Transcript Wisdom of Bear Wood Michael Welzenbach

Wisdom of Bear Wood
Michael Welzenbach
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Background information
Warming up exercises
Useful words and expressions
Language points
----Wood of Berkshire
The theme of this story is summed up at the
very end. It is about "a wisdom tutored by nature
itself, about the seen and unseen, about things that
change and things that are changeless, and about
the fact that no matter how seemingly different
two souls may be, they possess the potential for
that most precious, rare thing-an enduring and
rewarding friendship."
The story is not very subtle, nor is it particularly
dramatic, but it is nevertheless beautiful. It is
beautiful not just became it contains some
beautiful descriptions of the Wood, but became it
is about a beautiful friendship.
What is interesting is the fact that this is a
friendship between two souls who are" seemingly
different, in every way: one is an American boy of
twelve; and the other is an old English woman.
They become friends because first of al1,they are
both lonely: the boy is lonely because he is in a
foreign country with his father, the woman is
lonely because she has just lost her dear husband.
But their friendship has another important bond,
that is, their common interest in nature and
knowledge.
One might also mention the shortbread the woman
keeps supping for the boy, which he loves. But the real
reason for their friendship is the old woman's selfless
interest in the boy. It is often said that true love is in the
giving and not in the taking-So is friendship-The woman
not only gives the boy good food to eat, she also gives him
a new vision of the beautiful nature, the key to the
treasury of human knowledge, and above al1,her care
and love. Does she get anything in return? Yes. Through
giving, she can not help receiving. Although totally
unaware, the boy has given the woman great consolation
too.
Towards the end of the story, the author
expresses the idea that true friendship is both rare
and precious. In this world, there are many things
you can see and there are many things you can't
see, and friendship is what you don't see, unlike
your worldly belongings, because it exists deep in
your heart. In this world there are also things that
change and things that do not change, and true
friendship does not change. It is enduring and
rewarding.
It might be a good idea to use this opportunity to
organize a discussion on friendship, the essence of
true
friendship
and
its
main
Please do it with your classmates.
ingredients.
1) to go overseas
to go to the foreign countries 去国
外
-As a Prime Minister, he has a lot of
opportunities to go overseas. 作为首相,他
有很多出国的机会。
2) every few years

sth. will happen regularly after a few years
每隔几年
– They come to visit China every few years. 他
们每隔几年访问一次中国。
3) to be used to sth./doing sth.

to have learned to accept sth ; to be
accustomed to sth( 对某事物)已适应;
已习惯
– After three weeks she had got used
to the extreme heat 三个星期以后她
就适应酷热的环境了。
4) to wrench yourself away
from

to twist and pull yourself away(or
free)from 痛苦地离别或分开
– It’s really difficult to wrench yourself away
from your beloved relatives.与你挚爱的亲人
痛苦的别离实在很难。
5）to verge against

to be close to ; to be at the edge or border
of 靠近…边缘;构成…的边沿
– -This narrow strip verges against the road. 这
条狭长的地带构成了公路的边沿。
6) to rocket off into

to go off like rockets into 像火箭一样飞
进

-The birds rocketed off into the woods
when people earn 有人来时 , 鸟儿们迅速
飞进了树林。
7) to keep to oneself

to live a very quiet and private life and not
do many things involving other people 独
居
– -Nobody knows much about him; he keeps
himself (very much)to himself.谁都不太了解
他 , 因为他很少与人来往。
8) to give sb. Permission to do
sth.

to allow sb. to do sth. 允许某人做某事
– -She has already given me permission to leave
她已经准许我离开了。
9) to roam about
to
walk or travel without any definite
aim or destination 漫无目的地走动
漫步
-He
used to roam about the streets for
hours on end. 他过去常逛大街 , 一
逛就是几个小时。
10) to creep into

to move slowly, quietly or stealthily into
悄悄溜进
– -The cat crept into her room- 那只猫悄悄地
溜进了她的房间。
11) to warn sb. Do sth.

To advise sb.to do sth 建议或劝告某人做
某事
– -She warned them to be careful. 她告诉他们
务必小心。
12) to run into

to meet sb. by chance 偶然遇见某人
– -Guess who I ran into today. 你猜我今天碰见
谁了。
13) to catch one’s breath

to stop breathing for a moment (because of
fear, shock, etc.)( 因恐惧、震惊等)一时
停止呼吸;屏息
– -He caught his breath in surprise. 他惊奇得屏
住了呼吸。
14) to put sb. at ease

to make sb. feel relaxed 使某人感到舒适、
不拘束等
– -He had been dreading their meeting but her
warm welcome soon put him at his 四比他对
彼此相见 一直忐忑不安,可是她的热情相迎
使他很快就无拘无束了。
15) to be on one's way

to be in the process of going or coming 在
来与去的行进中;在路上
– -I’ll buy some bread on my way home. 我要
在回家的路上买些面包。
16) to point toward

to aim or direct sth. 用手指着某物
is pointing a telescope toward the moon. 他正
用望远镜对着月亮。
 -He
17) to be about to do sth.

to intend to do sth. immediately; to be on
the point of doing sth将;正要
– -As I was about to say when you interrupted
me. 我正要说的时候 , 你插嘴了。
18) to care to do sth.

to be willing or agree to do sth ; to wish or
like to do sth 愿意或同意做某事 ; 希望或
喜欢做某事
– -Would you care to go for a walk? 你愿意散
散步吗 ?
19) to want sb. against sth.
/doing sth.

to put sb. on his guard against sth. 让某人
警惕或提防某人做某事
– The doctor warned us against overtiring the
patient- 医生让我们注意病人不可过度操劳。
20) set off

to begin (a journey, race,etc. 〉开始 ( 旅
行、赛跑等〉
– -What time are you planning to set off
tomorrow? 你打算明天几点钟启程 ?
21) to pass away

(euph.)to die 死
– -His mother passed away last year- 他母亲去
年去世了。
22) a dozen of

a lot of 很多
– -She has a dozen of friends. 她的朋友多极了。
23) to glance at

to take a quick look at 瞥一眼 p 看一下
– -She glanced shyly at him and then lowered
her eyes- 她羞怯地偷看了他一下 , 随即垂
下眼帘。
24) to ask(sb.)about sth/sb.

to request information (about sth/sb.)(from
sb. )问 : 询问
– -Ask (him) about the ring you lost-he my have
found it. 问问(他)你丢的戒指——也许他捡
到了。
25) to go by

(of time)to pass ; to elapse ( 指时间 ) 过去
对消逝
– -As time goes by my memory seems to get
worse. 随着时间的流逝 , 我的记忆力似乎
越来越差。
26) to promise to do sth.

to assure that one will do sth 许诺 ; 答应
做某事
– -"Do you promise faithfully to pay me
back?"" 你能切实保证把钱还给我吗 ?"
– -"Yes, I promise."是的 , 我保证。
27) look forward to sth./doing
sth.

to anticipate sth with pleasure 欣然期待某
事物
– -We're SO much looking forward to seeing
you again. 我们非常盼望再见到你。
28) brim over (with sth.)

to overflow 溢出;洋、溢
– to brim over with excitement, happiness, joy,
etc. 洋溢着兴奋、幸福、欢乐等
29) to be inclined to do sth.

to want to behave in a particular way 有某
种倾向 s 很有可能做某事
– The car is inclined to stall when it's cold
outside. 也这辆汽车天冷时爱熄火。
30) to eye sth./sb.

to observe or watch narrowly, often in
suspicion, jealousy, or in longing, etc. 仔
细地看着
– The policeman eyed me in suspicion. I think
he thought I was drunk 警察怀疑地看着我。
我想他 是觉得我喝多了。
31) in time

sooner or later; eventually 迟早;最后
– -You'll learn how to do it in time. 你早晚能学
会做这件事的。
32) to fill up with

to become or make completely full 充满 ;
填满
– The gutter has filled up with mud. 沟槽里都
是泥。
33) odds and ends

small articles; bits and pieces of various
sorts, usu. without much value 零星杂物;
琐碎物品
– He's moved most of his stuff; there are just a
few odds and ends left. 他把大部分东西都搬
走了 , 只留下一些零星杂物。
1) Loving nature, however, I was most
delighted by the endless patchwork of
farms and woodland that surrounded
our house (Para 2)

Loving,… :However,as (because ) I loved
nature ...

A patchwork of farms (field):farms that
look like small pieces of cloth of different
colors when seen from far above 农田拼
缀而成的图案
2) In the deep woods that verged against our
backfence, a network of paths led almost
everywhere, and pheasants rocketed off into
the laurels ahead as you walked. (Para 2)
 a network of: a system of lines, wires
roads etc. that cross each other and are
connected to each other 一种网络
 ... and pheasants rocketed off :…and
pheasants went off like rockets
3)keeping to myself was my way of not
forming attachment that I would only have
to abandon the next time we moved.(Para 3)
I did not try to make many friends because
in that way I did not have to give up my
friendship the next time I had to move.
 To keep to oneself: to live a very quiet and
private life and not do many things
involving other people 独 居

4) I started hiking there ..., up a long,
sloping hill to almost impenetrable stand of
trees called Bear Wood(Para 4)
impenetrable stand of trees: trees growing
so thick that they are impossible to go
through or enter into 一片无法通过的树
丛
 stand; trees growing in a given area 个体
植物群丛

5) My own breathing rang in my ears , and
the slightest stirring of any woodland
creature echoed through this private
paradise.(Para 4)

I could even hear my own breathing, and
even the lightest movement of any bird or
animal in the wood can be heard
throughout this paradise.
6) “yes, they are away," she said, "But then,
gamekeepers have been shooting them ever
since they got here. They are introduced,
you know, not native."(Para 11)
wary:careful,cautious,watchful,suspicious,
alert
 to be introduced: to be brought into this
place from somewhere else for the first
time 引进

7) Anybody who knew this sort of stuff was
definitely cool -even if she was trespassing
my special place (Para 12)

cool: This informal word is hard to define
nowadays. It is loosely used to mean
attractive, fashionable, relaxed, etc. in a
way people esp. young people admire.
8) ...extending her fine hand(Para 15)

-offering to shake hands with the boy– "Fine,,here means small and attractively
shaped, looking rather delicate. Remember the
woman is old
and weak
9) Familiarity sometimes makes people
physically invisible, for you find
yourself talking to the heart-to the
essence, as it were, rather than to the
face. (Para 26)

When people get to know each other really
well, sometimes they don’t notice physical
changes. The boy didn't see that his friend,
the old lady, was getting weaker and
weaker because all the time he was talking
to her heart, rather to her face.

Essence: the most important quality of sth;
the thing that makes sth what it is .Notice
that "to talk to sb.'s essence" is not a
common expression, but the author can't
think of a better word, that's why he says
"as it were", which is used to describe sth
in a way that is not quite accurate.
10) My mother was regarding me with a
strong gentleness (Para 29 )

My mother was looking at me with a
strange gentleness because she wanted to
break the sad news gently so that I would
not take it too hard.
11) I could tell she was having
difficulty.(Para 30 )

I could see that she was having difficulty
finding a suitable way to break the news.
12) It is a wisdom tutored by nature itself,
about the seen and the unseen, about things
that change and things that are changeless,
and about the fact that no matter how
seemingly two souls, may be, they process
the potential for that most precious, rare
thing--an enduring and rewarding
friendship.(Para 37)
– I learn a lot of knowledge, taught by nature
itself, about the things I can see -- the birds,
insects, trees,and flowers,and the things I
cannot see -- ideas, scientific laws and
principles.I also learn a lot about the things
that change, including life itself, as well as the
things that are changeless like friendship, love
and many basic values.
^_^
Happy
Everyday!