综合英语II Unit Two Say Yes

nullnullnullUnit 2Say Yes nullQuestions / ActivitiesCheck-on PreviewObjectivesWarming upUnit 2Say Yes nullQuestions / ActivitiesForm groups of four, discuss the following two questions, and keep a record of your opinions to see whether they will change as the text is analyzed in detail. Is the man a good husband? Cite textual evidence to support your view. Is the man a racist? Cite textual evidence to support your view. Warming upnullCheck-on PreviewWarming uppitch in on pinch resort to mop spray snap through demonstrate blur out come up withthis trick the housework the silverware the floor her brows her indifference the pages the right answer the starsMatch the verbs with the nouns.nullMark the following statements T, for true and F for false. The story is set in the 1960s in the US when racial issues were hot on everybody’s mind and lips. The story happened between two middle-aged people who had been married for about 30 years. The man had never thought that he was a racist and felt greatly wronged by his wife who implied this. The man was considerate, rational and forgiving while his wife was selfish, emotional and ridiculous. The husband had known all along what his wife wanted from him, but simply didn’t want to give in to her. After the husband turned off the light, someone broke into their house and made some strange noise. F T T F T FCheck-on PreviewWarming upnullObjectivesKnow something about the author and his works. Gather some background information about racism and sexism in the US. Learn to appreciate the short story. Master the language items listed. Understand the story and appreciate its subtlety as much as possible. Think about the themes of the story and form your own opinions. Warming upnullBackgroundCulture TipsAuthorGenreTimeUnit 2Say Yes nullBackgroundHis LifeTobias Wolff (1945-)Born in Alabama USA in 1945. Parents divorced when he was a boy; traveled widely with his mother; soon forced to endure life under his strict and cruel stepfather. From 1964 to 1968, lieutenant with the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) in Vietnam. B.A. (1972) and M.A. (1975) from Oxford University with First Class Honors in English, a second M.A. from Stanford. A revered writer& teacher of creative writing and literature in Stanford and elsewhere. nullBackgroundHis WorksShort stories (O Henry Award): “In the Garden of the North American Martyrs” (1981) “Next Door” (1982) “Sister” (1985)  Our Story Begins (short story collection in 2003, The Story Prize in 2004) Memoirs: This Boy’s Life: A Memoir (1989) In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War(1994) Novels: The Barrack's Thief (1984, PEN/Faukner Award for Fiction) Old School (2003) This Boy’s Life Film Poster nullBackgroundHis StyleA direct writing style, obeying the “show, don’t tell” maxim, leaving much to the reader’s intuition Non-dramatic, focusing more on the psychological dimensions of a character in dilemmas than on plot development Often understated, forcing readers to become engaged in the collection of strands that will result in the full comprehension of a story. Exploring alienation, the nature of lying, and the essential foundations of relationships Hoping to instruct and inspire people to triumph over their situations through character change and development nullBackgroundTimeThe 1980s was a decade led by Republican policy. Ronald Reagan took office as president of the United States in 1980, served two terms, and then was succeeded by his vice president, George Bush. Reagan held conservative political beliefs, both on the domestic front and when it came to foreign policy. Although his economic programs brought the national inflation rate down, they also seemed to favor the wealthy. By the 1980s, as the United States and the Soviet Union built up a stockpile of nuclear weapons, the cold war had been ongoing for almost forty years. Reagan, an ardent opponent of communism, encouraged his administration to greatly increase military spending.The Republican YearsnullBackgroundCulture TipsDefinition: Racism is prejudice or discrimination based on the belief that race is the primary factor determining human traits and abilities. Racism includes the belief that genetic or inherited differences produce the inherent superiority or inferiority of one race over another. Institutional racism: e.g. the Jim Crow laws in the US from 1876 to 1965 mandating segregation in all public facilities in the southern states of the former Confederacy with a supposedly “separate but equal” status for the black Americans; officially overruled with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Overt and subtle racism: The Civil Rights Movement did away much overt racism, but racism persists in many subtle forms, in many aspects and on many levels.Racism nullBackgroundCulture TipsRace & Marriage Despite the public opposition to interracial marriage, in 1948, the California Supreme Court became the first state high court to declare a ban on interracial marriage unconstitutional. The decision was controversial, courageous and correct. At that time, 38 states still forbade interracial marriage, and six did so by state constitutional provision. Then, in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the remaining interracial marriage laws nation-wide. nullBackgroundCulture TipsSexism As with racism, overt sexism is not very much on display now in much of the world. But subtle sexism persists and can be found everywhere at all time. It is a cluster of social expectations and practices that reinforce sex-based inequality. For example: At school: more boys in science classes and more girls in arts classes (boys are logical while girls are imaginative) At work: a male boss and a female secretary, and rarely the other way around (we have “career women” and “family men” but no “career men” and “family women”) At home: housework regarded as the wife’s responsibility whether she has a full-time job or not (the husband reputed as a considerate one because he “pitched in on the housework”)nullBackgroundGenreA Short Story Setting: kitchen, cleaning up after dinner, USA, 1980s Characters: husband & wife, white, middle-aged, middle-class Conflict: different views on interracial marriages Plot: casual talk, argument, fight, hurt feelings, failed attempt at reconciliation Narrative point of view: 3rd person, the husband Characterization: showing instead of tellingnullText AnalysisUnit 2Say Yes nullText AnalysisThemeThe theme of this story is everybody’s guess. So what is yours? Attitudes towards interracial marriages (racism)? Man-woman relationships (feminism)? The unreasonable nature of women? The arrogance of men? The impossibility of effective communication?/Alienation in modern society? nullText AnalysisStructureThe argument: The husband disapproved interracial marriages on the ground of cultural differences while the wife approved on the ground of love. The wound: The wife was hurt; the husband helped her quickly and hoped she would reward him by letting go of the topic. The question: The wife persistently asked whether her husband would marry her if she were black and got a straight no in the end. The anger: The husband felt deeply hurt by his wife’s indifference to him but then decided to forgive her out of love. The stranger: When the husband tried to make up with his wife, he found her a stranger despite three decades of marriage. Para. 1-18 Para 19-24 Para 25-44 Para 45-48 Para 49-57 nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart I: Main IdeaWhat is the setting of the story? (the fictional time, the historical time, the place) Who are the main characters? What do you know about them? What is the conflict of the story? How did the wife feel when her husband said it was a bad idea for white people to marry black people? How did the husband show that he was not a racist? Why shouldn’t white people marry black people, according to the husband? Is this reason justifiable? How did the wife retort her husband? nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart I: Sentence Paraphrase A few months earlier he’d overheard a friend of his wife’s congratulating her on having such a considerate husband. (para. 1) Questions: How did the man earn the reputation of a considerate husband? What do you think of this reputation? What did the husband feel about his reputation? nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart I: Sentence ParaphraseSometimes his wife got this look where she pinched her brows together and bit her lower lip. When he saw her like this he knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he never did. Actually it made him talk more. (para. 4) Question: What does this show about the husband? relative adverb introducing a relative clause to modify “look”Compare: He was wondering about the strange look that he saw on the face of his wife. (relative pronoun) When he is displeased he has this look where his eyes are narrowed and brows closely knitted. (relative adverb) I saw a movie last night which was real junk. I saw a movie last night where there was a lot of violence. nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart I: Sentence Paraphrase“But that’s different. A person from their culture and a person from our culture could never really know each other.” “Like you know me?” his wife asked. “Yes. Like I know you.” … “How can you understand someone who comes from a completely different background?” “Different,” said his wife. “Not the same, like us.” “Yes, different,” he snapped, angry with her for resorting to this trick of repeating his words so that they sounded hypocritical. (para. 10-18)Questions: Why did the wife constantly bring themselves in for comparison? Do they really know each other? nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart I: Words & ExpressionsWordsPhrasesGrammarnullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart I: ExerciseTranslate the following sentences, and pay special attention to the underlined parts. My brother pitched in with an offer to loan us some money. 我弟弟主动借钱给我。 Her husband really pitched in on housework. 她丈夫真的帮她做家务。 The entire company pitched in to help. 公司所有人都来帮忙了。 Channel 4 arrived and somehow created a different role for television. 第四频道开播了，从某种意义上改变了电视的作用。 He's been very quiet and withdrawn, sort of different, somehow. 他最近非常安静内向，好像有点不一样了。nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart I: ExercisesContemporary career women often find themselves in a situation where they have to sacrifice their career for their family. 当代职业女性常会面临不得不为了家庭牺牲自己事业的情况。 Take my word for it, time will heal all wounds and cure all pains. 相信我，时间会治疗一切伤痛。 Don’t snap at me! It’s not my fault that you lost your wallet! 别冲我嚷嚷！你丢了钱包又不是我的错！ She snapped the suitcase shut and left angrily. 她啪的一声关上手提箱，怒气冲冲地走掉了。 People often resort to body language when words fail. 词不达意时人们常借助于肢体语言。nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart II: Main IdeaWhat did the husband do when the wife’s finger got hurt? What does this show? What did the husband expect from his wife? What does this show? Is the cut symbolic of something?nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart II: Sentence ParaphraseHe hoped that she appreciated how quickly he had come to her aid. He’d acted out of concern for her, he thought that it would be a nice gesture on her part not to start up that conversation again, as he was tired of it. (para. 21)done by hercome to help herbecause he cared about herQuestion: What does this show about the husband? Paraphrasing: He hoped that his wife was grateful that he had helped her so quickly. He did it because he really cared about her and he thought that she should show her concern for him in return by not continuing the conversation because he did not want to.nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart II: Words & ExpressionsWordsPhrasesSentence PatternGrammarnullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart II: ExerciseTranslate the following sentences into English, using words in the brackets. 1. 他把脸扎进一盆冷水里，想借此清醒清醒头脑。(plunge) He plunged his face into a bowl of cold water to clear up his mind. 2. 现在看来什么也不能阻止这个国家陷入一片混乱。(plunge) It seems that nothing can save the country from its plunge into chaos. 3. 有些婚姻因性格不合而破裂，有的因原则问题而破裂。(break) Some marriages break up because of personality clashes and some because of principle problems. 4. 我们会尽可能地提供帮助，但也需要你们做出努力。(part) We’ll do all we can to help but efforts on your part are also required. 5. 为了关心在寒冷的冬夜里无家可归的人们，政府设立了这些临时收容所。(concern) The government set up these temporary shelters out of concern for the homeless on the cold winter nights. nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart III: Main IdeaHow did the wife pursue the argument after the husband dressed her wound? Why did she do so? “The only black girl I ever knew was my partner in the debating club.” (para. 28) Is this remark contrary to what he said in the first part? What did the husband mean when he said “if you were black you wouldn't be you?” Do you agree? Why did the husband feel cornered? Did the husband know what was expected of him? Why did the husband refuse to say “yes”? nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart III: Sentence ParaphraseThere was no possible way of arguing with the fact that she would not be herself if she were black. (para. 32)introducing an appositive clause which explains what the fact isQuestion: What did the husband mean?Compare: Do you accept the view that people from different cultures should not marry? Do you accept the view that is so popular among the students? Appositive clause Relative clausenullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart III: Words & ExpressionsWordsPhrasesSentence PatternGrammarnullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart III: ExerciseCompare the structure of the sentences and translate them into Chinese. How do you explain the fact that my missing purse is under your pillow? (appositive clause) How do you explain the fact that we have just discovered? (relative clause) What do you think of the idea that we put aside some money each month for a trip in summer holiday? What do you think of the idea that we discussed just now? I can’t accept the reason that you simply didn’t get my message. I can’t accept the reason that is clearly made up in a hurry.nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart III: ExerciseLearn the subjunctive mood in the following sentences. She would not be herself if she were black. You wouldn’t have married me if I’d been black. You would probably have been going out with a black guy if you had been black. Respond to the following questions. What would you do if you were given a large sum of money? The old woman found a wallet on the pavement and waited for hours in the cold wind for its owner. What would you have done if you had been in that situation? The school was funded to pull down the old classrooms and build new ones. What would have been the students doing if they hadn’t been given the money?nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart IV: Main IdeaWhat did the wife do after her husband answered “No” ? How did she feel? How did the husband react? Why? How did the husband’s feelings change? What brought about the change? nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart IV: Sentence ParaphraseHe knew that she was too angry to be actually reading it, but she didn’t snap through the pages the way he would have done. She turned them slowly, as if she were studying every word. She was demonstrating her indifference to him, and it had the effect he knew she wanted it to have. It hurt him. He had no choice but to demonstrate his indifference to her. (para. 45-46)Questions: From whose point of view is the situation described? Are the husband’s guesses about his wife’s thoughts and feelings reliable? Is it true that the husband “had no choice”? What would a really considerate husband do?nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart IV: Sentence ParaphraseHe felt ashamed that he had let his wife get him into a fight. (para. 48)Questions: Who did the husband blame for starting the fight? Why did the husband feel “ashamed”? Do you notice the sexism of the husband?nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart V: Main IdeaHow did the husband try to make up with his wife? Why did the wife ask her husband to turn off the light? What did the man expect to happen when he turned off the light? What do you think really happened? Why? What does the ending of the story imply? nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart V: Sentence Paraphrase“I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” “How?” she said. He knew that he had to come up with the right answer. … “I’ll marry you,” he whispered. “We’ll see,” she said. (para. 49-52)Questions: Is it usual for one to ask “how” when someone promises to “make it up to you”? Why did the wife ask this question? Did the husband really mean that he would marry her if she were black? What did the wife mean by saying “We’ll see”?nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart V: Sentence ParaphraseThe room was silent. His heart pounded the way it had on their first night together, the way it still did when he woke at a noise in the darkness and waited to hear again–the sound of someone moving through the house, a stranger. (para. 57)followed by a relative clause the relative adverb (how) of which is omitted Questions: How did the husband feel on their first night together? How did he feel when he woke at a strange noise at night? Who was the “stranger”?nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart IV & V: Words & ExpressionsWordsPhrasesSentence Pattern nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart IV & V: ExerciseComplete the following sentences. I don’t like _______ he treats his parents. He likes observing children _____ play. Now that we are in the supermarket, we ______ look around and buy something we need. Sorry I can’t take you to the cinema today, but I’ll __________ you next week. I’ll lend you the book when I am _________ it. Have you _________ her since your fight last week? If you hadn’t come up with that bright idea our company __________ (struggle) for survival.nullText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart IV & V: ExerciseKey: I don’t like the way he treats his parents. He likes observing children at play. Now that we are in the supermarket, we might just as well look around and buy something we need. Sorry I can’t take you to the cinema today, but I’ll make it up to you next week. I’ll lend you the book when I am done with it. Have you made it up with her since your fight last week? If you hadn’t come up with that bright idea our company would still have been struggling for survival.nullReinforcementRetellingDiscussionUnit 2Say Yes nullReinforcementDiscussion From whose point of view is the story told? How does this narrative point of view affect the story? What difference would it make to choose another perspective? From what the husband said and did, is he a racist or not? In what sense is the man a considerate husband? In what sense is he not? Do you notice sexual inequality in the relationship between the husband and the wife? Explain yourself. nullReinforcementRetellingChoose one topic Suppose you were the husband and tell the story of that night to your friends. Suppose you were the wife and tell the story of that night to your friends.