致用英语4unit2

A. You are going to read and listen to a modern version of the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. Before listening, share with your partner what you know about the taditional version. . Look at the following adjectives. In the traditional tale, which words describe Little Red Riding Hood and which describe the wolf? Check the unknown words in a dictionary. Words describing Little Red Riding Hood Words describing the wolf C. Read and listen to a modern version of Little Red Riding Hood. What is the moral message of the original story? What does the new one suggest? a. Have you ever read any of the following short stories by O. Henry? If not, ask your partner about these stories. Y our teacher will tell you more about them.b. These stories have one thing in common. Do you know what it is?c. O. Henry is known as a master of short stories that often have an unexpected, twisted ending. When readers reach the end of the story, they are always surprised, often with a bitter feeling. This kind of stories are called “a sting in the tail” stories. Do you know what “a sting in the tail” means? Discuss in pairs. Parsons Pleasure 1 Cyril Boggis was a dealer in antique furniture. When he visited the old country homes to look for the hidden treasures, he always disguised himself as a parson and toldthe homeowners he was collecting old furniture for charity work. The scheme worked well. In fact, it became a very profitable business. 2 One Sunday morning, Boggis parked some distance from the gate of a farmhouse. He never liked his car to be seen until a deal was made. A dear old clergyman and a large station-wagon never seemed quite right together. 3 Three men were chatting in the yard. When they caught sight of the small bellied man in his black suit and parsons collar, they stopped talking and watched him suspiciously. The farm owner was a stumpy man with small shifty eyes, whose name was Rummins. The tall youth beside him was his son Bert. The short man with broad shoulders was Claud, a neighbour. 4 “And what exactly might you be wanting?” Rummins asked. 5 Boggis explained the aim of his visit, which was to collect pieces for the Society for the Preservation of Rare Furniture. 6 “We dont have any. Youre wasting your time,” said Rummins. 7 “Now just a minute, sir,” Boggis said, raising a finger. “The last man who said that to me was an old farmer down in Sussex, and when he finally let me into his house, do you know what I found? A dirty-looking old chair in the kitchen that turned out to be worth four hundred pounds! I showed him how to sell it, and he bought himself a new tractor with the money.” 8 “Well,” Rummins said, “theres no harm in you taking a look.” He led the way into an old, dirty living-room. 9 And there it was! Boggis saw it at once and gasped. He stood staring for ten seconds at least, not daring to believe what he saw before him. It couldnt be true! 10 At that point, Boggis found the three men watching him intently. They had seen him gasp and stare. Boggis quickly staggered to the nearest chair and collapsed into it. 11 “Whats the matter?” Claud asked. 12 “Its nothing,” he gasped. “Ill be all right in a minute.” 13 “I thought maybe you were looking at something,” Rummins said. 14 “No, no,” Boggis said. “Its just my heart. It happens every now and then. Ill be all right.” 15 He must have time to think, he told himself. Take it gently, Boggis. Keep calm. These people may be ignorant but they are not stupid. 16 To a layman, what he had seen might not have appeared particularly impressive. But it was a dealers dream. Boggis knew it was one of the most valuable three pieces known as “The Chippendale Commodes”. 17 A few minutes later, Boggis began to move around the room examining the other furniture, one piece at a time. Apart from the commode he found nothing else. 18 “Nice oak table,” he said. “Not old enough. This chest of drawers”Boggis walked casually past the commode“worth a few pounds. A crude reproduction, Im afraid.” 19 “Thats a strong bit of furniture,” Rummins said. “Some nice carving on it too.” 20 “Machine-carved,” Boggis replied frowning as though in deep thought. “You know what?” he said, looking back at the commode. “Ive wanted a set of legs something like that for a long time. Ive got a table in my own home, and when I moved house, the movers damaged the legs. Im very fond of that table.”21 He paused, stroking his chin. “These legs on your chest of drawers could be cut off and fixed on to my table.” 22 “What you mean to say is youd like to buy it?” Rummins said. 23 “Well. it might be a bit too much trouble. Its not worth it.” 24 “How much were you thinking of offering?” Rummins asked. 25 “Not much, Im afraid. You see, this is not a genuine antique.” 26 “Im not so sure,” Rummins said. 27 “Its exactly what I thought, a Victorian reproduction.” 28 “How much would you give?” Rummins asked. 29 Boggis looked at the commode, frowned, and shrugged his shoulders. “I think ten pounds would be fair.” 30 “Ten pounds!” Rummins cried. 31 “Make it fifty,” Rummins said. 32 “My dear man,” Boggis said softly, “I only want the legs. The rest of it is firewood, thats all.” 33 “Make it thirty-five,” Rummins said. 34 “I couldnt, sir, I couldnt! Ill make you one final offer. Twenty pounds.” 35 “Ill take it,” Rummins snapped. 36 “Oh, dear,” Boggis said. “I shouldnt have started this.” 37 “You cant back out now, Parson. A deals a deal.” 38 “Yes, yes, I know. Perhaps if I got my car, you gentlemen would be kind enough to help me load it?” 39 Boggis found it difficult not to break into a run. But clergymen never run; they walk slowly. Walk slowly, Boggis. Keep calm, Boggis, theres no hurry now. The commode is yours. 40 Back in the farmhouse, Rummins said to the other two, “Fancy him giving me twenty pounds for a load of junk like this.” 41 “You did very nicely, Mr. Rummins,” Claud told him. “You think hell pay you?” 42 “We dont put it in the car till he does.” 43 “And what if it wont go in the car? The clergymen always have very small cars.” Claud asked. “Hell just back out and drive off.” 44 Rummins paused to consider this for a moment. 45 “Ive got an idea,” Claud went on. “He told us that it was only the legs he was wanting. So all weve got to do is cut them off, then itll be sure to go in the car. All were doing is saving him the trouble of cutting them off when he gets home.” 46 “A good idea,” Rummins said, looking at the commode. Within a couple of minutes, Claud and Bert had carried the commode outside and Claud went to work with the saw. When all the legs were cut, Rummins called out, “Were just in time!” 47 “Here he comes!”A. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). B. 1. Boggis hit on the idea of how to obtain rare C. antique furniture simply by chance.D. ( ) 2. Boggis worked as a parson and collected old E. furniture to help the poor.F. ( ) 3. Boggis always parked his car some distance from G. the houses he was going to visit in order to give H. himself time to consider the likelihood of finding I. valuable antiques in them.J. ( ) 4. Boggis parked his car some distance from the K. farmhouse, simply because he was not willing to L. betray his identity of a clergyman.M. ( ) 5. Boggis never visited prosperous-looking houses N. and farms. ( ) 6. Boggis was so excited w