Unit One The Shadowland of Dreams

1、unit one the shadowland of dreams lby alex haley l (19211992) navigation guide li. related information l1.1 about the author and roots l1.2 other novels lii. text comprehension l2.1 pre-reading qs l2.2 text & structure analysis l3.3 post-reading qs liii. difficulty points l3.1 figurative speech l3.2

2、 key words liv. reading skills l4.1 using the dictionary objectives lto understand the real meaning of writing lto understand the hardship for alex haley to make success lreading skill using the dictionary i. related information labout the authorabout the author alex haley, an african american write

3、r, is alex haley, an african american writer, is best known for the novel best known for the novel roots,roots, the pulitzer the pulitzer prize-winning book . he was born in ithaca, prize-winning book . he was born in ithaca, new york. as the oldest child . his father new york. as the oldest child .

4、 his father was was a graduate student at cornell university a graduate student at cornell university and and his mother was a music teacher. his mother was a music teacher. haleys personal motto is find the good haleys personal motto is find the good and and praise it.praise it. about the novel roo

5、ts lthe novel, loosely based on haleys own family, presented an interpretation of the journey of african americans from their homeland to the united states and their subsequent search for freedom and dignity. lroots initiated such a widespread interest in genealogy research that haley is considered

6、to be the father of popular genealogy. other novels with similar background lgone with the wind (1939) by margaret mitchell this classic novel narrates the love between scarlett ohara and rhett butler during the american civil war. luncle toms cabin (1851-52) by harriet beecher stowe. it is the firs

7、t social protest anti-slavery novel published in the united states. ii. text comprehension pre-reading questions 1. how could haley become so successful as a black writer? what are the main reasons? 2. how many parts can the text be divided? and what is the main idea of each part? 3. what does the s

8、hadowland of dreams signify? how did haley stick it out? text analysis lpart i difference between being a writer and writing being a writer -wealth and fame writing - poverty and loneliness qs: 1 what do most young men want to be? why? 2 how does alex suggest? part ii lwriting career is a tough and

9、suffering test. qs: 1. when did alex begin his writing career? was he young at that time? would he succeed? 2. what was his living conditions? was he satisfied with that? 3. did his writing career go on well? what kind of life did he have in the shadowland of hope? 4. what supported him? part ii l5.

10、what changed his life? why? l6. what did he want to be? a full-time or a part- time writer? l7. was he regretful about his decision? l8. how did george help alex over the most depressed and lowest time? l9. what lesson did alex learn? part iii lalex eventually achieved success. qs: 1. what was alexs

11、 writing about? 2. why did editors of readers digest sign the contract with alex? 3. how long did it take him to be successful? 4. how did he feel after the his success? part iv lthe importance of the courage and persistence to stay the course in the shadowland. qs: 1. what did alex come across one

12、day? 2. what did his old possession remind him of? 3. how did he deal with them? where did he put them? why were they so important? structure analysis lto comment on the young mens understanding about writing and raise his own opinion lto cite himself as a good example to prove his opinion and his w

13、ay to success starting time-hesitating time-tough time- changing time-successful time lto reflect upon his success post-reading questions lwhy did the phone call change haleys life? if you were in the same situation, would you accept the offer? lwhat lesson did haley learn in the end? lto see our dr

14、eam come true, what efforts should we make? difficult points las the dollars were dancing in my head, something cleared my senses. from deep inside a bull-headed resolution welled up. figurative language dancing: personification bull-headed: metaphor language effect vivid, impressive difficult point

15、s lsuddenly the past came flooding in like a riptide. riptide: huge tide, tide causing strong currents and rough water figurative language - like a riptide: simile to show his memory about the past immediately came to his mind. nothing could stop that. language effect: easy to understand , imaginati

16、ve difficult points lthat is all joe needed to make down-home soup down: poor, simple eg: be down out : be beaten in the struggle of life, be unemployed and without money difficult points lthat is all joe needed to make down-home soup down: poor, simple eg: be down out : be beaten in the struggle of

17、 life, be unemployed and without money lrumor had it that if a customer ordered. inversion - there is a rumor that if a customer difficult points lmany people cherish the fond dream of becoming a writer. fond: of hopes, ambitions held, but unlikely to be realized cherish: keep alive hope, ambition,

18、feelings in ones heart eg: the fond dream might be impractical. difficult points lmany a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. many a + single n to have the literary meaning many + pl n is more commonly used li still hadnt gotten a break and began to doubt my self. break: change reading skills lusing the dictionary understand