Unit Nine How I Found My Voice

Contents A. Text one I. Pre-reading:I. Pre-reading (I). Warm-up questions (II). Background information II. While-reading: Text Analysis (I) Structure analysis (II) Comprehension questions (III) Language points (IV) Difficult sentences III. Post-Reading: (I) Grammatical items (II) Translation Exercises (III) Oral activities (IV) Writing practice B. Text two （ I ） Questions for text comprehension （ I ） Questions for text comprehension （ II ） Language points （ II ） Language points

I.Pre-Reading Information: James Earl Jones James Earl Jones is one of America’s most distinguished and versatile actors. He is best known for his impressive basso voice. He appeared in many roles, including the voice-over in Star Wars as Darth Vader, King Mufasa in Lion King (1994), and for CNN.

James Earl Jones --- his unforgettable voice

James Earl Jones --- Star Wars “Darth Vader” Darth Vader’s voice

James Earl Jones --- his unforgettable voice

James Earl Jones --- The Lion King “King Mufasa” King Mufasa’s voice

Retell the story Retell the story with the following hints: 1.When I was eight, … 2.The reason for causing the problem perhaps was… 3.The influence of my granddaddy 4.My talking with the animals vs. my performance before the visitors 5.Prof. Donald Crouch came to the my school and our relationship 6.Prof. Donald Crouch “tricked” me by… 7.After my stuttering disappeared,…

II. While-reading: Text Analysis (I) Structure analysis Part I 1.Did you expect a person as described in Paragraph 1 could have suffered from stutter? What kind of rhetorical effects do the author want to achieve?

Part II (Para. 3-22) What are supposed to be the causes of his stuttering? Why could he talk to all kinds of animals on the farm, but not in front of people? What attracted Prof. Crouch to the writer’s school? Read the part of the author’s first-time performance in public and appreciate the vivid description.

Paraphrase It was traumatic moving from the warm, easy ways of catfish country to the harsh climate of he north, where the people seemed so different. (Para. 4) …white, black and American Indian came together in a nondenominational fellowship. (Para.5) Granddad’s Irish heritage came out in his love for language; during the week he used “everyday talk”, but on Sunday he spoke only the finest English. (Para. 5) Most have no problem singing because the lyrics’ rhythmic pattern flows by itself. (Para. 21)

Language work round up: gather together animals or people, often when they do no want to be gathered together savor: to fully enjoy the taste or smell of sth./a time or experience She sipped her wine, savoring every drop. She savored her few hours of freedom.

Traumatic Trauma: emotional shock producing a lasting harmful effect; any distressing or unpleasant experience; wound or injury Traumatic: adj. An alternative to making such a traumatic decision is to have a floating rate. Our journey home was pretty traumatic 孩子们的感情发育过程因精神创伤而受到阻碍。 The children's emotional development had been retarded by traumatic experiences.

Pressure from grandpa Granddad’s Irish heritage came out in his love for language; during the week he used “everyday talk”, but on Sunday he spoke the finest English. Granddad had a love for language, which might have been inherited from his Irish ancestors. In weekdays, he used plain English, but when in church on Sunday, he spoke perfectly standard English.

I could talk to the farm animals. Why could he talk to all kinds of animals on the farm, but not in front of people? Shame and humiliation held him back from public speaking. The more he worried about being laughed at because of his stuttering, the more he retreated from other people. And it got worse as he grew older.

Round up Round sb/sth up: v. cause sb/sth to gather in one place The guide rounded up the tourists and led them to the next place. Round sth out: v. supply sth with more details and explanation He will tell you something about the plan, and later I will round it out.

I found my voice. How did Professor Crouch help me find my voice? He “tricked” the boy by questioning whether the poem was really written by himself. The teacher’s disbelief made the boy very angry, and to prove he really did it, he recited the whole poem to the class without stuttering, which gave him a big surprise and a lot of self-confidence at the same time.

My voice --- surprising, amazing I stood amazed and floated back to my desk in a daze, amid wild applause. I stood there, amazed at my performance, then not knowing how, I drifted back to my seat, and my classmates gave me a big applause.

What I have discovered after the first recitation… Most have no problem singing because the lyrics’ rhythmic pattern flows by itself. Most people who stutter can sing without stuttering because they can sing along with the rhythm pattern which just flows by itself.

Part III Why did the writer want to show his successes to his teacher? What kind of comments did the writer make about his teacher?

Concluding part The concluding part shows various honors and successes the writer has obtained, which further emphasized the great effect the teacher has brought about on the writer’s career as well as his whole life.

Paraphrase … I supported myself between roles by sweeping floors of off-Broadway stages. Before acting any new role, I supported myself by sweeping the floors of off-Broadway stages. “Can I fly you in from Michigan to see it?” Can I offer you a flight to Michigan to see my acting?