An Integrated English Course Book 4

Unit Eight The Monster

Questions for general understanding

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

How do you understand the title? What or who does “the monster” refer to?

What’s the author’s purpose of writing? (p.120) To what extent were Wagner’s characteristics displeasing?

What contributions did Wagner make?

In what sense may Wagner be said to be a monster?

What type of writing is the text? How many parts can we divide the text into? What are they?

Richard Wagner

瓦格纳

[Wagner, (Wilhelm) Richard]

 理查德 · 瓦格纳 (Richard Wagner ， 1813-1883) ， 1813 生于莱比锡，是德国著名的作曲家、 指挥家。  瓦格纳的贡献首先表现在对歌剧的革新上，他在猛烈地鞭挞当时流行的迎合贵族和资 产阶级庸俗趣味的歌剧同时，大胆地提出了歌剧应该和希腊悲剧、莎士比亚戏剧及贝 多芬的交响乐一样，成为进步思想的宣传者。瓦格纳对音乐的另一个贡献是他撰写了 大量的评论和论文，瓦格纳的文章有的讽刺了所谓 “ 上流社会 ” 的音乐与社会风尚， 有的则对艺术家的处境表示理解和同情。青年时期，瓦格纳的思想主要倾向于 “ 青年 德意志 ” ，但他也受到费尔巴哈和巴枯宁的影响，写过许多狂热激进的文章，甚至参 加过德累斯顿的革命。 神 ” 的一面旗帜。 1848 年欧洲资产阶级革命失败以后，瓦格纳逐渐接受了叔本华、 尼采等人的思想，后来甚至成为种族理论戈比诺的忠实门徒，开始大力宣传大日耳曼 主义，瓦格纳的 “ 音乐艺术 ” 也成为德意志帝国主义意识形态和 “ 普鲁士精  瓦格纳是大型管弦乐的创始者，对歌剧艺术有重大改革。首先，他建议一个歌剧作曲 家要参与剧本创作，作整部歌剧的总导演；其次，他强调预先确定的和弦是歌剧艺术 的基础；第三，他作品中的内核就是连续旋律的发展，利用翻来复去的旋律产生柔顺 悦耳的音乐效果，乐曲内部很少出现正常的终止式。瓦格纳探索和发展了前人对铜管 乐器的研究，找到了铜管乐音响的合理基础，使萨克斯管与管风琴、小号、长号组合 在一起，发出和谐的音响。他的许多作品有着威武骑士的色彩，充满了金属的辉煌。  他的代表作品有《尼伯龙根的指环》、《莱茵的黄金》、《女武神》、《齐格费里 德》、《诸神的黄昏》等 唱曲、艺术歌曲等，并写了《艺术与革命》、《歌剧与戏剧》等几部关于歌剧改革的 著作。 11 部歌剧， 9 首序曲， 1 部交响乐， 4 部钢琴奏鸣曲及大量合

Purpose of writing

 -- To argue that Wagner’s contributions and creativity render forgivable his displeasing characteristics.

To what extent were Wagner

’

s characteristics displeasing?

    He was an undersized little man, with a head too big for his body… He was a monster of conceit… He had a mania for being in the right… …

What contributions did Wagner make?

  He wrote 13 operas and music dramas, 11 of them still holding the stage, 8 of them unquestionably worth ranking among the world’s great musico dramatic masterpieces.

He was “one of the world’s greatest dramatists ... a great thinker .., one of the most stupendous musical geniuses”.

 In what sense may Wagner be said to be a monster?

 Wagner was a monster in the sense that the tremendous creative power within him worked in an exceedingly constructive manner without crushing his poor brain and body along the way.

What type of writing is the text?

 -- biography/ narration

Text structure

 This text can be divided into three parts.  Part I: (Paragraphs 1-9) describes a man who seems to have rolled all kinds of demerits into one, a real monster.  Part II: (Paragraph 10) serves as a transitional paragraph , which clarifies who this monster really is, i.e. a famous musician by the name of Richard Wagner.  Part III: (Paragraphs 11-13) justifies all the peculiar behaviors of Richard Wagner. He, as “one of the world’s greatest dramatists ... a great thinker .., one of the most stupendous musical geniuses”, has every reason to be a monster.

Part I: Paragraphs 1-9

 This part gives an account of the peculiar features of a monster in his appearance and personality.

Language work



undersized

: too small or smaller than usual, especially because of lack of growth 较一般为小的 , 不够大的  

sickly

: (1) adj. habitually ill; weak and unhealthy 常病的 , 不健康的  

a sickly child

多病的孩子 a

sickly

-looking plant 长势不好的植物  (2) adv.  Bill went sickly pale. 比尔的脸色苍白 , 一副病态。

 And he had delusions of grandeur.: --And he had a false belief that he was a man of importance.



delusion

: a false belief or opinion   That sick man is under the

delusion

that he is Napoleon.

suffer from delusions

患妄想症 

delusion of grandeur

: a false belief in oneself as a person with great beauty, power, or intelligence, etc.

妄自尊大 

She wants to travel first-class: she must have delusions of grandeur.

她想坐头等舱旅行 , 她一定自以为很了不起

Delusion, illusion

   delusion, illusion 这两个名词的一般含义是错觉或误解。 delusion 通常用于表示“荒谬的见解”或被别人所“迷惑”，有时 包含着“神经错乱”，或者“没有区别真假的能力”； illusion 很少表示神经紊乱，也不表示没有区别真假的能力，而表 示“由于视觉、感觉的歪曲所造成的错觉”，也可能是“感情的 因素所致的错觉”。  The worst thing about the do-it-yourself game is that sometimes husbands live the delusion that they can do anything even when they have been repeatedly proved wrong.

有时丈夫们持有一种谬见，即使事实屡次证明他们的想法是错误的， 他们还是认为自己什么都会干。   Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow superior to town life.

甚至此人仍抱着幻觉，不知何故，农村生活就是优越于城市。 He cherished the illusion that everybody admires him.

他喜欢以为大家都羡慕他。

 Never for one minute did he look at the world or at people, except in relation to himself.: -- He had never cared about other people and things in this world if they had nothing to do with him.



in relation to

: concerning; with regard to  I have a lot to say

in relation to

your new project.

 To hear him talk, he was Shakespeare, and Beethoven, and Plato, rolled into one.: -- He was often heard to boast of being a genius with a combined quality of Shakespeare, the greatest dramatist, Beethoven, the greatest composer and Plato, the greatest philosopher. 

William Shakespeare

(1564 -1616), English poet and dramatist.



Ludwig van Beethoven

(1770 -1827), German composer. 

Plato

(427?-347? B. C. ), Greek philosopher. 

roll into one

: integrate several things or features into one  She has become his assistant and secretary

rolled into one

.

  He had a mania for being in the right.: -- He has an extremely strong desire of being right.

a mania (for doing something):

seems mad 狂热 ; 癖好 a desire so strong that it  She has a

mania

for driving fast cars.

  The slightest hint of disagreement, from anyone, on the most trivial point, was enough to set him off on a harangue that might last for hours ... : -- If anyone disagreed with him, no matter how small the sign of disagreement was and how trivial the point was, he would make a lengthy speech for hours to prove himself right ...

harangue

: a speech addressed to a public assembly 高谈阔论，长篇大论

 

volubility

: (often derogatory) the characteristic of always being ready to produce a continuous flow of words, or being talkative

voluble

: [

fml esp derog

]characterized by a ready and continuous flow of words; fluent; talkative 流利的，健谈的  Ted’s a

voluble

speaker at meetings; he doesn’t give much chance to others to say anything.

  

for the sake of

: 为了 1) for the good or advantage of   If you won’t do it

for

your own

sake

, then do it for mine. My art does not try to serve society, it’s just

art

for art’s

sake

.

2) for the purpose of  I’ll give up smoking

for the sake of

health.

 It never occurred to him that he and his doing were not of the most intense and fascinating interest to anyone with whom he came in contact.: -- He had never thought whether other people around him would have as great interest in him and his doing as he himself did.



vegetarianism

: the belief or practice of a vegetarian who does not eat or does not believe in eating meat, fish, fowl, or in some cases, any food derived from animals

  

at someone’s expense

: with someone paying the cost  He had his book printed

at his

own

expense

.

at sb’s expense:

if you do something at someone‘s expense, they pay for you to do it 由某人付费  Her mansion was refurnished at taxpayers' expense.

  They had a good laugh at Sam's expense.

他们嘲弄萨姆而乐不可支

cf

.

at the expense of

: causing the loss of  He built up a successful business but it was all done at the expense of his health.



out of sorts

: -- in a bad temper; feeling unwell or annoyed 

She's been out of sorts since the birth of her baby.

她生了孩子以後身体一直不好 . 

He's always out of sorts early in the morning.

他大清早总是不痛快 .

rave

 1) talk wildly as if mad 胡说；瞎说；语无伦次地说  He

raved

all night in his fever.  Father is

raving

at/against the Government again.

~ (at/against/about sb/sth)

 2) speak or write about sb/sth with enthusiasm or admiration 热烈赞美，赞扬  She simply raved about French cooking. 她对法国烹调赞不绝口 .

 

sink into suicidal gloom

: fall into a gloomy state which makes one wish to kill himself

sink into sth

(no passive 不用於被动语态 ) go into (a less active or happy state) 陷入（消极 ﹑ 不活跃或不愉快的状态） 

sink into sleep, a coma, etc

入睡 ﹑ 陷入昏迷 

Don't let yourself sink into despair.

别让自己陷入绝望的境地 . 

be sunk in sth

be in such a state of (esp despair or deep thought) 陷入或堕入（某状态）（尤指 绝望或沉思） 

She just sat there, sunk in depression.

她就坐在那里 , 情绪十分低落 .



darkly

: in a vaguely threatening or menacing manner 阴郁地或威胁地   He spoke

darkly

of trouble to come.

hint

darkly

hidden dangers  

grief-stricken

: overcome with, characterized by, or resulting from great sorrow 极度忧伤的；悲痛欲 绝的 -stricken: 受 … 打击的，为 … 所苦的  panic-stricken 惊慌失措的 ; crisis-stricken 危机深重的； poverty-stricken students/mountainous area ; earthquake-stricken area  a

panic-stricken

mother looking for her child

 Para. 5... and could be callous and heartless to a degree that would have made a Roman emperor shudder.: -- ... and could be so merciless that even the cruel Roman emperor would have felt fearful.



callous

: unkind; without feelings for the sufferings of other people 无情的，冷淡的 (cruel, merciless, ruthless) 

shudder

: shake uncontrollably from fear, cold, or strong dislike  She

shuddered

at the sight of the dead body.

  

(be) innocent (of )

: -- uninformed; unaware; ignorant  

innocent of a crime

未犯某罪 lacking sth 没有或缺少某事物 :

a bare room, innocent of any decoration

空荡荡的房间 , 了无装饰 .

Para. 6 He was almost innocent of any sense of responsibility.

Paraphrase: He had almost no knowledge of sense of responsibility.  Para. 6 He was convinced that the world owed him a living.: -- He firmly believed that the world had to support him for a living.

good for

 1. beneficial, wholesome  Sunshine is good for your plants.

 2. suitable, appropriate  This beach is good for swimming but bad for surfing.

  3. (of a person or his credit) such that he will be able to repay 有偿还能力的  He/His credit is good for $5000.

4. valid 有效的  The return half of the ticket is good for three months.

    (Para. 6) He wrote begging letters by the score, sometimes groveling without shame, at others loftily offering his intended benefactor the privilege of contributing to his support, and being mortally offended if the recipient declined the honor.: --He wrote large numbers of letters to his patron begging shamelessly for money, but in a manner that it seemed to be an honor for the patron to be offered the chance to provide his support to him. That’s why he would be greatly offended if the patron refused to take this honor.

by the score

: large numbers of; a great many

grovel

: be shamefully humble and eager to please 卑躬屈膝；低声下气

loftily

: in a manner showing belief of being better than other people 傲慢地

  (Para. 7) What money he could lay his hands on he spent like an Indian rajah.: --Whatever money coming into his hands he spent lavishly like an Indian ruler did.

lay hands on

得到 , 攻击 , 找到   (Para. 7) We do know that his greatest benefactor gave him $6,000 to pay the most pressing of his debts in one city ...: -- “His greatest benefactor” here refers to King Ludwig II.

pressing

: Demanding immediate attention; urgent 紧迫的，迫切的 ; 紧急的 

unscrupulous

: having or showing no moral principles 肆无忌惮的 , 无道德的 , 不谨慎的

 (Para. 8) An endless procession of women marched through his life.: -- In his whole life, he had never stopped having affairs with women, who had come and gone like the marching of an army.



infidelity

: disloyalty; unfaithfulness 

pull wires

: use influence, especially secretly, from people concerned with something one needs 暗中操纵；从事幕后活动  He had to

pull

a few

wires

to get that job.

puppet/shadow puppet

caricature

--picture, description or imitation of sb/sth that exaggerates certain characteristics in order to amuse or ridicule 漫画 ; 夸张的 描述或模仿 Shoes at George Bush caricature



caricature

: a representation of a person in literature or art made so that parts of his character appear more noticeable, odd, or amusing than they really are 

be content with

: feel happy or satisfied with  John was

content with

two glasses of beer even though he could have had more.



burlesque

: cause to appear amusing by means of acting or writing a serious thing into a foolish one 荒谬可笑或假装的模仿；滑稽模仿

Questions for discussion

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Does the man’s appearance, described in the first paragraph, give one any impression of “grandeur”?

What are the further evidences of the monster’s conceit? (Para. 2-3) What kinds of grammatical devices are used to emphasize the extreme extent of his peculiar conceit?(Para.2-3) What kind of versatile man is he? How does the writer describe him as an emotional person? （ Para.5) How was he financially supported? Did he earn himself a good living with his great talents? What is his attitude toward love? Why do you think Wagner made so many enemies?



1) Does the man’s appearance, described in the first paragraph, give one any impression of “grandeur”?

 No. He is a little man with the sign of illness, sick in both body and nerves. This is by no means an appearance that may bring one a sense of grandeur. Then what makes the man with such a poor look have “delusions of grandeur”? The only explanation is that he is “a monster of conceit”.



2) What are the further evidences of the monster’s conceit? (Para. 2-3)

 To prove his conceit, the second paragraph describes him as so egocentric that he cared about nothing but himself; he had such a strong sense of self appreciation that he saw himself not just as the greatest musician and philosopher, but also as the world’s finest living poet and playwright. And the third paragraph tells that he never expected criticism or allowed disagreement.



3) What kinds of grammatical devices are used to emphasize the extreme extent of his peculiar conceit?

(Para.2-3)

 

Inverted sentence

:

Never for one minute did he look at the world or at people, except in relation to himself

.

The superlative forms of adjectives

: one of the

greatest

dramatists in the world; one of the

greatest

thinkers, and one of the

greatest

composers; one of the

most exhausting

conversationalists that ever lived; the

slightest

hint of disagreement; on the

most trivial

point.



4) What kind of versatile man is he?

 Besides his activity as a composer and a librettist ( 歌剧作者 ) ， Wagner wrote an astonishing number of books and articles, in fact about 230 titles. His literary spectrum ranges from theories of opera to political programs. He has been classified as an anarchist （无政府主义者） and a socialist and, simultaneously, as a proto-fascist and nationalist, as a vegetarian and an anti-Semite （反犹分子 ) ... In fact, his name has appeared in connection with almost all major trends in German history of the 19th and 20th centuries.



5) How does the writer describe him as an emotional person?

（

Para.5)

 He had a mood as changeable as a six-year-old child. For example, he would get mad when something was against his desire, and forget all about it when something pleasant happened. And he would be grieved on one occasion but become merciless on another.



6) How was he financially supported? Did he earn himself a good living with his great talents?

  He lived on others’ money. Through his life, he found many benefactors, among whom King Ludwig II and Otto Wesendonck were two of the most generous ones. In 1864 King Ludwig II, his greatest benefactor, invited him to settle in Bavaria, near Munich, discharging all his debts and providing him with money. Another generous patron Otto Wesendonck, whose wife was stolen away by Wagner, supported him economically by buying the publishing rights of his works. However, later it turned out that he had to give up his publishing rights because Wagner had sold them again to others.

Although these benefactors had provided him with a great sum of money and never got any repayment, Wagner kept living in debts and in a narrow escape from being thrown into jail for debts because he was a lavish spender.



7) What is his attitude toward love?

 It seems that he was a playboy. He divorced his first wife Minna Planer after 26 years’ marriage (1836-1862) and stole away other people’s wives, e.g. Jessie Laussot, Mathilde Wesendonck, Cosima von Bülow, the last one was the wife of the conductor Hans von Bülow, and Liszt’s daughter.



8) Why do you think Wagner made so many enemies?

 The reason for Wagner to have made many enemies is also his conceit, because he could not tolerate anyone who disagreed with him, even over some trivial points like weather. He was under such a delusion of grandeur that he would do anything to defeat them in order to defend his image as a perfect genius rather than keep them as friends.

Part II: Paragraph 10

 This paragraph serves as a transitional part, which clarifies who this monster really is.

Language work



on record

记录在案的；公开宣布的 

testimony

: a formal statement that something is true, as made by a witness in a court of law 证词  

(read) between the lines

: (find) hidden meanings Some kinds of poetry make you

read between the lines.

  And the curious thing about this record is that it doesn’t matter in the least.

Paraphrase: Although the monster’s peculiar personality and behavior described previously are all facts on record, people just care nothing about them at all.

Questions for discussion

 

1) Why do you think the writer postpones the presentation of this monster’s name till the 10th paragraph?

Describing the features of this monster first without introducing his name helps the readers draw a picture of Richard Wagner faithful to the reality . Presenting Richard Wagner’s name first may interfere with their objective conclusion on what kind of person Wagner really was. Postponed appearance of Wagner’s name not only holds the reader in suspense , but, more importantly, inspires the reader to find excuses for all the monster’s demerits illustrated previously.



2) Has your attitude towards this monster changed a little when you finally find out who this monster is?

 Yes. Before knowing who this monster is, the readers may feel annoyed at his personality and behavior. However, after knowing that he is Richard Wagner, they would, though being aware that the descriptions are all facts on record, still hold that Wagner’s outstanding contributions to the world justify all his behavior. He deserved what he had obtained in his life, no matter how unacceptably he behaved.

Part III: Paragraphs 11-13

  Paragraphs 11-13 justify (show sth. is right or reasonable; find good reasons for) all the peculiar behaviors of the monster. Richard Wagner, as “one of the world’s greatest dramatists... a great thinker ... one of the most stupendous musical geniuses”, has every reason to be a monster.

Language work



the joke's on sb (infml

口

) :

sb who tried to make another person look foolish now looks ridiculous instead 原想耍弄别人 , 自己反 倒成为笑料



hold the stage

: be performed; be the center of attention 继续上演 , 引人注目；卖座不衰；没完没了地讲话  We had only one hour to discuss the question and Mr. Hones

held the stage

for most of it.

  Para. 12 ... when you listen to what he wrote, the debts and heartaches that people had to endure from him don’t seem much of a price.: -- ... when you listen to his music, all his debts seem to be repaid and the heartaches he brought to people seem to be relieved.

of a price 价值相当 [ 等 ]

  Para. 13 Not for a single moment did he ever compromise with what he believed, with what he dreamed.: -- As for his belief and dream, he had never lowered his aim and ceased his persistent effort to make them come true.

compromise with sb. on sth. 妥协 

downright

: thoroughly 十分地；彻底地  It makes me

downright

angry to see food thrown away.

 Para. 13 Listening to his music, one does not forgive him for what he may or may not have been. It is not a matter of forgiveness.: -- His music was so great that people would forgive him for all the misdeeds that he had done and the good deeds that he failed to do. As a matter of fact, what his music arouses in people’s mind is not anything like forgiveness at all, but admiration.

 Para. 13 It is a matter of being dumb with wonder that his poor brain and body didn’t burst under the torment of the demon of creative energy that lived inside him, struggling, clawing, scratching to be released; tearing, shrieking at him to write the music that was in him.: -- It must be a surprise that inside his sickly little body, there lived a strong force of creativity, which was so eager to burst out of his body that it would have been a torture for him not to write music.

 Para. 13 Is it any wonder he had no time to be a man?: --S ince Wagner was such a miraculous monster, is it any wonder that he didn’t behave like a normal human being in this world? /-- It is reasonable for him to act like a monster in other respects when he was wholly engaged in composing music.

Questions for discussion

  1) How does the writer justify every piece of evidence of the monster, which he has presented previously?

2) What is the writer’s real intention of writing this article?

 3) What is your final conclusion about Richard Wagner? Do you agree that he is a monster?

 

1) How does the writer justify every piece of evidence of the monster, which he has presented previously?

The writer tries to provide a reasonable explanation for each of the monster’s characteristics in both his personality and behavior: as regards his conceit of being right, he argues that Wagner did so because he was really right all the time; and though Wagner had been talking about himself twenty four hours a day, he still had so much unsaid concerning all kinds of disputes over him; Wagner’s great contribution to the world could repay any debts and release all kinds of heartaches he had brought to people; he certainly had had so many love affairs with different women, however, he had never been unfaithful to music through his life. In short, the writer concludes that it is reasonable for Wagner to act in a monster’s way since he was such a great genius who had done a miracle in music.



2) What is the writer’s real intention of writing this article?

 By writing this article the writer tries to justify the peculiar behavior of Wagner.



3) What is your final conclusion about Richard Wagner?

Do you agree that he is a monster?

 He is a genius as well as a monster.

Text comprehension -II

      1. T. Refer to Paragraphs 2-3.

2. F. Refer to Paragraph 5, which indicates he was emotionally unstable. As a matter of fact, he was described to be emotionally capricious( 反复无常的 ) as a child.

3. F. Refer to Paragraph 7, which states he was taken responsible for large sums of debts.

4. F. Refer to Paragraph 8. A lot of women came into his life as a result of his pursuit, and were abandoned by him in the end.

5. T. Refer to Paragraph 12.

6. T. Refer to Paragraph 13.

III. Answer the following questions.

 1. Refer to Paragraph 1. He had a short stature with a disproportionately large head. And he had skin diseases.

 2. Refer to Paragraph 2. He believed he was one of the greatest men in the world, a great composer, a great thinker and a great dramatist combined into one. A man of such arrogance cannot help but take himself as the center of conversations.

 3. Refer to Paragraph 3. If anyone showed slight disagreement with him, he would make a lengthy and aggressive speech for hours to prove himself to be in the right. This would force his dazed and deafened hearers to surrender.

 4. Refer to Paragraph 5. He was emotionally capricious ( 反复无常的 )like a child. Rapture (i.e. great joy) in him could easily turn into extreme melancholy (sorrow or sadness). Heartlessness and indifference were witnessed on different occasions. Moreover, his emotional states always found outward expressions.

 5. Refer to Paragraphs 11 and 12. The author says that Wagner was among the greatest dramatists, the greatest thinkers and the most tremendous musical geniuses in our world.

His immortal works far exceeded in value the tortures his arrogance inflicted upon others and the debts he owed.

 6. Refer to Paragraph 13. The tremendous creative power , which propelled him to produce so many memorable works in his little span of life, could have crushed his poor brain and body.

However, he miraculously survived and made all the immortal accomplishments. In this sense he was a monster rather than a human being.

   

IV. Explain in your own words the following sentences taken from the text.

1. He almost had no sense of responsibility.

2. He wrote large numbers of letters begging for money. In some letters he was servile without shame, and in other letters he loftily offered his targeted benefactor the privilege of contributing to his support. If the recipient refused to accept his offer, i.e. refused to lend him money, he would fly into a rage.

3. He would use influence from as many people as possible in order to meet some admirer of his who was readily useful to him.

4. Since Wagner was such a miraculous monster, is it any wonder that he didn’t behave like a normal human being in this world?

Structural analysis of the text

 In the first 10 paragraphs, we can find the following words and expressions used by the author to describe Richard Wagner as a monster of conceit: 

delusions of grandeur/ monster of conceit / believed himself to be one of the greatest dramatists/one of the greatest thinkers/ one of the greatest composers / most exhausting conversationalist/ right in so many ways/ had theories about almost any subject under the sun / almost innocent of any sense of responsibility / an endless procession of women ...

  In the remaining paragraphs, we can find the following words and expressions used to describe him as a great genius:

right all the time/ one of the world’s greatest dramatists / a great thinker / one of the most stupendous musical geniuses ... the world has ever seen / owe him a living ...

Rhetorical features of the text

 The repetitious use of the third person pronoun

he

creates suspense in the reader’s mind. This is one of the effective ways to hold the reader’s attention and make him move on. To use the terminology of functional linguistics and discourse analysis, this use of

he

is cataphoric in nature. The anaphoric use of

he

can be found in sentences such as “I have a friend and he is working in New York”, in which

he

refers back to “my friend”.

Vocabulary exercises



I. Explain the underlined part in each sentence in your own words.

 1. an unusual person with excessive self-pride  2. combined with their main features  3. in a bad temper; feeling unwell or annoyed  4. had almost no knowledge of  5. use as much influence as possible from behind the scenes  6. make concession

II. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.

 1. testifying 2. tormentors  3. inconceivable 4. arrogantly  5. gloomy 6. exhausted  7. was deluding 8. lofty

IV. Explain the meaning of the underlined word or phrase in each sentence.

 1. company  2. controlled  3. imprecise  4. out of fashion  5. immediately  6. cover

Grammar exercises



I. Note the use of prepositions in the following

sentences.

 The choice of a preposition may be determined by the noun, adjective or verb before it or by the noun after it.

 Prepositions can be made up of one word only (e. g.

of

,

for

) or of more than one word (e.g.

out of

,

for the sake of

).

II. Complete the following sentences with prepositions.

   1. at 3. to 5. from 2. on 4. at 6. of  7. in, for, at 8. on, of, of  9. over 10. on, under, out of

IV. Rewrite the following paragraph.

 Both John and I wanted to go to the movies, but we could not agree on what picture we should go to see. A new picture was showing at the Palace and another at the Globe. Neither John nor I had seen either of these pictures. I wanted to see the one at the Globe, but John didn’t.

V. Make sentences of your own after the sentences

given below.

 1. Work interests him to such a degree that he thinks about nothing else.

 Sanitary conditions had deteriorated to a degree that there would be widespread danger of disease.

 2. What if someone asked me for an explanation of that video recorder?  What if the machine was suddenly out of control?

Translation -I

  1. For the sake of your family, you should look before you leap and not take so many risks.

2. I felt a bit out of sorts after last night’s heavy drink.

 3. His father pulled endless wires and got him a position in an inflated government department.

 4. If you read his letter carefully, you can find his real intention between the lines .

 5. I knew I was downright found excuses for myself.

rude to him, but I  6. Many of the outstanding figures of the past were exceptionally versatile. Leonardo da Vinci, for instance, rolled a painter and an inventor into one.

 7. He finally killed himself after being under the torment of insomnia for many years.

 8. He was struck dumb with amazement.

     

II. Translate the following passage into Chinese.

2001 年 7 月 7 日，耶路撒冷举行的一场音乐会在以色列引起了 轩然大波。 世界著名指挥家 Daniel Barenhoim 率领德国管弦乐团在以色列 艺术节上正在演奏瓦格纳的音乐，而瓦格纳是一个反犹太的 德国作曲家，也是希特勒最欣赏的音乐家。 建国以来的五十多年里，以色列一直都有这么一条不成文的 禁忌 —— 不公开演出瓦格纳的任何作品。 因为对许多以色列犹太人和大屠杀幸存者来说，瓦格纳的音 乐是和希特勒政权紧紧联系在一起的。 尽管瓦格纳的作品在全世界范围内广为人知并到处演出，但 在以色列只要只要一提起瓦格纳就会激起人们的愤怒和谴责。 但 Barenhoim 坚持认为，瓦格纳的反犹太主义思想既不能忽视， 也不可简单地等同于他的音乐。他的音乐因其艺术价值值得 人们欣赏，一个民主的社会不应当禁止人们欣赏这样的音乐。



- Dictation

As one of the key figures in the history of opera, / Richard Wagner was largely responsible / for altering its orientation in the nineteenth century. / His program of artistic reform,/ though not executed to the last detail, / accelerated the trend towards organically conceived structures, / as well as influencing the development of the orchestra, / of a new breed of singer, / and of various aspects of theatrical practice. / As the most influential composer / during the second half of the nineteenth century, / Richard Wagner’s conception of music/ remains very much with us / even a century after his death. / His style of orchestration can be heard in many movie scores. / Wagner thought / his Music Dramas were to be the models for the twentieth century opera, / but he could not foresee the path / of total abandonment of tonality / that was to revolutionize music in the early twentieth century.

II. Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE appropriate word.

 1. while  3. that 2. feminine 4. also  5. right 6. in  7. where 8. without  9. of 10. than

Text II Simple Habits, Deep Thoughts



Questions for discussion

 1. He is simple in his habits. He does not pay much attention to his personal appearance. His clothes are baggy and he wears bedroom slippers when walking on the streets.

   2. Basically the theory proposed, among other things, that the greatest speed possible is the speed of light; that the rate of a clock moving through space will decrease as its speed increases; and the energy and mass are equal and interchangeable.

3. To illustrate his profound idea, Einstein compares it to the ways one feels when he is sitting with a nice girl and when he is sitting on a hot stove.

4. Wagner was arrogant, aggressive, and self centered whereas Einstein was modest, amiable and easy-going. Wagner was a monster but Einstein was absolutely a gentleman.

Quiz -Voc

       1. 极度痛苦 3. 证词，证言 5. 资助人，捐助者 7. 健谈者 9. 自杀性的 11.

自负 13. 妥协，折衷 2. 傲慢 4. 接受方 6. 手册，小册子 8. 行列，队伍 10. 彻头彻尾的，十足的 12. 素食主义 14. 漫画，讽刺画

Key -Voc

 1. agony  3. testimony  5. benefactor  7. conversationalist  9. suicidal  11. conceit  13. compromise 2. arrogance 4. recipient 6. pamphlet 8. procession 10. downright 12. vegetarianism 14. caricature