现代大学英语3-Lesson4课文讲解-WisdomofBearWood

1、Wisdom of Bear WoodI. Pre-class WorkRead the text and listen to the recording. Try to understand as much as possible with the help of the notes, glossary, dictionaries and reference books. Think over the following questions:Introduce one of your best friends to your classmates. Are there things in c

2、ommon that lead to your friendship?Why do we need friendship? What can we get from it?Can you give us some tips to better cultivate friendship?List out the ingredients you think of importance to true friendship.Make up a story with the following elements:Woodland, cottage, an owl, an old lady, a lit

3、tle boyCompare your story with the text. Have you found anything unexpected?Introduction to the TextIt s a story about both the beautiful nature and beautiful friendship. It is about wisdom tutored by nature itself, about the seen and unseen, about things that change and things that are changeless,

4、and about the fact that no matter how seemingly different twos souls may be, they possessthe potential for that most precious, rare thing-an enduring and rewarding friendship.Why the “seemingly different two soul become good friends?First, they are both lonely: the boy is lonely because he is in a f

5、oreign country with his father; the woman is lonely because she has just lost her dear husband.Second, they have the common interest in nature and knowledge, which is another bond of their friendship. The shortbread the woman keeps supplying for the boy is also one of the reasons.But the real reason

6、 for their friendship is the old woman s selfless interenstthe boy. It is often said that true love is in the giving and not in the taking. So is friendship. The woman not only gives the boy good food to eat, she also gives him a new vision of the beautiful nature, the key to the treasury of human k

7、nowledge, and above all, her care, concern, love and affection. Does she get anything in return? Yes. Through giving, she cannot help receiving. Although totally unaware, the boy has given the woman great consolation too. He is the real good companion of the woman. He brings great happiness and cons

8、olation to the woman. That is what she really needs in her deep heart.Basic Structure of the TextPart I (Para.1-4): The loneliness of the boy and his roaming in the woods.Part II (Para. 5-23): The boy met Mrs. Robertson-Glasgow in the Bear Wood and they became best friends.Part III (Para.24-27): Mrs

9、. Robertson-Glasgow became sick and dead while their friendship flourished more than ever before.Part III (Para.28-37): The death of the old lady and the boy s nostalgia for her.Text in DetailPara 11. the title: wisdom of bear wood: the name of a wood, where, presumably, there are or there used to b

10、e bears-a large strong animal. So this is an entirely different word from bear in the sense of 忍受.These two words are called homonyms, which means words that happen to have the same sound and often the same spelling but different in meaning. In dictionaries, they are put in different entries. More e

11、xamples: lie/ mine/ lead/ fine/ found/ ball/ bitmy family moved to England, the fourth major move in my short life ：This noun phrase could be regarded as an condensednon-restrictive relative clause: which was the fourth whjch is referring to what is stated in the main clause. More examples: Lottie g

12、rinned, a real wide open grin./ His father was laughing, a queer sobbing sort of laugh.demand that ：subjunctive moodoverseas:every few yearsbe used to doingwrench myself away from: 她努力把身体挣脱开来。/用力把手脱开。Question: Why did Michael s family go to England? How did he like the frequent moves?Para 2nearby we

13、re ancient ：inversionloving nature, however,：However, as (because) I loved nature present participle used as an adverbial clause of cause/reason.delight;a patchwork of farms ：farms that look like small pieces of cloth of different colors when seen from far above.A. patch/ patchworksurround/ surround

14、ingsin the deep woods that verged against our back fencedeepverge/ verge against/ verge on/ on the verge of sth.againstChinese versiona network oflead anywhere/ lead to nowhererocket off: go off like rocket; move extremely quickly: 她转瞬间成了明星。/房价正飞涨。 Similar usages: factories mushroomed. ( They grew l

15、ike mushroom.) / He was wolfing it down as if he had not eaten for days./ It could snowball into a serious conflict.( gradually develop into a serious conflict like a snowball.)/ He tried to worm into that organization.Para 3roam: walk or travel for a long time without any clear purpose. Here it is

16、used as a transitive word. Normally it is used as intransitive verb as in“ roam aboutaround ”e.g. roam through the deserted village/ roam over sth.playRobin Hood:ExerciseHe was a young man barely eighteen years, evidently country长大的()The new secretary has written a remarkably report.( concise; preci

17、se;elaborate)exhausted/ exhaustive/ exhausting/ exhaustibleShe called world opinion to condemn their policy of aggression.The poor reception on your TV is probably due to outside . (intervention/interruption/ interception/ interference)He couldn t explain the problem well, as he had only a(n) knowle

18、dge of thesubject. (elementary/ rudimentary/ fundamental/ basic)One small settlement is expected to 10,000 families. (populate/ dwell/reside/ house)the mercy of sb. 由某人摆布，控制We have to if we want to go to Florida this summer. (lay up/ save up/ putaside/ put away)They always take _ extra staff in the

19、summer season.bug: (CD Unit 4 Book 3 College English)Keeping to myself was my way of not forming attachmentsthat IParaphraseKeep to oneselfAttachment( to/for sb./sth.)AttachedBut one day I became attached through no design of my own.Chinese version.Paraphrase: not that I intended ( planned) to do it

20、./ just by chanceDesign: purpose; intentionHave design on sb./ sth.: intend to harm sb/sth or take sb./sth. for oneself.E.g. 觊觎他的钱财/他对她心存不良。Para 4permissionI started hiking there every weekend,hike Sum up some different ways of travel, such as: hitch#便车旅行)animpenetrable stand of trees: trees growing

21、 so thick that they are impossible to go through or enter intopenetrate (into/ through sth.)standholy: synonyms: sacred; consecratedslip through/ creep into: both “ slip ” and “ creep ” are used to described the action of a small child. Surely, they are very vivid.leave:the twitter and rustle: onoma

22、topoeia保声词):the twitter of the birds; the rustle of leaves; the hiss of the snake; the gurgle of the water; the cracking of the fire; the fluttering of the flag; the tick-tock of the clock.with tree trunks for pillars: with tree trunks serving or functioning as pillarsforNote the metaphor:my own bre

23、athing rang in my ears, and the slightestparaphrase:ringcreature: 1) living being, esp animal usually with a particular quality: all living creature/ a terrible creature 2) person: what a lovely creature (beautiful woman) 3) sb creature/ the creature of sb.受人支酉己者 a creature of habit习惯的奴隶(日常生活受制于习惯的人

24、)echo: be repeated as an echo: their shouts echoed through/ throughout forest.Para 5where-clause is used as object of preposition “ near ” no,t attribute. If it is “the place where ” ,it is an ceed: go move, make one s waycareful ：a(pjhrase functioning as supplement of subject, donating

25、 the state of the subject. Eg. The cow looked at me, sleepy and surprised./“They are not? ” Iasked, fascinated.not todvaerbial of purposealarm: disturb; frighten that ：adverbial of resultPara 6frailrun intostartleShe caught her breath, instinctively toughing hercatch one s breathinstinctively: on in

26、stinct; naturallyrecovery/recover (from shock)instantput me at ease: to make me feel relaxedat ease: comfortable and unworried e.g. The professor must be very popular.The students all look at ease in his presence.With ease: without difficulty e.g/. they win with ease.ill at ease: not relaxed e.g. yo

27、u always look ill at ease in front of strangers.Ease v. ease the pain/ tension/ stress; ease the pressure/ burden; ease the way for (smooth)a pair of powerful-looking ：powerful: 高倍的binoculars 双筒望远镜 ( bi-two ocular-eye ; ocular defects; ocular proof; oculist)dangle: hang or swing loosely e.g.: a bunc

28、h of keys dangling at the end of achain dangle sth. before/ in front of sb .: 以某物招引某人e.g. He dangledhis watch in front of the baby. /提升的希望招引他。Para 7in a rush: suddenly and quickly e.g. work in a rush of enthusiasm/ a rush of cold airover: across e.g. jump over the streamanyhow: anyway; whatever the

29、fact may be e.g. It s too late, anyhow.Para 11wary: careful; cautious; alert e.g. She was wary of strangers./ be wary of giving offence/ keep a wary eye on sb.Gamekeeper: man employed to breed and protect game birds on an estateG.ame: animals, birds, fish that are hunted for or as a sportintroduce:

30、be brought into this place from somewhere else for the first time e.g.The company is introducing a new family saloon this year.Para 12fascinated: attracted; interested; absorbedstuff: materialcool: admirable; attractive; fashionable; relaxed, etc in away people, esp young people admireeven if she wa

31、s trespassing in my special placetrespass: enter without permissiontrespass on:侵占； 打扰 e.g. trespass on your valuable time/ He accused me trespassing on his estate.Para 13books on birds: aboutbe about to : prepared to; mean to; intend towould you care to: This is considered polite but formal, and use

32、d to ask if sb. wants to do sth.: like; e.g. Would you care to go for a walk?Para 14warn sb. against /of sth./sb: warn sb. not to do sth. warn thatsome how: for a reason that is unknown or unspecified Para 15extending her fine hand: offering to shake hands with the boyextend: stretch outfine: small

33、and attractively shaped, looking rather delicate Para 16taking it clumsily in my own:take: get or lay hold of sb./sth. with the hand 夹；抱；握e.g. take sb shand/take sb. by the handl 住某人的手I pass him the rope and he took it.It: her handClumsily: awkwardly and ungracefully Para 17 1. set off/ set out to d

34、o sth.2.3.4.Rt 2Z. _ I _ _muorirneaetexam” plespass away: die euphemism e.g. “ pass water ” for wistful: full of or expressed sadness a wistful mood walk the field: walk: here is used as a transitive verb, meaning go over or along on foot e.g. walk one s doItg s dark outside, I will walk you home.Pa

35、ra 18a small brick cottage: the order of attributive to modify a noun eg that old round tinglowed pinkly in the westering sunparaphrase: Soon I saw a small brick cottage shining with a pink color in the sun that was moving toward the westglow (with) sth.: ( synonyms: shine/ gilliter) shine; be stron

36、gly or colorful e.g. The countryside glowed with autumn color弦陛子焕发出斑斓色彩。gaze (around ) atin admirationcase: container; box bookcasefigure: 塑像 a standing figure other meanings见教案Question: what is “ pinned butterflies? ”or so: almoststuffed birds: be stuffed/ filled with sth.; crammed stuff pillow wit

37、h featureTranslate the whole paragraph into Chinese.Para 20run the water for tea: pour a cup of tea for me. run sth. for sb. : cause a liquid to flow e.g. She ran hot water into the bowl用碗接,点热水。/run a hot bath for me 放一盆热洗脚水Para 21add sth. to sth.: continue to say: e.g. I have nothing to add to my e

38、arlier statement.not nearly: far from; much less than e.g. We aren ntearly ready for the inspection.对检查还远未做好准备。 Here the adjective phrase is used as nonrestrictive attributive clause, equal to“ which was not nearlybetween mouthful of tea and jam tart: while eating jam tart and drinking tea mouthful:

39、 noun similar words: fistful; handful; basketfulPara 22practically: virtually; almostsent : cause sb. to go or be taken without going oneself e.g.: His mother sent him to the shop to get some bread.one full of and one ：one being one full of look forward to that: look forward to my coming by.Para 23t

40、o make friends with” friend is always in thI had made the best friend in the world. A. notice that in the usual phraseplural e.g. I don t think it s difficult to make friends with people who do not belong to your age./ Parents must try to make friends with their own children.It s wrong staoy : I wan

41、t to make friends ( or make a friend ) with him. Wenormally say friend ”Para 24I want him to be my friend” orI want to have him as myMy well of knowledge about natural history began to brim over.paraphrase: Ibegan to know much about natural history, too much for a boy of my age. Note the metaphor wh

42、ere the boy sknowledge about natural history is likened to a well in which there was too much water.Well(井)the figurative use of word “well a nd the exaggeration of having knowledge “ brimming over ”Brim over: to have so much of sth. that it began to flow over the edge of its container. It is used i

43、n the patterns: sth is brimming/ sb. is brimming over with sth.( love, confidence, knowledge): meaning “ tobecome full of good feelings ” e.g. The team were brimming over with confidence before the match./ At the wedding the bride and bridegroom were brimming over with happiness. Two other expressio

44、ns are similar in meaning: to over flow with/ to burst withearn the nickname/ some respect:earn: 1) receive money: I have to earn my living. I don t want to live off myparents any longer. 2) gain (sth deserved) in return for one s achievement,behavior e.g. His honesty earned him great respect./ His

45、bad manners earned him a sharp rebuke./ This place has earned itself quite a reputation for its remarkable achievements in the battle against desertification.The nickname “ Prof ” (=:Professor) here is a type of appositive with a determiner before the first noun. Further examples: the word-up” our “

46、 soupedcousin Jane; that famous play of Shakespeare Hsamlet But old farmer Crawford( para 4), with the determiner omitted, and the first noun resembling a title.identify: to recognize and correctly name someone or something, or to discover the nature and origin of the thing e.g. the knife was identi

47、fied as the murder weapon./ Scientists have identified the frozen body as a young man killed about 5,000 years ago.identity: the identity of the victim has not yet been discovered.Identification: official papers or cards that can show who you are e.g. Doyou have any identifications? Passport? Driver

48、 s license?Identical: exactly the samePara 25blissfully: happilymunch (at jam tart): eat noisily, indicating how joyfully they are while eating Para 26incline: to think that a particular belief or opinion is most likely to be right e.g.Most people inclined to the belief that globalization is a good

49、thing to have./ She is easily to taken in. she inclines to take everything people say at face value本面意义) be inclined to do sth. :tending to e.g. Young people are often inclined to think that old people are stupid. Be musically (artistically, linguistically, mathematically) inclined; or tobe naturall

50、y interested in or good at music( art, language, mathematics) 2. Familiarity sometimes makes people physically invisible,paraphrase: when people get to know each other really well, sometimes they don t notice physical changes. The boy did not see his friend, the old lady was getting weaker and weake

51、r, because all the time he was talking to her heart, rather to her face.Familiarity:Here “the heartand” “the face ” faorpmair of antitheses (direct opposites), the former referring to “ whatis deep down” , the latter “ what can be physically seen 对照” . As a spot on the weather map,Rochester isone ch

52、illy town. But as a model for educational reform, it thes hsohtatepsintgpluapcein America.一个寒冷的小城。全美炙热的焦点。Caring for a family member yourself can be enriching and rewarding but also demanding and draining.Essence: the thing that makes sth. what it is“ to talk to sb s essence ” iss whnot a common exp

53、ression, but the author think of a better word, that says “as it were ” ,which is used to describe sth. in a way that is not quite accurate, but is the best they can think of at the moment. E.g. Suzhou, as it were, China s Venice./ He is living in a dream world, as it were.For you find :for : indica

54、te reason He didn answer for fear of hurting her.Rather than/ other than/ more thanPara 28eye: to observe or watch narrowly, often in suspicion, jealousy or in longing e.g. he eyed me up and down, not knowing whether he should believe my story.my mother was regarding me with a strange gentleness : P

55、araphrase:My mother was looking at me with a strange gentleness because she wanted to break the sad news gently so that I would not take it too hard.regard:to look attentively; to observe closely e.g. They all regarded her with great curiosity.To consider or look upon in a particular way e.g. In tho

56、se days many young people regarded simple life as a virtue.To have great affection or admiration for e.g. She is highly regarded in the academic circles.(n.) to give (send) one rsegards to somebody e.g. please give my best regards to all my friends there. I really miss them.In this regard ( in this

57、respect) / with regard to (concerning; about)/ as regards ( as for) regardless of: without paying attention to; in spite of the differencesin)Disregard/ regardingPara 30rest: lie or be placed on/ against sth. for support e.g. She rested her elbows on the table.2.tell: distinguishhaving difficulty (

58、breaking the news).Para 31sting: hurt; wound e.g. The smoke is stinging my eyes.Para 35my eyes had dried：tears gdne目者B哭干了。I now know ：now: at that time.thanks to: due to ; because of: 有时用于 “反语 ” (ironically) Thanks to his brilliant leadership, our company is now bankrupt. go and eat it like I always

59、 did Tike: conj. : (infml) in the same way as; (nonstandard) as if, e.g. Nobody makes chocolate cake like my grandma does. / He spoke like he knows the queen. These uses of “like ”are common but not considered correct in formal written English.Para 36in time: after a certain amount of time has passe

60、d, eventually; within an indefinite period 经过一段时间后，最终，迟早e.g. In time, he will see he was wrong./Don t worry, in time she ll forget what has happened today.countless数不清 / uncountable不可数odds and ends:Para 37legacy: things passed to sb. by predecessorsor from earlier events e.g. the cultural legacy of