大学英语精读 Book Ⅰ Unit Eight 04-5-30

Unit Eight I. Passage YOU GO YOUR WAY, I’LL GO MINE 1. Related Information 2. Pre-reading Questions 3. Text Structure Analysis 4. Words and Phrases 5. Sentences Analysis

1. Related Information 1) A word about the author William Saroyan (1908 – 1981) is one of the most colorful contemporary American writers. His works include short stories, novels, and plays Saroyan was born in Fresno, Calif., the son of Armenian immigrants. As a young man, he received little formal education but he decided to make himself a writer. He used his Armentian background in many of his stories about his family and neighbors. The novel The Human Comedy, from which our text is taken, was published in 1943. It is about ordinary people in a small California town trying to understand and manage, as fear and death touch their lives.

1. Related Information 2) Mexican-Americans Mexican-Americans refer either to native born Mexicans who have immigrated to America and become citizens of the United States or to native born Americans whose ancestors emigrated from Mexico. Many Mexican-Americans live in the Southwestern States, the region where our story takes place. Unlike immigrants to the US from European countries, Mexican-Americans have been somewhat slow to become “Americanized” as a result of being shut out socially and economically. Mrs Sandoval in our story is, therefore, typical of Mexican-Americans: her spoken English is quite good but she prefers to read a Mexican newspaper in Spanish.. She is also reluctant to give up Mexican customs: rather than buy American candy she makes a traditional Mexican candy from cactus plant.

2. Pre-reading Questions 1) What does the title of the passage indicates? 2) What mood was the messenger in before he knocked at the receiver’s door? 3) What kind of a lady was visible in his mind, judging by the movement of the door? 4) What did the lady get from the messenger’s eyes? 5) After hearing the news of her son’s death, why did the lady tell Homer to come inside and make him eat some candy. 6) What do you think of the boy Homer? 7) What do you think of the Mexican woman? 8) What is the passage trying to tell you?

3. Text Structure Analysis The author paints a picture of a lonely woman’s helpless but relatively calm response to the news of his son’s death made known by a kid, the messenger. At the beginning of the passage, the young messenger shows up to undertake a tough task of delivering a telegram carrying a piece of bad news to the receiver, the aged woman. In the following paragraphs, our attention is invited to the boy’s performances in facing the old lady and the old lady’s response to a messenger’s sudden’s visit to her house and her subsequent behaviors on hearing the tragedy. In the concluding paragraph, the boy is placed in a very awkward position and the atmosphere of loss and helplessness is strengthened. On the whole, the passage is well written and successful in making the characters vivid.

4. Words and Phrases 1) shock: a. cause unpleasant or angry surprise ( to sb. ) EG: I was shocked at the news of her arrest. b. sudden disturbance of feelings EG: Mrs. Ernest never recovered from the shock. c. violent blow or shaking EG: Mental patients receive electric shocks as a kind of treatment. 2) awkward: a. uncomfortable EG: I was awkward in front of the camera. b. clumsy EG: She started painting just a few years ago, so her paintings are still awkward.

4. Words and Phrases 3) Come( right) out: be direct or straight forward EG: She came (right) out and asked me to leave the room. 4) extend: a. hold out EG: The baby extended her arms to embrace the mother. b. make longer EG: The subway will soon be extended to the subway. c. communicate with words, gestures, etc. EG: Thank you for the invitation you extended to me. .

4. Words and Phrases 5) whoever: no matter who EG: whoever made the mistake will surely be punished. 6) deliver: a. take sth to the place where it must go EG: I’d like you to deliver a message for me. b. give forth in words EG: The audience waited in eagerness for him to deliver his opinion. c. help a woman in childbirth EG: In Thailand, policemen must learn how to deliver babies in case of emergency. 7) smooth out: make smoother EG: She smoothed out a table-cloth.

4. Words and Phrases 8) nervous: a. uneasy EG: She was nervous of speaking to such a large audience. b. of the nerve EG: There is something wrong with your nervous system if you often sleep badly. 9) interrupt: a. stop by breaking in EG: Sorry to interrupt but there is an emergency case. b. hinder EG: The skyscraper interrupts our view of the river. 10) swiftly: quickly EG: An efficiency expert solves problems swiftly.

5. Sentence Analysis 5. Sentences Analysis 1) The door was not a long time opening. “NOT” expresses simple negation, but is used here for the stylistic effect of understatement. But for this effect, the author could very well have written “The door opened immediately…” 2) who was now to hear of: The “be + infinitive” structure is often used to express an action planned to take place soon. The structure can also be used in the past to indicate “destiny”- things which were sure to happen in the future. 3) Now suddenly she began to sob, holding herself in as if weeping were a disgrace. The underlined part is in the subjunctive mood.