels.

What Henry says or does

How he feels

Before he enters the brother’s house

When he

introduces himself

wandering round London

behaves politely and answers questions fully

miserable,

unhappy,

anxious

curious why he has been asked to go into the house

When the brothers ask him about his plans

When he tells them how he reached London by ship

admits hisproblems and asks for work;explains his situation

blame himself for his carelessness: remembers how hungry he was when sees the food on the table

grateful that he was rescued;

aware of his hunger

hopeful that he might find a solution to his troubles

When they seem happy that he has no money When they give him the envelope

When they tell him there is money in it

Before he leaves the house

replies angrily angry, irritated

wants to open the envelop straightway

irritated that he cannot open the envelop at once

explains he wants a job not charity

unhappy to be given money rather than working for it

agrees not to open the letter till 2 pm

interested andcurious

1. It is the summer of 1903. two old and wealthy brother have made a bet.

• make a bet=have a bet 打赌• Win/ lose a bet 打赌赢了 / 输了• I bet (that): 我肯定 ; 我敢说• I bet he has gone swimming – he loves it.

• 我肯定他去游泳了 ----- 他喜爱这项运动 .

• You bet: 的确 ; 当然• ------“Are you going to see the film?”

• -------“you bet (I am)!”

• “你去看电影么 ?” “ 当然 ( 我去 )!”

2. He was brought up in Hannibal, Missouri…

bring up v. 教育 , 培养 , 提出a. These are matters that you can bring up

in committee. 这些问题你可在委员会中提出。b. Her parents died when she was a baby

and she was brought up by her aunt. 她出生后不久父母双亡，由姑母抚养大的。

3 … they see a penniless young man

wandering on the pavement…

wander: vi. 漫游 ; 漫步 ; 漂泊 The boy was wandering around. 

男孩在那周围徘徊。Please don't wander off the point. 

请不要离题。

4. permit me to lead the way, sir.

permit: v. 允许 , 许可 permit sb to do sth=allow sb to do sth

我恐怕不会允许我女儿嫁给你。I am afraid I cannot permit my daughter

to marry you.

. permit sth; permit doing sth

we don’t permit smoking in the office.

在我们办公室里不准吸烟 .

n. 许可证 , 执照你没有许可证就不能在这里工作。You can’t work here without a work permit.

5 I landed in Britain by accident. by accident:   偶然 ; 无意中 I only found it by accident.    我只是碰巧找到的。 The gun went off by accident.  那枪走火了。

6 His eyes stare at what is left of the brother's dinner on table.

stare at:   凝视；盯着看She stared at herself in the mirror.

  她凝视着镜中的自己。They stared at the strange sight in silent

wonder. 

他们惊讶地默默凝视那奇景。

7 I was spotted by a ship.

spot: v. 发现 , 认出She spotted her friend in the crowd.

她在人群中认出了她的朋友。 n. 污点 , 地点 , 斑点Luckily there was a doctor on the spot.

   幸运的是现场有一位医生。

8 …which accounts for my appearance.

account for; explain the cause of sth

做某事的解析；解析某事的原因

请你对自己的行为作出解析

Please account for your own conduct.

9 On the contrary, in fact.

on the contrary 与此相反；正相反

I’m not ill. On the contrary, I’m very

healthy. 

我没有生病。正相反，我很健康。

10. to be honest = to tell you the truth=honestly speaking 类似用法 ： to be frank =frankly speaking 坦率地说我认为我们取胜的可能性不大To be honest, I don’t think we have a chance of winning.