3. What is “the human touch” ?What is “the human touch” ? ----it is originated from the warmest aspect from human normal feelings, a natural revealment from real emotions among one another, giving others a wonderful feeling of love, care and an encouraging spirit----it is originated from the warmest aspect from human normal feelings, a natural revealment from real emotions among one another, giving others a wonderful feeling of love, care and an encouraging spirit

5. The Last Leaf O.Henry

6. Teaching Objectives Students will be able to: 1. understand the main idea and structure of the text; 2. appreciate how the repeated use of clues helps weave a piece of narration together; 3. grasp the key language points and grammatical structures in the text; 4. conduct a series of reading, listening, speaking and writing activities related to the theme of the unit.

7. Cultural Notes Who is he?

8. O. Henry (1862-1910): pseudonym of William Sydney Porter American writer of short stories best known for his ironic plot twists and surprise endings

9. He was born on September 11, 1862 in North Carolina, where he spent his childhood.

10. He went to Texas in 1882 and worked at various jobs — worked as a bookkeeper, pharmacist, sheepherder, draftsman, journalist, and clerk; was in prison for three years.

11. Works: more than 270 short stories and a novel.

12. He died on June 5, 1910 in New York City at the age of forty- seven. An alcoholic, he died virtually penniless.

13. O. Henry’s most famous stories--- “The Gift of the Magi” “The Cop and the Anthem”

14. O. Henry ’ s writing style All of O. Henry’s stories were ingeniously conceived.( 构思巧妙 ) The endings are always surprising, contrary to readers’ expectations.

15. Please tell the basic elements of a novel: Time Place Persons event Please tell the basic elements of a novel: Time Place Persons event

16. reading Story when who what where

17. characters the doctor Sue Johnsy Behrman

18. the main characters I'm just a poor artist living with my best friend Johnsy. It's getting really cold, and Johnsy has come down with pneumonia. The doctor doesn't give Johnsy much hope of surviving. This breaks my heart. I feel so sick and I’m tired. I know I will die soon. I just want to hold on until the last leaf of the Ivy branch falls. Soon the last leaf wll fall, and I will die, too. What is this nonsense? The little girl thinks she will die when a leaf falls from a vine? This is crazy i must do something to protect the poor little thing

19. A very quick preview of the fiction

20. Pre-questions Q1:What was, at first, Johnsy determined to do if the last ivy leaf should fall? She made up her mind to die when the last leaf fell. Q2:What did she decide to do when she saw the last leaf still cling to the vine after two nights’ rain and wind? She decided not to give up her life.

21. Pre-questions Q3:How was it that the cold fierce wind did not blow away the last leaf? Behrman, a kind neighbor, who was aware of Johnsy’s state of mind, risked death to paint the last leaf and save her. Q4:Why did Sue call the painted leaf Behrman’s masterpiece? Because it was so perfect the girls both mistook it for the real thing.

22. Text organization A piece of narration usually consists of a number of scenes. In each scene there are different characters who interact with each other. Now put down, in the following table, the characters and major events of the seven scenes in Text A. The first one has been done for you. PartsPara(s)Events 1~21 Characters Sue, Johnsy Sue’s roommate Johnsy caught pneumonia.

23. G R _ Part Division of the Text 2 PartsPara(s)Events 23~8 the doctor, Sue The doctor told Sue that Johnsy needed a strong will to live on. Characters 39~17 Johnsy, Sue Johnsy decided that she would die when the last ivy leaf fell. 18~214 Behrman, Sue Sue told Behrman about Johnsy’s fancy.

24. G R _ Part Division of the Text 3 PartsPara(s)Events 522~33 Sue, Johnsy As Johnsy was encouraged by the last leaf that wouldn’t give in to the weather, her will to live returned. Characters 634~37 the doctor, Sue The doctor told Sue that Johnsy would recover, but Behrman caught pneumonia himself and his case was hopeless.

25. G R _ Part Division of the Text 4 PartsPara(s)EventsCharacters 738~39 Sue, Johnsy Sue told Johnsy about the kind deed that Behrman had performed without any thought of self.

26. Time: __________________ Place: _____________________ Characters: _________ _________ _________ _________ Events: ______, who fell victim to _________, decided that she would die when _____________ on the blank wall outside her window ___, but it did not ___ even after the storm. This persistent last leaf brought back Johnsy’s will to live. Later on it turned out that ______ wasn’t the real one; it was the one drawn by _______________________, who had drawn it at a night with heavy rain and cold wind at the expense of his own life – he was attacked deadly by _________. In-depth Understanding Scan the story and fill in the blanks. the last ivy leaf A three-story brick building Sue, Johnsy, Behrman, the doctor, Pneumonia Johnsy pneumonia November, cold winter fell the leaf an old artist named Behrman pneumonia fall

27. The story is, as indicated by its title, built around the last ivy leaf. In other words, the last ivy leaf is the main thread that runs through the whole story. Complete the following sentences, and then you will get a clear idea of this point. 1. At first, Johnsy was determined to ___ when the last ivy leaf fall. 2. When she saw the last leaf still cling to the vine after two nights’ rain and wind, she decided not to ____ ____ her life. 3. The cold fierce wind did not blow away the “last leaf” because Behrman, a kind neighbor, risked his ____ to _____ the last leaf. 4. At the end of the story, Sue called the painted leaf Behrman’s masterpiece because ____________________ ______________________________. Thread 1: the last leaf die giveup lifepaint it was so perfect that the girls both mistook it for the real thing

28. The “threads” of the story: Besides the main thread of “the last leaf”, however, there are some other “threads”. What are they?

29. The doctor’s three visits are another "thread" that helps make the story a coherent piece. Scan the story and underline the sentences that indicate this point. 1. Johnsy was seriously ill. (Paras. 3~8) 2. Johnsy had a 50-50 chance for survival and death while Old Behrman was incurably sick. (Paras. 34~36) 3. Johnsy was sure to recover. (Para. 37) Thread 2: the doctor’s three visits

30. Soup is another "thread" that helps make the story a coherent piece. Scan the story and underline the sentences that indicate this point. 1. Johnsy refused to take any soup when she decided to die with the fall of the last leaf. (para 16) 2. When she was shaken alive again by that undying last leaf, one of her first desires was to drink some soup. (para 31) Thread 3: soup

31. Masterpiece is another "thread" that helps make the story a coherent piece. Scan the story and underline the sentences that indicate this point. 1. Old Behrman was a failure in art. He had always talked about a masterpiece, yet he was unable to deliver it. (para 18) 2. “Someday I will paint a masterpiece, and we shall all go away.” (para 20) 3. Finally, old Behrman painted his masterpiece at the cost of his life. (para 39) Thread 4: masterpiece

32. Thread 5: the Bay of Naples 1. Before she fell ill, Johnsy had wished to paint the Bay of Naples. (Para. 5) 2. Inspired by the last leaf, Johnsy again looked forward to painting it. (Para. 33)

33. Because the two girls have so many things in common. What are “chicory salad” and “bishop sleeves”? The pictures show what “chicory salad” and “bishop sleeves” are. They had met at a cafe on Eighth Street and found their tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves so much in tune that the joint studio resulted. Why did the joint studio come into being?

34. What kind of rhetorical method is used here? Personification. In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the district, touching one here and there with his icy fingers. Johnsy was among his victims. What does “touching one here and there with his icy fingers” mean? It means the illness spread quickly from one to another. What does “victims” mean here? The “victims” were those who had got the illness.

35. “I will do all that science can accomplish. But whenever my patient begins to count the carriages in her funeral procession I subtract 50 per cent from the curative power of medicines.” Translate the sentence into Chinese. “ 只要是科学能做到的，我会尽一切努力的。可是，但 凡病人开始计算她出殡的行列里有几辆马车的时候， 我就要把医药的疗效减去一半。 ” What can you infer from the sentence? Johnsy was seriously ill. The doctor held out little hope for her because she seemed to lose the will to hang on to life.

36. Judging from the phrase “mocked terribly at softness in any one”, what kind of person was Mr. Behrman? Mr. Behrman was a kind of person who laughed greatly at anyone who showed weakness in front of him. For the rest he was a fierce little old man, who mocked terribly at softness in any one, and who regarded himself as guard dog to the two young artists in the studio above.

37. Analysis of the characters: Which character in the story impresses you most? Why? Johnsy Sue Old Behrman The doctor

38. The Negative Side of Old Behrman (Para18) A failure in Art A Heavy Drinker A Braggart about his Oncoming Masterpiece A Fierce Little Old Man who Mocked Terribly at Softness in any one

39. The Positive Side of Old Behrman A Faithful “Guard Dog” of the Two Girls (Para 18) A Passionate and Sympathetic Friend (Para 19 and Para 20) A Selfless Man Who is Willing to Sacrifice His Life For the Sake of Another person’s Life (Para39) A Great Artist Whose Masterpiece has brought a Young Girl Back to Life (Para29 – 39)

40. Johnsy – A Young Girl Surviving the Challenge of Death Her Dark Days (Before Para 29) The Sick and Dying Girl The Weak and Immature Girl Her Bright Days (After Para 29) The Saved and Recovered Girl The Strong and Mature Girl

41. The Supporting People Sue – A Kind and Faithful Friend The Doctor – An Efficient and Truthful ExpertThe Doctor – An Efficient and Truthful Expert

42. The theme the courage the human touch

43. The twist in the story: O. Henry is famous for surprise endings or “twists” in his stories. Then what is the twist in this story — The Last Leaf? Johnsy seems to be dying of pneumonia when the story begins, but it is Mr. Behrman who dies in the end, while Johnsy survives.

44. Comments Although O Henry certainly did not invent the short story, he mastered this form and perfected the technique of the surprise ending. O Henry became a master at doing this by laying the construction for these endings in the story itself. He gives hints to his readers of the endings to come by briefly including details that seem unimportant at first memories. But become immensely important when the surprise ending is "revealed". An example of this is in the story "the last Leaf"where reader sees clues of what the old artist living downtowns has done to save the life of the girl upstairs. 尽管短篇小说这种文学形式并非欧 亨利 首创的，但他堪称这种文体的大师级人 物，而且还将出人意料的结局这种技巧 发扬至完美。在故事展开的过程中，他 就开始为结局埋下伏笔，手法非常熟稔 巧妙，通过那些 初看似乎无关紧要的细 节，设置， 他不断给读者以小小的暗示 ，然而，直到故事真相大白的那一刻， 读者才会意识到当初那些细枝末节是多 么重要。最后一片叶子就是一个典型例 子。在这篇小说里，读者其实可以发现 很多蛛丝马迹，揭示了楼下的那位老画 家是如何挽救那位姑娘的生命的

45. We know the old man has been waiting his whole life to paint his masterpiece, but we don’t expect hin to. Not until the very ending do we realize that the old artist has indeed fulfilled his dream while at the same time, fatally injuring himself in a selfless act of kindness. O.Herry is a master at leading the reader down one path of expectation, and then shattering these expectation, and than shattering these expectations at the surprising conclusion of the story. However, just as in “the last leaf”, these endings are rarely random acts of cruel fate. Instead, they are carefully constructed by the masterful author to show the reader the humanity of our frail and sometimes foolish, but also generous and kind nature. 我们都知道，那位老人终生都在等 待创出一部经典画作，可我们觉得 是白日做梦。直到小说结尾，我们 才意识到，他确确实实实现了梦想 ，同时却因为自己善良无私的行为 身染重病致死。在小说中，欧亨利 非常善于引导读者满怀期望地开始 阅读，却在故事结尾用出人意料的 结局打碎这些切期望。然而，正如 在最后一片叶子里一样，这些结尾 大多并非命运残酷无常造成的，而 是这位大师级的作者精心构造出来 的，旨在向读者揭示我们那脆弱、 有时愚蠢却亦慷慨而善良的本性。

46. Retell the story: The Last Leaf

53. Main Ideas Johnsy and Sue are artists who move into Greenwich Village in New York City. As Winter approaches and the weather gets colder, Johnsy becomes ill with pneumonia. She gets so sick that she believes that when the last leaf falls from the vine outside her window, she will die.

54. An old artist, named Behrman, who lives in the same building as the girls, paints a leaf on the wall at night with beating rain and fierce wind— a leaf that will never fall. Cold and wet from painting in the icy rain, he catches pneumonia and dies. This gives Johnsy the hope to survive her illness, and it also creates the masterpiece Behrman had always dreamed of painting.

55. Story telling Suppose you are Sue, tell us in the first person a story which may cover the following points: 1. How did Johnsy and you meet. 2. How did she get ill. 3. What did the doctor tell you about Johnsy’s illness.

56. Dialogue Making Make a dialogue between Sue and Behrman according to the sentence “She told him of Johnsy’s fancy, and how she feared she would, indeed, light and fragile as a leaf herself, float away, when her slight hold upon the world grew weaker” in Paragraph 19.

57. scarcely, barely & hardly--- “ 几乎不、刚好 ” scarcely 含有 “ 不太够 ” 的意思，强调不能令人满意 There were scarcely a hundred people present. 出席的人数还不足一百。 He is so uneducated that he can scarcely write his name. 他太没文化了，连自己的名字都写不大出来。

58. barely 含有 “ 仅仅够、一点不多 ” 的意思，强调没有多余 He eats barely enough. 他刚刚吃饱。 We barely succeeded. 我们勉强成功。 hardly 表示接近最低限度，差不多没有多余，而且强调困 难 We could hardly endure the winter here. 我们简直忍受不了这里冬天的寒冷。 I could hardly speak for tears. 我哭得几乎说不出话来。

59. 砖楼 brick building 某人在某方面的品味 one’s taste in sth 灯笼袖 bishop sleeves 和 … 是和谐的 in tune (with)

60. 可怕地蔓延于这一地区 stalk about the district 医药疗效 curative power of medicines 空荡荡的沉闷的院子 a bare, dreary yard 常青藤 ivy vine

61. 两眼一直盯着窗外 keep one’s eyes fixed out the window 看护人 guard dog 光线暗淡的 dimly lighted 无神的睁大的双眼 dull, wide-open eyes

62. 拉起 pull up 急风骤雨 beating rain and fierce wind 煤气灶 gas stove 冰冷 icy cold

63. Useful Expressions 1. 各处 here and there 2. 一成的可能性 one chance in ten 3. 画板 drawing board 4. 吹着轻快的口哨 whistle a merry tune 5. 倒着数 count backward 6. 几乎以耳语般的声音 in almost a whisper 7. 听说 hear of

64. get well ten to one be tired of turn loose one’s hold on everything look the part drink … to excess for the rest 8. 病好，康复 9. 十有八九 10. 厌烦 11. 撇开一切 12. 看上去很像 13. 无节制地喝 … 14. 至于其他 mock terribly at 15. 大肆嘲笑

65. peer/stare at an upturned kettle stand out wear away cling to be out of danger 16. 凝视着 17. 倒置的水壶 18. 显眼，突出 19. （时间）流逝 20. 紧紧抱住 21. 脱离危险 be wet through22. 湿透

66. Unit 6: The Human Touch Complete the following, using the words or phrases in brackets. Make additions or changes where necessary. Model:They found their tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves so ______________that _________studio resulted. (joint, in tune) much in tune the joint

67. 1.It was __________lying in the tent with nothing to read, so we built a camp fire. Soon the smell of steaks, bread and coffee ______________ that of fresh grass and earth. Other campers seemed to be doing the same. ______________ people were eating food and drinks or dancing to their hearts’ content, if _________________. What __________ night! (merry, mingle, dreary, to excess, here and there) mingled with dreary Here and there Unit 6: The Human Touch NCE-B3 a merry not to excess

68. 2. Miss Florence, our music teacher, _________ to stop singing. I didn’t realize why until Sally told me ________________: “ You were not ______________________ the group!” (in tune, in a whisper, call to) in a whisper call to us in tune with Unit 6: The Human Touch NCE-B3

69. 3. The angry wife poured a bucket of water over her drunken husband, who_________ immediately ____________ and stumbled _______________: “You can’t do without drinks? I ______________any excuses. You certainly don’t need it to _________________tongue!” (hear of, turn loose, be wet through, backward) was wet through backward Unit 6: The Human Touch NCE-B3 turn loose your won’t hear of

70. The order of adjectives before a noun When more than one adjective is used before a noun, the usual order is as follows: Qualitative adj.-size/age/style adj.- color adj.- material adj. –purpose adj.- e.g. a fierce little old man (Text A, Unit 6, Book III) Unit 6: The Human Touch

71. １. 一幢白色的小木屋 ______________________________________ ２. 长长的红色卷（ curly) 发 ______________________________________ 3. 一张大的旧圆桌 ______________________________________ a little white wooden house long, curly red hair a large old round table

72. Unit 6: The Human Touch 4. 一家价格便宜的印度餐馆 ____________________________________ 5. 一大份冰凉的巧克力冰淇淋 ____________________________________ 6. 迅猛的技术进步 _____________________________________ a cheap Indian restaurant a large cool chocolate ice-cream rapid technological advance

73. Unit 6: The Human Touch 7. 一位英俊的美籍华裔青年 ______________________________________ a handsome young Chinese American

74. Unit 6: The Human Touch Translation Translate the following passage into English, using the words and phrases given below.

75. Unit 6: The Human Touch previous more bare cling to fancy here and there in tune look the part masterpiece persistent to excess stand out 我们到处都能看到 “ 抢眼 ” 的青年艺术家。 他们要么一年四季穿着破旧的牛仔裤；要么 大冬天也打赤脚； _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Here and there we see young artists who stand out from other people. They may be in worn out jeans all year round, or walk barefoot/ in bare feet even in winter,

76. 要么饮酒过度；要么就是抱着创作一部杰作的 幻想，实际上并不做任何创作的事。 ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ or drink to excess, or cling to the fancy of creating a masterpiece without actually doing any creative work. Unit 6: The Human Touch bare cling to fancy here and there in tune look the part masterpiece persistent to excess stand out

77. In fact, many of them act like this just to look the part, or to be “in tune with” other artists. They have forgotten that only through persistent effort can one achieve success. 其实，他们中的很多人只不过是为了看上去像名艺术家， 或为了同其他艺术家 “ 保持一致 ” 才这么做的。他们忘了，只 有通过不懈的努力才能获得成功。 ___________________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ _____________ Unit 6: The Human Touch bare cling to fancy here and there in tune look the part masterpiece persistent to excess stand out

78. Thank you