Unit 6 Romance

Text A A Valentine Story I. Pre-reading activity 1. What does valentine mean?

2. Do you know anything about Valentine’s Day?

-- 情人节 / 圣瓦伦丁节 It is lover’s holiday celebrated on February 14. It used to be the feast day of St. Valentine. St. Valentine, one of the 3rd century Roman martyrs ,is considered the patron of lovers. The feast day became a lover’s festival in the 14th century.

II.Text organization

Part 1 Para.1--- opening of the story M.I.--John Blanchard was expecting someone at Grand Central Station.

Part 2 Paras 2-6---Flashback M.I.---How Blanchard had fallen in love with Miss Maynell.

Part 3 Paras. 7-15---Development of the story M.I.---Miss Maynell put Blanchard to a test.

Part 4 Paras. 16-17---Implication of the story M.I.--- It was wise of Miss Maynell to give such a test.

III. Language points

Part 1

1.(Para. 1) make one’s way ( to / through/ home…)--go ( 向 ) 走去 e.g. He slowly rose from his seat and made his way to the door.

Part 2

2.absorb (Para.2,L4) vt.-- 1)completely hold one’s attention/ 吸引 ( 注意 ) be absorbed in sth. 2)take in 吸收 e.g. I was so absorbed in the detective story that I didn’t notice that someone entered the room.

Students should find time to absorb everything the teacher said in class.

3.reflect (Para.2,L6) v.---1) be a sign of/ show 反映 / 反射 / 显示 e.g. Rising prices may reflect the rise in demand for these goods.

Mirrors reflect light.

2) think deeply about 思考 / 考虑 reflect sth./ reflect on sth.

e.g. You should reflect how to fulfill the task.

I need time to reflect on your suggestion.

4.insight (Para.2,L6) n.---deep understanding/ ability to see into the true nature of sth.

深刻了解 / 洞察力 e.g. The article is full of remarkable insights.

The book shows an insight into human nature.

5. locate (Para.3,L3) vt.---1) find the exact position of sth. 找出 … 的准确位置或地点 e.g. locate a town on the map 2) be located ---be situated 坐落于 … e.g. The public library is located in the city center.

6. (Para.4,L2 3)” Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding.” Metaphor 隐喻 —a suggested but not stated comparison of one thing to another.

比较 : Simile 明喻 ---a comparison of one thing to another, using the words “like” or “as”.

e.g. (Para.7,L5 6) “ She was like springtime come alive.” 7. matter (Para.4,L6) vi.--be of importance 要紧 / 关 系重大 e.g. It doesn’t matter to me what you do.

What does it matter whether he comes or goes?

8. “I’d always be haunted by the feeling…” (Para.4,L6-8) -- I’d always have the feeling that you fell in love with me only because of my beauty, and I hate that kind of love. haunt vt.---1) (of ghost) visit regularly ( 鬼魂 ) 常出没于 … e.g. a haunted house A ghost haunts the castle.

2) return often to mind or memory of sb.

( 思想 , 回忆等 ) 萦绕 / 常出没于某人脑海中 e.g. The escaped prisoner was haunted by fear of being discovered.

He was haunted by memories of his unhappy childhood.

9. sustain (Para.6,L5) vt.---support/ maintain/ keep in existence 支持 ; 支撑 / 保持 / 维持 / 供养 e.g. Hope sustained him in the difficult times.

We had just enough food to sustain us.

The teacher tried hard to sustain the children’s interest in learning English.

Part 3

10. (Para.7,L5) “gentle firmness” Oxymoron 矛盾修辞 ---a figure of speech which combines apparently contradictory words and meanings for a special effect.

e.g. thunderous silence sweet sorrow

11. Absolute construction of participles 分词独立结构 / 独立主格结构 Logical subject + P.P or predicative ---used as adverbial denoting time, manner, reason, condition, etc.

e.g. 1) He sat in silence, his mind working.

2) The meeting over, they went home.

3) His leg badly hurt, he had to stay in bed.

4) All things considered, his paper is much better than yours.

5) There are two doors, one leading to the living-room, the other to the kitchen. ( 做补充说明 )

6) 可与 with/ without 连用 e.g. The gas will expand with the temperature increasing.

Without anything left in the cupboard, she went out to get something to eat.

12.keen (Para.11,L2) a.---1) strong / intense 强烈的 e.g. a keen interest/ desire 2) eager, enthusiastic 热切的 / 热衷于 e.g. She is out of hospital now and keen to go back to work.

I’m not keen on Jazz.

13. long (Para.11,L3) vi.---have an intense desire 渴望 / 极想 long for sth./ long to do e.g. People longed for peace after many years of war.

longing n. e.g. have a longing for sth.

14. be grateful ( to sb.) for sth. (Para.13,L5)--- be feeling thanks for… e.g. The mother was grateful to the young man for saving her child.

Part 4

15.(Para.17)” Tell me whom you love, and I will tell you who you are.” ---If you tell me whom you love, I will tell you what kind of person you are.

imperative 祈使句 , + and…==If…+ main clause e.g. Form a picture of yourself in your mind, and you will be drawn toward it.

IV. Writing style

1. use of figurative speeches; e.g. simile; metaphor; oxymoron 2. change of tenses and narrator to serve different purposes.

e.g. 1) Para.2: past---past perfect tense (flashback to introduce background); 2)Para.16: past-- present tense ( showing “love” is a permanent topic); 3) Part 1&2 ---3rd person narrator (giving objective description); Part 3---1st person narrator (experiencing the feelings of the narrator).

3. As a narrative, it has a setting as well as development. The significance of the story is given in the end.

( A story is told to prove a point.)

V. Useful expressions

1 、进展顺利 2 、很快便被吸引住了 3 、铅笔写的批注 4 、花了一番功夫和时间 5 、被运往海外 6 、常会深感不安 7 、在某人生活中占据特殊的地位 8 、始终支撑着他 9 、犹如春天一样生机盎然 10 、我感到自己好像被劈成了两半 11 、挺胸站立 12 、某人的脸上绽开了笑容

VI. Writing assignment: Campus Romance ( 可用任何体裁 )

VII. Key to Sentence Translation 1.Before I went (off) to university, my grandfather gave me a few words of wisdom which impressed me deeply.

2. Never/ Don’t tell my parents about my injury, and I’ll be very grateful to you (for it).

3. At the meeting, some of our colleagues put forward sensible suggestions about improving our working environment.

4. The management has/ have agreed to give the workers a 10% pay rise in response to union pressure/ under the pressure of the labour union.

5.It was very thoughtful of the hostess to give the house a thorough cleaning before we arrived.