Warm-up Exercises

Questions-answering Listen to the song and answer the

following questions What is the song about?

According to the song, can you tell the life in the country of West Virginia?

Warm-up Exercises

Why do so many migrant workers move from the country to the city?

Why do city people buy apartments or houses in the suburbs, even in the countryside?

Discussion

Enjoy Pictures of Countryside & City

Beautiful countryside

Beautiful countryside

Beautiful countryside

Beautiful countryside

City life

City life

City life

City life

City life Vs country life

Compare the city life & countryside life

Different aspects Advantages Vs disadvantages Which one do you prefer and why?

Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream Life

--- By Jim Doherty

Text A

General Comprehension Questions

What are the two things that the writer has always wanted to do?Is life in the country easy for the writer and his family?How do the writer and his family manage to live on a comparatively low income in the country?What does the writer think are the special qualities necessary for leading a life the way they do?How does the writer think he and his family will feel when they have to leave the farm someday?

Text Organization

Part I (Paras 1-3)The writer views his life in the country as a __________ and ________ one.

Part II (Paras 4-7)Life in the country is _____ but yet sometimes very _____.

self-reliant

satisfying

goodhard

Text Organization Part III (Paras 8-11)

After _____________ , the writer’s income was _______ ,but he and his family can manage to get by.

Part IV (Paras 12-15)A tolerance for _______ and a lot of ______ have made it possible for the family to enjoy their life in the county.

quitting his job reduce

d

solitudeenergy

Theme of the text For the author and his family,

living in the countryside improves the quality of life, but to achieve this, it takes special qualities: tolerance for solitude and energy, which makes it possible for them to enjoy this pleasant but sometimes harsh country life.

Text Analysis This piece of writing is written in the first

person. It is a piece of narrative writing.

Since the writer mainly describes the country life, he cannot avoid employing comparison and contrast between city life and country life.

Writing skills 1. topic sentence+supporting details (Para.2,3,4,6,7,10,11) 2. transitional words sequential words (Para.4,7,8) other connectives (Para.10,12,14) also in Text B (Para.7,8,9,11)

Who is E.B White? born in 1899 in Mount Vernon, New York began his writing career as a reporter and he

ended it as one of the most celebrated children's authors of his time

won many awards for his writing, including a special Pulitzer Prize in 1978

held honorary degrees from 7 American colleges and universities

His Works Essays  One Man's Meat Once More to the Lake  The Points of My Compass The Second Tree from the Corner The Essays of E.B. White  Letters of E.B. White  Poems and Sketches of E.B. White The Wild Flag

His Works Children's Books   Stuart Little  (1945 )     Charlotte’s Web    (1952) The Trumpet of the Swan (1970) Others The Elements of Style A subtreasury of American Humor Is Sex Necessary? Is This New York?

Language Points

Part I get by (Line 3): be good enough but not very good; manage to live or do things

eg: It is a bit hard for the old couple to get by on a small amount of pension.

如果我们坚持到底，我们就能熬过难关。

We’ll get by if we hold on to the end.

Some phrases related to “get”

get across: be understood

Did your speech get across to the students?

学生能理解你的演说吗？

get away with: run away without being punished

The teller had been stealing money from the bankThe teller had been stealing money from the bank and got away with it.and got away with it.

这个出纳一直在偷银行的钱却能侥幸逃脱。这个出纳一直在偷银行的钱却能侥幸逃脱。

Part I

get round to : finally do sth. after dealing with other matters eg: He got round to going back home in

countryside for a short rest.

他终于能回乡村的家里短暂休息一下了。

get through (Line 45): come successfully to the end eg: We’ve stored enough food and fuel to get

through the cold winter.

为了度过寒冬，我们已经储备了足够的食物和燃料。

Some phrases related to “get”Part I

Part Imake it (Line 9) : be successful, fulfill the purposeeg: Having failed for thousands of times, he eventually made it.

她最后成功地成为了一家大公司的总裁。She finally made it as a CEO of a big cor-poration.

Cultural NotesFahrenheit scale and Celsius scale

They are both the scales of temperature. Fahrenheit scale was first established by the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit in 1715. On this scale, water freezes at 32 F and boils at 212 F. Celsius scale was first established by the Swedish scientist Anders Celsius in 1742. On this scale, water freezes at 0 C and boils at 100 C.

Part IIhaul (Line 16)

v. transport, as with a truck, cart, etc.eg: These farmers haul fruits and vegetables to the

market on a cart in the early morning every day.

v. pull or drag sth. with effort or force

eg: A crane has to be used to haul the car out of

the stream.

Part IIsupplement (Line 21)

v. add to sth. in order to improve it (followed by with)eg: 1) Forrest does occasional freelance to

supplement his income. 2) The doctor suggested supplementing my

diet with vitamins E and A.

supplementary adj. additional, auxiliary

Part II

indoor (Line 21)adj. situated or used inside a building

eg: Tobacco smoke is considered as an indoor

pollutant.

这个百万富翁的豪宅里有一个大的室内游泳池。这个百万富翁的豪宅里有一个大的室内游泳池。There is a large indoor swimming pool in the

mansion of the millionaire.

Part IIConfusable words

spray (Line 22): v. force out liquid in small drops upon (followed by with)eg: I’ll have to spray the roses with insecticide to

get rid of the greenfly 蚜虫 .

splash: v. to propel or scatter (a fluid) about in flying masseseg: The little boy splashed a page with ink.

Part II

pursue (Line 26)v. strive to gain or accomplisheg: College students are advised to pursue a wide

range of subjects.

She decided to pursue her studies abroad after

obtaining her Master Degree.

她决定得到硕士学位后到海外留学。 pursuit n. chase, search

Part III

at that point (Line 47): at that very moment,

right then

eg: At that point, she was really miserable, working part-time and having two kids to support.

At that point, so late in the day, we were too tired to go on.

Phrases related to “point” in the point of: as far asto the point of: to a degree that can be described as sth.

Ivy League Ivy League now refers to the eight long-est

ablished colleges and universities in the northeastern US with a good reputation: Brown University in Providence, Columbia University in New York City, Cornell University in Ithaca, Dartmouth College in Hanover, Harvard University in Cambridge, Pennsylvania University in Philadelphia, Princeton University in Princeton, and Yale University in New Haven.

Cultural Notes

on balance (Line 54): with all things considered

eg: 1) eg: 1) On balance, it’s probably not advisable to

change the company’s name.

2) 2) I think, on balance, you are a tolerant and

generous person.

Part III

Part IIIillustrate (Line 56)v. provide with visual features, clarify by use of examp

les, etc.

eg: 1) eg: 1) Let me use another example to illustrate this

difficult point.

2) 2) The editor has illustrated the book

with color photos.

Part IIIConfusable words illustrate: emphasizes “to explain sth. with examples or with photos and pictures”. explain : means “to give the reasons or reveal some puzzles of sth.” eg: He is explaining how a machine operates. interpret: means “to explain the meaning of sth. with imagination or some special knowledge”. eg: How do you interpret this poem?

Cultural Notes

Buying insurancePeople face many choices when buying insura

nce. Some of the most important of the criteria include: 1) the financial stability of the insurance company; 2) the price of the policies; 3) details of coverage and service.

Most insurance falls into four main categories: 1) property and casualty; 2) life; 3) health and disability; 4) old-age and unemployment.

Part III when it comes to: concerning eg. When it comes to quality, it is first-

rate. You can never be too careful when it c

omes to children. Direct speech is more convincing than

indirect speech, esp. when it comes to expressing personal beliefs.

Part IIIminor(Line 67):

adj. lesser or smaller in amount or importance, etc. eg: Don’t worry. It is only a minor operation.minor in （兼修） vs. major in （主修）eg: He majors in computer science, but he is also interested in Shakespeare’s plays, so he minors in literature.

他主修专业是计算机科学，但他对莎士比 亚的戏剧很感兴趣 , 所以他辅修了文学专业。

aside from (Line 69) except for, in addition to (more usual in AmE, same as apart from)

eg: 1) This essay is good aside from a couple of spelling mistakes.

2) Aside from an occasional game, he doesn't take any exercise.

Part III

Part IIIcut back (on) (Line 71): reduce in size or amount esp. to

save moneyeg: The factory’s production has been cut back.

When companies are cutting back, the first people to lose their jobs are temporary staff. The government has cut back on defense spending.

Cf. cut down eg. The doctor told him to cut down his consumption o

f fat.

Part III

dine out (Line 72): eat a meal away from home (usu. in a restaurant)

eg: With the improvement of living standards, more people dine out at weekends.

dine in: the opposite phrase

eg: When avian flu is prevalent, we’d better dine in and watch TV.

Part IV

suspect (Line 78)v. believe to be true, likely or probable, feel doubt about (suspect sb./sth.of sth.; suspect that)

eg:1) He was suspected of telling lies in the court.

2) I strongly suspected that they’re trying to get rid

of me.

n. a person who is suspected of doing sth. wrong

eg. The police have taken the suspect to the station.

Cf doubt: consider unlikely; feel uncertain eg. She said she would help me, but I doubt

ed whether she was in earnest. Do you doubt my words?

Part IVbudget n. the amount of money available to spen

deg: 1) You should have your own budget to help

your balance income and expenses.

2) It is estimated that the military expenditure will exceed the financial budget of the nation this year.

Part IV

on a … scale (Line 85): to a … degree

eg: The government only permitted public

demonstrations of students on a small scale

政府只允许学生小规模的示威游行。 We should popularize science on a grand scale.

我们应该大规模普及科学。

Part IVdevice n. (Line.86) a piece of equipment desi

gned to serve a special purpose

eg: a device for opening bottles

an electronic hearing device

Part IV

invest (in) (Line 93): spend or devote (money or capital/time or effort) for future benefit; buyeg: My parents intend to invest in stocks and bonds.

I have invested a lot of time and effort in this plan. Most schools in the region have now invested in computers with CD-ROMs.

Post-reading Discussion

What is quality life? How do you define it?

How can you achieve it?(from both materialistic and spiritual

perspectives)

Assignments

Do the translation exercises of the supplementary readings on campus netEssay writing on My ideal life

Robert Frost (1874 - 1963) one of America's leading 20th-century

poets a four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize an essentially pastoral poet often

associated with rural New England wrote poems whose philosophical

dimensions transcend any region his poetry --- both traditional and

experimental, regional and universal

The end

The Road Not Taken 1. Describe both of the roads that

the author finds. 2. Which road does the speaker

choose? 3. Does he make the right decision? 4. Does the speaker seem happy

about his decision?

Discussion Questions 1. Have you encountered two roads in

your own life? 2. Which road would you choose? Why? 3. How do you view choices in your life? 4. Are you excited about different

opportunities or confused when another choice comes your way?