Unit 3 The Million Pound Bank-Note

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens 1835 — 1910

Fill in the blanks Real name Meaning of his pen name Birth date Birthplace Place where he grew up His famous stories

Fill in the blanks Real nameSamuel Langhorne Clemens Meaning of his pen name the water is two fathoms deep Birth dateNovember 30th,1835. BirthplaceHannibal, Mossouri

Fill in the blanks Place where he grew up Hannibal, Missouri, along the Mississippi His famous stories The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Imagine that somebody gives you a large sum of money to spend as you like. What would you do with it?

The Million Pound Bank Note

Henry : a lost American businessman in London Roderick and Oliver: two brothers who are rich Englishmen Characters （人物）

The Million Pound Bank-note Act One Brief introduction to the story: Two brothers Oliver and Roderick brothers bet on what would happen if one had nothing but a bank-note of ￡ 1,000,000. They made a bet on a poor man Henry, who was in rags.

Brief introduction to the story: They gave him a million pound bank note and saw whether he could win other’s respect even though he was in rags and looked poor. So the story began…

ACT 1 SCENE The story began

What do you think of Henry?

It is my first trip here. Well, to be honest, I have none. (no money) Well, I can’t say that I have any plans.

I earned my passage by working as an unpaid hand. Could you offer me some kind of work here? I don’t want your charity, I just want an honest job.

Well, it may seem luck to you but not to me. If this is your idea of some kind of joke, I don’t think it’s very funny. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll be on my way.

Comprehending: For each statement, write “F” if it is a fact. Write “O”if it is an opinion. 1._____ Henry wants to find a job in London. 2._____ Henry is given an envelope by the two brothers. 3._____ Henry is an unlucky young man. 4._____The servant is called James. 5._____ Henry is foolish to go and meet the two brothers. F F O F O

Read Act 1, Scenen3 carefully and find all the examples of polite requests in it. Then rewrite them in information language.

Polite languageSimple alternative 1Would you step inside a moment please? Come in, please

Polite languageSimple alternative 1Would you step inside a moment please? Come in, please. 2 Good morning, sir, would you please come in? Hello. Please come in. 3 Permit me to lead the way, sir. Let me show you the way.

4 How do you do, Mr…er…? Hello Mr… 5 I wonder, Mr Adams, if you’d mind… Mr Adams, is it OK if… 6 May we ask what you’re doing in this country…? Why are you in England? 7 Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll… Please excuse me.

Find what Henry says or does on the following occasions and then use your own words to describe how you think he feels.

What Henry says or does How he feels Before he enters the brother ’ s house When he introduces himself wandering round London behaves politely and answers questions fully miserable, unhappy, anxious curious why he has been asked to go into the house

When the brothers ask him about his plans When he tells them how he reached London by ship admits his problems and asks for work; explains his situation blame himself for his carelessness: remembers how hungry he was when sees the food on the table grateful that he was rescued; aware of his hunger hopeful that he might find a solution to his troubles

When they seem happy that he has no money When they give him the envelope When they tell him there is money in it Before he leaves the house replies angrily angry, irritated wants to open the envelop straightway irritated that he cannot open the envelop at once explains he wants a job not charity unhappy to be given money rather than working for it agrees not to open the letter till 2 pm interested and curious

1. It is the summer of two old and wealthy brother have made a bet. make a bet=have a bet 打赌 Win/ lose a bet 打赌赢了 / 输了 I bet (that): 我肯定 ; 我敢说 I bet he has gone swimming – he loves it. 我肯定他去游泳了 他喜爱这项运动. You bet: 的确 ; 当然 “ Are you going to see the film? ” “ you bet (I am)! ” “ 你去看电影么 ? ” “ 当然 ( 我去 )! ”

2. He was brought up in Hannibal, Missouri… bring up v. 教育, 培养, 提出 a.These are matters that you can bring up in committee. 这些问题你可在委员会中提出。 b. Her parents died when she was a baby and she was brought up by her aunt. 她出生后不久父母双亡，由姑母抚养大的。

3 … they see a penniless young man wandering on the pavement… wander: vi. 漫游 ; 漫步 ; 漂泊 The boy was wandering around. 男孩在那周围徘徊。 Please don't wander off the point. 请不要离题。

4. permit me to lead the way, sir. permit: v. 允许, 许可 permit sb to do sth=allow sb to do sth 我恐怕不会允许我女儿嫁给你。 I am afraid I cannot permit my daughter to marry you.. permit sth; permit doing sth we don’t permit smoking in the office. 在我们办公室里不准吸烟.

n. 许可证, 执照 你没有许可证就不能在这里工作。 You can’t work here without a work permit. 5 I landed in Britain by accident. by accident: 偶然 ; 无意中 I only found it by accident. 我只是碰巧找到的。 The gun went off by accident. 那枪走火了。

6 His eyes stare at what is left of the brother's dinner on table. stare at: 凝视；盯着看 She stared at herself in the mirror. 她凝视着镜中的自己。 They stared at the strange sight in silent wonder. 他们惊讶地默默凝视那奇景。

7 I was spotted by a ship. spot: v. 发现, 认出 She spotted her friend in the crowd. 她在人群中认出了她的朋友。 n. 污点, 地点, 斑点 Luckily there was a doctor on the spot. 幸运的是现场有一位医生。

8 …which accounts for my appearance. account for; explain the cause of sth 做某事的解析；解析某事的原因 请你对自己的行为作出解析 Please account for your own conduct.

9 On the contrary, in fact. on the contrary 与此相反；正相反 I ’ m not ill. On the contrary, I ’ m very healthy. 我没有生病。正相反，我很健康。

10. to be honest = to tell you the truth=honestly speaking 类似用法 ： to be frank =frankly speaking 坦率地说 我认为我们取胜的可能性不大 To be honest, I don ’ t think we have a chance of winning.