2024年5月31日发(作者：)

Unit 1

The Fourth of July

I. Text Comprehension

1. Decide which of the following best states the author's purpose.

A. To condemn with the author's own experience of racial discrimination in

American society as late as the 1940s.

B. To describe the author's trip with her family to Washington D.C. as a

graduation present.

C. To disclose the fact that the black people were still leading a poor life in the

United States.

D. To tell the readers that her first trip to Washington D.C. was really a

worthwhile graduation gift.

Key: [ A ]

2. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true

or false.

1. The author took her first trip to Washington D. C. at the beginning of the

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summer upon her graduation from the eighth grade. [ T ]

2. The author's sister graduated at the same time from the same school. [ F ]

3. They went at night on a milk train to Washington D. C. because it was

cheaper. [ F ]

4. The dining car food in the 1940s always cost too much money and no one

could tell whose hands had been playing all over that food, nor where those same

hands had been just before. [ F ]

5. Phyllis's high school senior class trip had been to Washington D. C. before,

but she didn't enjoy herself at all. [ F ]

6. The author's father, moved by the historical surroundings and the heat of

early evening, decided to entertain the family again. [ T ]

7. Insulted by the waitress's words, the author and her family turned around

and marched out of the store, quiet but outraged. [ T ]

8. The author wrote and typed her angry letter and managed to mail it to the

president of the United States. [ F ]

4. Explain in your own words the following sentences taken from the text.

1.

Mother meant to deliberately overlook whatever she did not like and

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could not change.

2. From June to the end of July school closed for the summer vacation.

3. Literarily, the writer was unable to open wide her eyes due to the

dazzling summer sunlight as well as her eyes defect. Figuratively, the freedom,

equality and democracy all American citizens were allegedly entitled to were

simply distorted images in the author's eye.

4. Mother was bright and father brown, and the three of us girls

represented gradations from bright to brown.

5. Inside the Breyer's, the soda fountain was so dim and the air so cool that

the pain of my eyes was wonderfully lessened.

6. My forceful question got no response from my family; they remained

silent as if they had done something wrong and shameful walking into Breyer's.

7. My anger was not going to be noticed or sympathized with by my family

members who were similarly angry, though.

II. Writing Strategies

1. Flashback

A flashback (闪回，插叙) is a technique used by writers. It is often used in

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movies, television and literature. It involves a character remembering something

that happened to him in the past.

Activity: Besides Paragraph 2, you’re expected to find out some other

paragraphs that contain this technique.

Tips: Besides Paragraph 2, Paragraphs 6, 8 and 9 contain or involve flashbacks.

Here is a movie clip from

The Bourne Ultimatum

, in which the technique of

flashback is used.

2. Symbolism

Symbolism in art tries to show not what is real but what could stand instead of

what exists. It deals with ideas that aren't physical, mostly.

e.g.

Moby-Dick

: representation of an unknowable God;

Scarlet Letter

: The scarlet letter “A” is meant to be a symbol of shame, but

instead it becomes a powerful symbol of identity to Hester.

Activity: Find some examples of symbolism in the text.

Tips: “summer brightness” (Paragraph 8)

“corolla of dazzling whiteness” (Paragraph 9)

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“white mottled marble” (Paragraph 15)

The repeated “white” in the last paragraph, and it reveals the phony

democracy of the United States and the false freedom of colored people, which

drove our writer mad and indignant.

III. Language Work

1. Explain the underlined part in each sentence in your own words.

1) The first time I went to Washington D.C. was on the edge of

the

 at the beginning of

2) Preparations were in the air around our house

before school was even over.

 the whole family were already either actually busy making preparations or

enjoying the ambience

3) In fact, my first trip to Washington was a mobile feast.

 a large enjoyable meal on the train

4) …as if we had never been Black before.

 as if we had never been mistreated for being Black

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5) My parents wouldn't speak of this injustice, not because they had

contributed to

it.

had partially caused

6) My fury was not going to be acknowledged by a like fury.

 was not going to be openly sympathized with by people displaying a similar

anger

2. Fill in each blank with one of the two words from each pair in their

appropriate forms and note the difference of meaning between them.

bruise scar

1) Be sure to store these tropical fruits carefully as they bruise easily.

2) She continued massaging her right foot, which was bruised and aching.

3) He was scarred for life during a pub fight.

4) This is something that's going to scar him forever.

dampen soak

1) Nothing quite beats the luxury of soaking in a long and hot bath at the end

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of a tiring day.

2) Dampen the stamp at the back and stick it on the envelope; there you are.

3) I've gotten my feet thoroughly soaked in the cold, feeling frozen through

and through.

4) I hate to dampen your spirits, but aren't you overlooking a few minor

points?

acknowledge admit

1) "There are some faults which men readily admit but others not so readily”

(Epictetus).

2) The general finally acknowledged that the war had not been going as well

as expected, but he affirmed that a shift in strategy would enhance the prospects

of victory.

3) His cooking reflects a determination to acknowledge his northern roots.

4) He admitted under questioning that he was in the service of a foreign power,

but denied that he was guilty of espionage.

agony anguish

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1) In a Guatemalan prison, the man lingered in agony for 18 minutes when the

lethal injection finally took effect.

2) So you will be saving these villagers a lot of trouble and anguish if you tell

us now where they are.

3) No child deserves to live in the shadow of fear, anguish and pain.

4) The driver screamed in agony and dropped the automatic as he was crushed

between the door and the chassis.

3. Fill in the blank in each sentence with a word or phrase taken from the

box, using its appropriate form.

1) The local council has decreed that the hospitals that are not able to reach

the service standards should close.

2) When Hamlet murmured "To be, or not to be," he was faced with a(n)

agonizing dilemma.

3) The young mother smiled approvingly at her son, who asked to play

outdoors.

4) The Prime Minister is now firmly ensconced in Downing Street with a large

majority.

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5) We need a manager with plenty of flair to run the business in China.

6) It is noticed that quick-minded people suffer no vulnerability to criticism.

7) It was a relief to be outside in the fresh air again after staying weeks-long

underground.

8) The government's avowed commitment to reduce tax has been largely

appreciated.

4. Make a sentence of your own for each of the given words with meanings

other than those used in the text. You may change the part of speech of these

words.

1) present

John presented me with the challenge, and I took it up.

2) capital

To open a supermarket demands a large amount of capital.

3) pack

Well, it’s your turn to shuffle the pack and deal the cards.

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4) move

It would be a wise move to check the market first.

5) counter

The results of the test ran counter to expectations.

6) drop

Is there a drop of tea left in the pot?

5. Fill in each blank with a definite, indefinite, or zero article.

(1) The concept of (2) / sleep research is (3) a fairly new development.

(4) A lot of experimental work is done to increase our knowledge about (5) /

insomnia and other sleep-related problems in order to help (6) / people who

are deprived of (7) / sleep. Some of these studies have shown that, although

some people have (8) / trouble falling asleep, (9) / others have (10) an

equally difficult time waking up. It is believed that there is (11) a natural cycle

which regulates (12) / man's body temperature.

During (13) the night (14) a person's temperature may drop one or two

degrees, and it can be difficult to arouse him in (15) the morning if his body hasn't

become hot enough yet. In addition, (16) a person awakened during (17) a period

of (18) / heavy sleep is irritable and cannot think clearly. Finally, some people

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don't want to get up simply because they don't like (19) the activity that awaits

them.

6. Put a word in each blank that is appropriate for the context.

I remember the very day that I became colored. Up (1) to my thirteenth year I

lived in the little Negro town of Eatonville, Florida. The only (2) white people I knew

passed through the town going to or coming (3) from Orlando. The native whites

rode dusty horses, and the Northern tourists chugged down the sandy village road

in automobiles. The Northerners were peered at cautiously from behind curtains

by the (4) timid. The more venturesome would come out on the porch to watch

them go past and got just as (5) much pleasure out of the tourists as the tourists

got out of the village.

During this period, white people (6) differed from the colored to me only in

that they rode through town and never (7) lived there. They liked to hear me

“speak pieces” and sing and wanted to see me dance, and (8) gave me

generously of their small silver for doing these things, which seemed (9) strange to

me for I wanted to do them so much that I needed bribing to (10) stop . Only they

didn’t know it. The colored people gave no dimes.

IV. Translation

1. Translating Sentences

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Translate the following into English.

1) 我自己还没有看过，不过大家都认为是一部好片子。(suppose)

 I haven’t seen it myself, but it is supposed to be a really good movie.

2) 女主人把奶酪切成一口一块的大小，客人们吃起来就方便了。(bite-size)

 The hostess cut the cheese into bite-size pieces; therefore, it would be more

convenient for the guests to eat it.

3) 睡眠不足的话，很少有人能够正常生活。(deprive)

 Few people can function properly if they are deprived of adequate sleep.

4) 他细心地学我的样子，装作什么怪事都没有发生。(copy)

 He carefully copied my pretense that nothing unusual had occurred.

5) 他上台后发布的第一项法令就是禁止私人拥有枪支。(decree)

 The first decree he issued after he came into office was that private

ownership of guns (should) be banned.

6) 我就是来看他那被说得神乎其神的脚法的。(fabled)

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 I’ve come to see his fabled footwork that people talk so much about.

7) 我不是一个严格意义上的教师，因为我没有接受过训练，但是我有丰富的教学经验。

(proper)

 I’m not a teacher proper, since I haven’t been trained, but I’ve had a lot

of teaching experience.

8) 学生通常都会在考试之前猜考试题目。(anticipate)

 Students tend to anticipate what questions they will be asked on the

examination.

2. Translating Passage

Translate the following into Chinese.

It would be fatal for America to overlook the urgency of the moment and to

underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the

Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of

freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. There

will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his

citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations

of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

参考译文:

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如果美国对此时此刻的迫切性视而不见，低估黑人的决心，那么这对美国的命运来说

将是致命的。自由平等、令人心旷神怡的秋天遥遥无期，黑人正当愤怒的闷热夏季就不会

消失。1963年并不是终结，而是一个开端。只要黑人得不到公民权益，美国就不可能有安

宁和稳定。反抗的旋风会继续撼动这个国家的根基，直到光明正义的日子来临。

VI. Writing

Study the following picture carefully and write an essay of about 400 words on

the following topic:

HOW TO FIND AN IDEAL JOB

You should: describe the cartoon; give some tips to job seekers.

The following patterns or sentences may be useful when you interpret a

picture.

As described/illustrated/portrayed/shown/in the picture, ...

As can be seen from the photo, ...

According to the picture, …

As you can see from the picture,....

In the cartoon, we can see that…

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The cartoon is thought-provoking, and it illustrates a common phenomenon

in today’s society.

Further Enhancement

Text II

CHAMPION OF THE WORLD

Maya Angelou

Text II: Comprehension

1. Answer the following multiple-choice questions:

1) On the day of the boxing match, the Store was D .

A. tightly packed like sardines with TV viewers

B. sparsely seated with listeners to the radio

C. crowdedly filled with children

D. crowded with people listening to a boxing match over the radio

2) From the passage Champion of the World, the people, probably all black,

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were listening to the radio with the great expectation that ___B___.

A. Joe Louis would lose the game

B. Joe Louis would win the game

C. Joe Louis would kill his opponent

D. Joe Louis would be killed by his opponent

3) Which of the following mean words is not used by the writer to describe the

black people in the eye of white racists? __A__

A. snobbish B. dirty C. ugly D. stupid

4) The black people in the Store celebrated Joe Louis’ victory by doing all the

following EXCEPT _ D .

A. Drinking cokes. B. Eating candy bars.

C. Sneakily enjoying liquors. D. Setting fireworks.

5) Joe Louis’ victory of the boxing matching symbolizes ___C__.

A. he would win a lot of money

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B. he was the son of the strongest mother in the world

C. he was the representative of the strongest people in the world

D. he would stay in town until the next morning

2. Text II: Questions for Discussion

1) What is the symbolic meaning of "master's voice"?

Angelou uses “master’s voice” for symbolic emphasis. It represents the

white establishment that unfairly discriminates on the basis of color. This kind of

literary technique results in a powerful and poignant story of growing up black in

America.

2) Why was it important that Joe Louis win the heavyweight championship

fight?

“It wouldn’t do for a Black man and his family to be caught on a lonely

country road on a night when Joe Louis had proved that we were the strongest

people in the world.” It was an event that symbolized the ability of black people

to compete in a white-dominated world.

3) Do you think the title "Champion of the World" is appropriate? Why or why

not?

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Yes. The title symbolizes all black people who, despite great adversity and

oppression, live with dignity and strength. They learn to survive and to respect

themselves in the process. In this essay Angelou seems to be asking for

recognition not only of her struggle and identity but of the struggle and identity of

all black American women and all black people.

4) Angelou uses African-American dialect in this essay. Are these dialectical

expressions effective? Why or why not?

Most of the story is written in standard English, but it occasionally includes

realistic snatches of regional dialect and black English, which make the language

colorful and the tone animated. When Angelou’s voice enters the narrative, her

serious tone calls the reader’s attention to her underlying demand for black

equality.

5) Have you ever listened to your favorite sport on the radio? How does it

differ from watching it in person or on television?

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