Unit 1 Never Say Goodbye

1. Warm-up Answer the following questions: 1) Have your family ever moved from one place to another? If you have, how did you feel when you were going to be away from the old house for good? 2) Have you ever attended a funeral of someone you knew very well? If you have, what were you thinking when you saw him for the last time? Unit 1 Never Say Goodbye

2. Reading 1) Read the text within ten minutes and think about the following questions: a. What is the message of the text? b. What is the implication of the author’s grandpa’s words “never say good bye” c. Why do you think the author’s grandfather smiled at him during his last few minutes of life? 2) The style of the text Narration The main characteristic of narration is to show the point through dialogues, actions or events.

3) The structure of the text Part Ⅰ (Para. 1-4) the problem the author was confronted with Part Ⅱ (Para. 5-13) illustration of how one can overcome the sad feeling resulting from the loss of someone dear to him Part Ⅲ (Para ) illustration of how the author came to understand what his grandpa had taught him

2.2 Language points and difficult sentences Para. 1-4 Q1: Why was the author seized with the anguish of moving from his home? Q2: Why did the author’s grandfather advise him not to use the word “goodbye” to his friends?

Language points (1) confront: a) be faced with and have to deal with e.g.: The actress was confronted by large group of reporters as she left the stage door. b) force to deal with or accept the truth of; bring face to face with e.g.: When the police confronted her with the evidence, she confessed she was guilty.

(2) …touched with the laughter and tears of four generations. This past participle phrase implies that “…the house which had seen /witnessed the joys and sorrows of the four generations of my family.” The whole phrase means “touched with the happiness and bitterness of four generations.” touch: have an effect on one’s feelings; to cause one to feel pity, sympathy, etc. e.g.: His sad story so touched us that we nearly cried. be touched with: have a certain amount of a quality e.g.: Her hair is touched with gray.

(3) well: (of liquid) flow or start to flow e.g.: Blood welled (out) form the cut. She was so moved that tears welled (up, forth, out) in her eyes. (4) rest on/upon: a) lean on; to be supported by b) (esp. of a proof, argument, etc.) be based on; be grounded on; depend on e.g.: Your argument rests on a statement than cannot be proved.

(5) through one’s tears: with tears in one’s eyes; while shedding tears (6) stare: a) look steadily for a long time, esp. in great surprise or shock  e.g.: He sat staring into space, thinking deeply. b) be very plain to see; to be obvious  e.g.: The lies in the report stared out at us from every paragraph.  stare off: stare away; to move one’s eyes

Para ) Language points (1) whisper: a) speak or say very quietly so that only a person cloze by can hear e.g.: She whispered a warning to me and then disappeared. b) (of the wind, etc) make a soft sound e.g.: The leaves of the trees were whispering in the wind.

2) Difficult sentences (1) …before your mother was even a dream. (Para. 10) [Paraphrase]: …before your mother was born/ before we thought of having a daughter (2) …lock it away within you (Para. 13) [Paraphrase]: …fasten it firmly in your mind; imprint it on your mind; bear it in your mind and never forget it (3) I want you to reach deep within you and bring back that first hello (Para. 13) [Paraphrase]: I want you to think deeply and recall the friendly occasions on which you met your friends and said hello to them for the first time.

(4) …in that place in your heart where summer is an always time. (Para. 13) [Paraphrase]: …in that place in your heart where there is always sunlight and warmth. /…in that place in your heart which is always filled with joy and happiness. Here, it is easy to see that “where summer is an always time” is metaphorical. And the word “always,” which is always an adverb, is used as an adjective here. May be this reveals the old man was not well-educated. 。

Para Q1: Why did the author’s grandfather want his bed to be next to the window? Q2: What do you think of the parting between the author and his grandfather? Q3: How did the author respond to his grandfather’s death?

1) Language points (1) beloved: dearly loved (2) summon: order officially to come (3) note: notice and remember; observe; call attention to 2) Difficult sentences When it came to my turn… (Para.15) [Paraphrase]: when it was my turn to say good bye to my grandfather… [Notes]: “turn” means “an act of turning” or “a point of change in time”

2.3 Highlights The text is the author’s memory of the most important and unforgettable experiences when he was between 10 and 12. He had learned from his grandfather the profound meaning of “never say goodbye” and became firm and strong-willed as a child. The author wants to tell us that we should never give in to sadness, that we should always be firm and strong-willed, and that we should always remember the joyful and happy events of life as well as our cherished friendship.

4. Homework 1) Translation exercises 2) Read Text II in the Textbook. 5. Main idea of Text II The Dinner Party The Dinner Party, one of the best known short stories of Mona Gardner, took place in India earlier last century, when India was still a colony ruled by Great Britain. At the very beginning, there is a disagreement between the colonel and a young girl as to whether women are still easy to be scared. Then a snake came into the room, the hostess, with the help of an American, escaped the danger of a possible attack by the cobra. In the story, both the man and the woman demonstrated the marvelous quality of self- control

5. Main idea of Text II The Dinner Party The Dinner Party, one of the best known short stories of Mona Gardner, took place in India earlier last century, when India was still a colony ruled by Great Britain. At the very beginning, there is a disagreement between the colonel and a young girl as to whether women are still easy to be scared. Then a snake came into the room, the hostess, with the help of an American, escaped the danger of a possible attack by the cobra. In the story, both the man and the woman demonstrated the marvelous quality of self-control

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