大学英语精读 ---- Book I Unit Ten

Unit Ten I. Background InformationBackground Information II. Pre-reading questionsPre-reading questions Ⅲ. Words & PhrasesWords & Phrases IV. Language pointsLanguage points

1. Florida and the Sun Belt Americans have a craze for the sun. The most desirable place in the American sun is the coastline of southern California, but Florida is perhaps the most popular state in the Sun Belt. In fact, it calls itself “The Sunshine State”. It has a subtropical climate and is ideal for a winter vacation. From November to March Background Information

northerners and easterners come to lie on the warm, sandy beaches of Miami, Palm Beach and the other resorts along the coast. And that is why the boys and girls in our story are so eager to leave the “ gray ”, “ cold ” city of New York to vacation in Florida.

2. Parole It is a legal term, which means release of a convicted criminal from prison before he has served his full sentence. A parole is usually granted to a prisoner as a reward for good conduct. A paroled convict is a relatively free man, but he is under the supervision of a parole officer or some other person until the end of the term of his sentence. The paroled convict reports regularly to the parole officers. He can be sent back to prison if his conduct is not satisfactory.

3. Introductory Remarks Have you ever heard the American pop song Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree? And do you like it? This song, very popular in the States in the mid-nineteen seventies, was born out of the story Going Home. And many of you may have seen the Japanese film Yellow Handkerchiefs which also borrowed the plot from the story. There is certainly something in this story that appeals to artists as well as us readers.

Pre-reading questions A. The people in the story were travelling on the bus from New York to Florida. (T) B. Vingo’s unusual appearance and complete silence made the young people wonder about him from the very beginning. (F) C. Vingo had been in jail for nearly one year. (F) D. Vingo reluctantly told his story to one of the girls in the group. (T)

Words and Phrases 1. mysterious: full of mystery; strange Examples: Johnny is determined to explore the mysterious Bermuda Triangle when he grows up. For fear of a letter bomb, no one dare touch that mysterious parcel.

2. sometime: (ad.) a certain time in the past or future Examples: I worked as an industrial consultant for that factory sometime around (a.) former Examples: The lady was in her mid forties, a sometime singer and dancer.

3. vanish: disappear either suddenly or gradully Examples: The fairy vanished at the sound of human beings. A number of the sometime deadly diseases have vanished from the earth.

4. dusty: covered with dust Examples: The room grows dusty when no one lives in it. The old farmer puts on his dusty hat and goes out as usual.

5. mask: conceal; hide Examples: He masked his anger with a smile. The young man masked his hatred under an appearance of friendliness.

6. deep into the night:: till very late at night Examples: With the final examination around the corner, most of the students are working deep into the night.

7. pull into: arrive at; move in towards, as a mother vihicle Examples: The train pulled into the station on the stroke of 12. Let’s pull into the parking lot and have a rest.

8. root: fix firmly Examples: Stunned by what had happened, the old man stood rooted to the spot. These words have been rooted in my memory.

9. wonder about: feel curious about; be doubtful about Examples: What are you wondering about? Joe says he didn’t do it, but I still wonder about that.

10. brightly: cheerfully; shiningly Examples: On her way to the office, Ms. Shang greeted her workmates brightly.

11. retreat: withdraw; move away Examples: The French, suddenly outnumbered, were forced to retreat.

12. something: a thing or person of some value or importance Examples: There is something to what he has said: I’ll follow his advice.

13. come through: pass through official channels; agreed to or approved by the authorities. Examples: When the appointment finally came through, he was ready.

14. take back: permit to come back; agree to accept or receive Examples: The lady said she would never take her husband back again.

15. exclaim: cry out suddenly and loudly because of surprise, anger, pain, etc. Examples: “Someone broke into my office!” exclaimed our boss.

16. be caught up in: be very interested in; be completely absorbed in Examples: I was caught up in conversation with a friend when someone knocked at the door.

17. approach: (n.) (1) coming near or nearer Examples: A good leader is easy of approach to the people. (2) way; method Examples: I do not agree with your approach to the problem.

(v.) come near or nearer Examples: As the Christmas is approaching, we must do a lot of shopping.

18. take over: take control or possession of Examples: After graduation he took over his father’s practice. Prof. Lu took over the chairmanship of the committee.

19. tighten: make or become tighter, firmer Examples : There are still a few bolts to be tightened up. The Government will tighten its control over economic growth.

20. stun: shock or surprise Examples: Frances often stuns her professors with extraordinary answers. Her stunning beauty makes everyone speechless.

21. make one’s way : move or proceed Examples: I made my way along the crowded street. It was one hour later that we made our way to the camp.

Language points 1. his dusty face masking his age: his dark face giving no clue about how old he was

2. frozen into complete silence: completely speechless as if frozen up

3. He sat rooted in his seat..: He sat fixed in his seat… 4. Caught up in the approach of Brunswick: be completely preoccupied by the coming near to Brunswick

5. Retreated again into his silence: became silent again 6. If she’d take me back: if she’d let me come back 7. Soon all of them were in it: soon they all learnt Vingo’s story

8. If it hurt her too much: if it made her too unhappy and she couldn’t stand the hurt “It” here might refer to the fact that the husband would be in prison for a long time, or to the thought of being the wife of a criminal, or to the thought that the husband was no longer worth loving.

9. she’ s a wonderful woman, really something: she is a wonderful woman, a really good, remarkable woman 10. The parole was coming through: the parole was agreed to by the authorities