Transcript Document

Book 4 Unit 3 Section B
A Blind Man Helped Me See
the Beautiful World
毛瑾
Reading Skills

Understanding Figurative Language
Figurative language uses "figures of speech" - a
way of saying something other than the literal
meaning of the words. For example, "All the
world's a stage" Frost often referred to them
simply as "figures." Frost said, "Every poem I
write is figurative in two senses. It will have
figures in it, of course; but it's also a figure in
itself - a figure for something, and it's made so
that you can get more than one figure out of it."

Metaphor A figure of speech in which a comparison is
made between two things essentially unalike. To Frost,
metaphor is really what poetry is all about. He is notably
a poet of metaphors more than anything else. This is so
important, we should hear directly from the poet. Frost
said," Poetry begins in trivial metaphors, pretty
metaphors, 'grace metaphors,' and goes on to the
profoundest thinking that we have. Poetry provides the
one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning
another. People say, 'Why don't you say what you
mean?' We never do that, do we, being all of us too
much poets. We like to talk in parables and in hints and
in indirections - whether from diffidence or from some
other instinct". ... Excerpt from an essay entitled
"Education by Poetry" by Robert Frost.






Examples:
The Silken Tent. A woman is admired for her strength
and beauty, like a silken tent. Note the strength of the
silk and cedar.
Putting in the Seed. The planting of seed in the garden,
in springtime is like making love.
Devotion. The passive but ever-changing shore and the
persistent energetic ocean are like a devoted couple.
To Earthward. The stages of love are like stepping stones
to death.
All Revelation. A view of a geode crystal is like the mind
probing the universe.

Simile A figure of speech in which a
comparison is expressed by the specific
use of a word or phrase such as: like, as,
than, seems or Frost's favorite "as if,"






Examples:
Mending Wall: like an old-stone savage armed
Stars: like some snow-white/ Minerva's snowwhite marble eyes
Going for Water: We ran as if to meet the moon
---- we paused / like gnomes
Birches: Like girls on hands and knees that
throw their hair
Hyla Brook: Like ghost of sleigh bells

Metonymy A figure of speech that uses a
concept closely related to the thing
actually meant. The substitution makes
the analogy more vivid and meaningful.
Examples:
 Out, Out: the injured boy holds up his
hand "as if to keep / the life from spilling."
The literal meaning is to keep the blood
from spilling. Frost's line tells us that the
hand is bleeding and the boy's life is in
danger.


Personification A type of metaphor in
which distinct human qualities, e.g.,
honesty, emotion, volition, etc., are
attributed to an animal, object or idea






Examples:
My November Guest: the guest is Sorrow,
personified as a woman dearly loved who walks
with him.
Mowing: the scythe whispers
Range-Finding: the spider sullenly withdraws
Tree at my Window: the tree watches him sleep;
it has tongues talking aloud
Storm Fear: the wind works and whispers, the
cold creeps, the whole storm is personified
New Words and Expressions:








annoy
vt.
1.打扰, 干扰 These flies are annoying me.
这些苍蝇真使我心烦。
2.使烦恼, 使恼怒 He was annoyed to learn that
the train would be delayed.
他听说火车要晚点, 心里感到烦恼。
He was annoyed that we had one of his cushions.
我们用了他的一个坐垫, 他很生气。
dense
adj.
 1.密集的, 稠密的, 浓密的 We entered a dense forest.
 我们进入一片浓密的森林。
 2.密度大的 Some dense substances allow electricity to
flow through them freely.
 有些密度大的物质容易让电流通过。
 3.愚笨的 He is so dense, he'll never understand your
message.
 他很笨, 绝不会理解你的意思。
 4.愚笨的；迟钝的；笨拙的
 5.（信息量大得）难理解的，难懂的

charter
n.
 1.许可证 This new law amounts to a tax evader's charter.
 这项新法律简直成了为逃税者开的许可证。
 2.纲领, 宪章, 宣言
 3.包租 They have yachts available for charter.
 他们有供包租的游艇。
 及物动词 vt.
 1.发给…许可证 The government chartered the new
airline.
 政府给这家新航空公司颁发了许可证。
 2.包租










steer
vi.
1.驾驶, 掌舵 This car steers easily.
这部车子易于驾驶。
She steered the car skilfully through the narrow
streets.
她熟练地驾驶着汽车穿过狭窄的街道。
2.操纵；控制；引导
3.(船、汽车等) 行驶









lad
n.
1.男孩；少年；男青年；小伙子 The little lad was playing
on the swing.
这小男孩在荡秋千。
He's just a lad.
他还只是个少年。
2.伙伴, 家伙,哥们儿
3.活泼、大胆或鲁莽的男子,（尤指对女子特别感兴趣的）
放荡不羁的小伙子
4.马夫；马倌











curve
n.
1.曲线, 弧线，曲面，弯曲 The population curve has slowed down.
人口曲线已趋平缓。
2.曲线状物, 弯曲物 The automobile slowed down to go around the
curves in the road.
汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。
3.棒球运动中（投向击球员的）曲线球
及物动词 vt. & 不及物动词 vi.
1.(使)弯成弧形 The missile curved gracefully towards its target.
导弹呈优美的曲线状飞向目标。
2.（使）沿曲线运动；呈曲线形
skim
vt.
 1.撇去 She skimmed the milk of its cream.
 她撇去牛奶上的奶油。
 及物动词 vt. & 不及物动词 vi.
 1.掠过, 轻轻擦过 The swallows skimmed the water.
 燕子掠过水面。
 The little bird skimmed over the waves looking for food.
 那只小鸟掠过波浪寻找食物。
 2.略读, 浏览 It's important for you to skim through the
text.
 浏览课文对你来说很重要。








realm
n.
1.领域; 范围 Their failures in the realm have
damaged their self-confidence and creditability.
他们在本领域的失败使他们的自信心和可信度受
损。
2.王国, 国度 The king was concerned about the
safety of the realm.
国王十分关心王国的安全。














veil
n.
1.面纱 She dropped her veil.
她摘下面纱。
2.覆盖物
3.掩饰；掩盖；借口；托辞
4.（修女的）头巾
5.薄薄的遮盖层
及物动词 vt.
1.用面纱遮盖 Please veil your face.
请用面纱遮住脸。
Moslem women used to veil their faces before going into public.
信奉伊斯兰教的妇女出门之前往往用面纱把脸遮起来。
2.遮盖，掩饰
























magic
n.
1.魔法, 法术; 巫术 They claimed that he had inflicted bad fortune on them through evil magic.
他们声称他运用了恶毒的魔法使他们遭受不幸。
They believe that it was all done by magic.
他们相信这都是靠魔法实现的。
2.魔术, 戏法 The conjuror's magic delighted the children.
魔术师的戏法逗乐了孩子们。
3.魔力, 魅力 You could feel the magic of Shakespeare's poetry.
你可以感觉到莎士比亚诗歌的魅力。
4.不可抵抗力；异常影响力
形容词 adj.
1.魔法的, 法术的 Can you do magic tricks?
你会变魔术吗?
It is really a magic palace!
那真是一个有魔力的宫殿！
2.很好的, 奇异的 Their latest record is really magic.
他们的最新唱片真是棒极了。
3.好极了；棒极了
4.有一定难度的，过于复杂的
及物动词 vt.
1.（像）用魔法变出（或使消失、使变成…等）
2.用魔法摆脱；用魔法得到
3.使中魔，使着迷，使中邪
Thank you!