新大学英语精读6 LessonSixDeathofaPig 小猪之死.doc

Lesson Six Death of a PigI. Background information 1) The Norton Sampler: The text was selected from the Norton Sampler , 3rd Edition, edited by Thomas Cooley, New York and London :W.W. Norton & Company,1985. The Norton Sampler is a rhetorically arranged collection of short essays for composition. It echoes the cloth samplers once done in colonial America, presenting the basic patterns of writing for students to practice just as schoolchildren once practiced their stitches and ABCs on needlework samplers. The edition shows students that description, narration, and the other patterns of exposition are not just abstract concepts used in composition classrooms but are in fact the way we thinkand write. The Norton Sampler contains 63 carefully chosen readingsclassics as well as more recent pieces, essays along with a few real-world textsall demonstrating how writers use the modes of discourse for many varied Beautifully written, demonstrating its own lessons about good writing. Students will find the book accessible and inspiring.2) E. B. White (1899-1985): Leading American essayist and literary stylist of his time, White was known for his crisp, graceful, relaxed style. "No one can write a sentence like White," James Thurber once stated. White's stories ranged from satire to children's fiction. While he often wrote from the perspective of slightly ironic onlooker, he also was a sensitive spokesman for the freedom of the individual. 2. About PigsWhy did E. B. White choose to write about a pig? Did his stories really happen? Read the answers in this letter, which he wrote to all kids everywhere shortly before his death. Dear Reader: As for Charlotte's Web, I like animals and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours. One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save a pig's life. I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving. Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation on a farm. Three years after I started writing it, it was published. (I am not a fast worker, as you can see.) Yours sincerely, E. B. White II Discourse analyses1. The main idea of the text.By recording the last few days he spent with his pig, E. B. White empathized with his ailing pig. His role was changed, from the butcher in winter to the pigs friend and physician and his feeling of caring, sorry and sympathies were revealed vividly. Besides, he conveyed in his message that for humans or animals, time is painfully one-directional: the lost life can never return.2. The outline of the textPart I （pp 1-14） I bought a pig in the mid-September and I noticed something wrong with the pig. (pp 13) using the backshift way of description to tell my pig died and my feeling towards it. (pp. 414) with the time sequence, the author described how they treated the sick pig after noticing it was illPart II (pp15-35) My pig was suspected to got a fatal disease and the coming of Doctor McFarland (pp15-30) I phoned the doctor and the doctor suspected that erysipelas has to be considered. (pp 31-35) the doctors examination of the pig and my feeling of relief.Part III (pp3641) the death of my pig and his burial. (pp 3637) My pigs last activities and final death (pp.3940) My dogs burialIII. Detailed study of the textPart 1 (pp 1-14)1. ailing adj. somewhat ill e.g.He was still ailing, it was said, and the Squire nursed him like the proverbial woman. 2. things might easily have gone the other way round:Things might easily have happened in the opposite way, say, I died at last, and the pig lived.3. recall; recollectRecall: to remember; to revoke; to take back (verbs); the ability to remember (noun)Recollect: to recall to mind, rememberHe tried to recall how the faulty design had been tested. The company recalled all contracts until a new design could be implemented. General Motors recalled their defective automobiles. He had total recall of all the meetings. Workers could not recollect a worse catastrophe for their company. 4. This uncertainty afflicts me with a sense of personal deterioration; if I were in decent health I would know how many nights I had sat up with a pig:The fact that I cannot remember exactly when the pig died shows that my health is deteriorating. Otherwise, I would be able to remember. Notice the humor conveyed by the solemn tone as if the event was of great historical importance.5. afflict; inflictafflict: cause distressinflict: impose something unpleasante.g.Jack was afflicted with running sores. Jack wanted to know why God inflicted pain and sorrow on him.6. decent Waiting for a decent death.活着就是为了死的时候体面一点It was decent of her to help the homeless.   她帮助无家可归的人，真是可敬。 I am a decent girl ! -我是正经人家的女孩 He spent three years in a sweatshop before he found a decent job.他在一家血汗工厂做了三年才找到一份像样的工作。His first novel was a flash in the pan, and he hasn't written anything decent since.他的第一部小说如昙花一现，此後他再没写出像样的东西。The director of my factory was very decent about my being away when my wife was ill.我妻子病时, 我告假回家去, 厂长对我是相当宽容和照顾的。 The new manager is pretty decent to us.新上任的经理对我们相当和气。He's done the decent thing and resigned.他做了件体面的事, 辞职了.We must provide decent housing for the poor.我们必须为穷苦人提供适当的住房.The lack of decent public transport is a great disadvantage.没有适当的公共交通工具是很不方便的.You can't have good acting without a decent script.没有像样的剧本是不可能有好的表演的。His behavior is so awful that he ought to be drummed out of decent society.他的举止如此低俗，应该把他从文雅的社会中驱逐出去。His flippancy makes it difficult to have a decent conversation with him.他玩世不恭, 很难正经地和他交谈.Ragged jeans are not very decent to wear to a ball. 穿着破旧的牛仔裤在舞会 上显得不太得体. Most university graduates consider white-collared position as decent jobs. 绝大多数大学毕业生 都认为白领职位是体面 的工作.7. It is a tragedy enacted on most farms with perfect fidelity to the original script:The raising of a pig is like a tragedy, because it always ends in the killing of the pig, and the set patternbuying, raising and butchering is strictly followed on most farms. Notice here the author follows his metaphor, saying that most farmers never change the patternthe procedure of the buying, feeding and killing of a pig remains the same.8. enact - act out; represent or perform as if in a play e.g.She hated to re-enact the character in the play.She often enacted the Stories told by her father.9. fidelity: A fidelity is loyalty to a person, organization, or a set of beliefs.e.g.Fidelity to engagement is a virtue信守诺言是一种美德。His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。10. premeditate: v. consider, ponder, or plan (an action) beforehand e.g.The crime was premeditated.犯罪是预谋好的。 She carefully premeditated each step of her plan.她仔细地考虑她的每步计划。11. in the first degreee.g.murder in the first second, third degree谋故、误杀 M-! (惊呼声)杀人啦!a principal in the first second degree【律】主从犯12. The murder, being premeditated, is in the first degree but is quick and skillful, and the smoked bacon and harm provided a ceremonial ending whose fitness is seldom questioned:The tragedy has an endingthe killing of a pig and the serving of its meat. The killing, deliberately planned and carried out efficiently, is the most type of murder. However, whether pigs should end their lives that way has never been questioned. Notice the humorous use of the legal term “premeditated”. 13. Once in a while something goes wrong one of the actors goes up in his lines and whole performance stumbles and halts:The metaphor is carried on. Occasionally something goes wrong. One of the actors in the play, in my case, the pig, performs its part too early, thus creating the chaos, and the whole play has to stop. The author humorously introduces the premature death of his pig.14. The classic outline of the tragedy was lost:What is the classic outline of the tragedy ?To buy a piglet in spring, feed it through summer and fall, and butcher it in winter. In other words, the pig is not supposed to be sick any time in between.15. I found myself cast suddenly in the role of pigs friend and physiciana farcical character with an enema bag for a prop:The author was suddenly made to play the role of the pigs friends and physicianhe had to take care of the pig when it got sickwhereas originally he was supposed to be the butcher.16. cast: throw: to place actors in roles; players in a play or movie e.g.They often cast loving glances. 他们常常传送秋波.The cast bowed as the audience. applauded. 演员们向鼓掌的观众鞠躬.The director cast me as a scientist.导演选派我扮演科学家。17. This was slapstickthe sort of dramatic treatment that instantly appealed to my old dachshund, Fred, who joined the vigil, held the bag, and when all was over, presided at the interment:The whole matter of the pig getting sick and me taking care of it was like crude comedy, but my dog liked it very muchhe did not miss any part of it; he was there when I stayed awake during the night to take care of the pig ; he was there to hold the enema bag during medical treatment; he was even in charge of the burial after the pig died.18. slapstick: a rough play in which the humor depends on physical actions rather than on the clever use of language19. When we slid the body into the grave, we both were shaken to the core:The author feels deeply upset. Notice the pomposity of the language and the exaggeration used to create humor.20. But Im running ahead of my story and shall have to go back:This sentence concludes the summary, and prepares the reader for the complete story.21. overhang - project over e.g.The tall trees overhang the road.22. rail fence23. A pig couldnt ask for anything betteror none has, at any rate: A pig couldnt ask for better living condition; at least no pig has ever complained. Notice the humor herea pig couldnt speak; therefore it couldnt let us know whether it was contented with its living conditions or not.24. There is never any identification needed on a country phone; the person on the other end knows who is talking by the sound the voice and by the character of the question:It is a small village and everyone knows everyone else. Therefore you dont have to say who you are when you talk to someone on the phone.25. Henry says roll him over on his back and give him two ounces of castor oil or sweet oil, and if that doesnt do the trick give him an injection of soapy water:They didnt even bother to check what was wrong with the pig and decided on the treatment straight away, as if the only disease a pig could suffer from was indigestion. Castor oil, sweet oil and soapy water are all for the purpose of having the vomit and thus solving indigestion.26. do the trick: provide a solution; give the desired result e.g.If we use a piece of cork it might stop the leaking and do the trick. I have a fever. Can the tablet do the trick?27. though: ad. (postpositive) howevere.g.He said he would come, he didnt, though.  他说他要来，可是并没有来。She promised to phone. I heard nothing, though.  她答应要打电话来. 可我没听到回信儿.4.I expect you're right I'll ask him, though.  我认为你说得对-我去问问他也好.28. catch up on: If you catch up on an activity that you have not had much time todo recently, you spend time doing it. e.g.I was catching up on doing a bit reading, as I was fully engaged in the past two weeks.29. odds and ends: a group of small objects of different types which are not very valuable or important One good thing I got done at the office today was to clean up my desk. I'd let so many odds and ends pile up that you could scarcely see the desk itself. But I got busy and took care of everything."30. Unconsciously I held off, for an hour, the deedthe even succession of days. I wanted no interruption, wanted no oil, no deviation.The author uses parallelism (no interruption in the regularity of feeding, the steadiness of growth, the even succession of days; no interruption, no oil, no deviation) to emphasize, or so it seems, that he was unwilling to accept the failure of his “scheme”.31. hold off: to stop or delay doing something e.g.Let's hold off until we have more data.The rain held off just long enough for us to have our picnic.  雨一时下不起来，我们有足够的时间吃完野餐。Could you hold off (making) your decision until next week?  你可以推迟到下星期再做决定吗? 32. desultory - marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another; (purposeless)e.g.He broke into a desultory chat with me over his business affairs.  他突然开始和我漫无边际地谈起他的生意来了。32. roll by: move awaye.g.I am sure that our difficulties are only temporary. We must wait until the clouds roll by.  我相信我们的困难是暂时的，我们一定要等待时机。He waited and waited till the clouds rolled by.  他等了又等，直到时机到来。33. summon: ask to come; gather or bring togethere.g.He summoned his soldiers to fight.  他号召部下战斗。The shareholders were summoned to a general meeting.  那些股东被召集去叁加股东大会。I was summoned by my boss (to explain my actions).  老板把我召去（要我对自己的行为做出解释）.34. Clothesline: A cord, rope, or wire on which clothes may be hung to dry or air.e.g. Its a skid-proof clotheslinefrom the department store.35. listless: marked by low spirits; showing no enthusiasm (=dispirited)e.g.And between the trees appeared one or two street lamps, listless as the eyes of someone drowsy.树缝里也漏着一两点路灯光，没精打采的，是渴睡人的眼。 At last, she asked listlessly, “Is that you?” 36. right - regain an upright or proper position (change posture)e.g.The capsized boat righted again.The half-drunk man finally righted himself and sat in chair with a forced smile.37. In the upset position the corners of his mouth had been turned down, giving him a frowning expression: This is a vivid description of the pigs facial expression ( as is a pig was capable of giving a facial expression) during the treatment, which shows that he didnt like it.38. They did not look troublesome but at the same time they did not look like mere surface bruises or chafe marks, Rather they seemed blemishes of internal origin:Those small dark spots immediately puzzled and worried the author. Although they didnt seem too serious, they were not bruises caused by external force but were symptoms of internal illness.39. rehearse: to practice in preparation for a public performance (= practice)e.g.He rehearsed the interview in his mind beforehand.他把面试时要讲的话预先想好了.If you can rehearse it 10 times in front of others, it will eventually become a good presentation. Ask the listeners to comment on your presentation. 40. List of words ending with -someadventuresome;