大学英语写作教程U12

1、In this unit, were going to: Understand the basic principles of the narrative essay;B) Read and analyze sample narrative essays and grasp their main features;C) Practice writing a narrative essay;D) Practice using time transitions when writing narrative essays;E) Have a try at past narration and pre

2、sent narration so that we can see the differences between the two;F) Learn to improve revision skills.ObjectivesObjectivesReviewWarming-up activitiesPreparing for your writingWriting and revisingAdditional readingMAINVideoQuotationsPart1-Task_MainPreparing for your writingWriting and revisingAdditio

3、nal readingWarming-up activitiesTask 1.1Preparing for your writingWriting and revisingAdditional readingIntroductions: Chris Gardner was a struggling salesman of a medical device known as a “bone density scanner”. But the seemingly “revolutionary” machine is considered as an unnecessary luxury by do

4、ctors, who are the potential buyers. Life as a salesman is hard for him, but Chris still has big dreams for his future.Warming-up activitiesTask 1.2Preparing for your writingWriting and revisingAdditional readingWatch the movie clip and then answer the following questions.Warming-up activitiesTask 1

5、.3Preparing for your writingWriting and revisingAdditional readingQuestionsIs it hard for Chris, the salesman, to make a living? Why or why not? Please give some details.Can you have a guess at what Chris dream for his future might be? Warming-up activitiesTask 1.2_pop1Chris:Chris:Chris:Doctor A:Chr

6、is:Doctor A:Chris:Chris:Chris:Doctor B:Preparing for your writingWriting and revisingAdditional readingThis is part of my life story. This part is called “riding the bus”. This machine on my lap? Its a portable bone density scanner, a medical device I sell for a living.Thank you very much for the op

7、portunity to discuss with you. I appreciate it.We just dont need it, Chris. Its unnecessary and expensive.Well, maybe next Thank you. It gave a slightly denser picture than an X-ray for twice the money. You see that car, one with the pretty yellow shoe on it? Thats mine. Theres no parking in their h

8、ospitals. Thats what happens when you are always in a rush. Thanks anyway. Thank you very much. Maybe next quarter.Its possible. Warming-up activitiesTask 1.2_pop2Preparing for your writingWriting and revisingAdditional readingChris:Chris:Stock Broker A:Chris:Stock Broker A:Chris: Stock Broker A:Chr

9、is: I needed to sell two scanners a month for renting and day care and had to sell one more to pay off all of those tickets under my windshield wiper. The problem is, I havent sold any for a while.Wow, man, Ive got two questions for you. What do you do and how do you do it? Hehe, Im a stock broker.S

10、tock broker Oh, had to go to college to be stock broker, huh? You dont have to. Have to be good with numbers and good with people. Thats it. You take care. Ill let you hang on my car for the weekend. But I need it back for Monday. Be them either. I still remember that moment. They all look so damn h

11、appy to me. Why couldnt I look like that?Warming-up activitiesWe make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Sir Winston ChurchillThe unexamined life is not worth living. SocratesLife is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans. John LennonTask 2Preparing for your

12、writingWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesPart2-Task_MainWriting strategy: NarrationRead to learn about writing Enlarge your vocabulary Preparing for your writingWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesTask 2_1.1Writing Strategy: NarrationWriting and revisi

13、ngAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesPreparing for your writingTask 2_1.2Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesPrinciples In this unit, we will focus on the narrative essay. To narrate is to tell a story or to give an account of a single experience or a series of related eve

14、nts. Narration often goes hand in hand with description. The experience or event may be in the past (past narration), may be what people usually do or may be going on now (present narration). To write the narrative essay, all we have to do is tell what happened / has happened / is happening in a coh

15、erent way. Preparing for your writingPart2-Read to learn about writing-MainSample A My Sisters WeddingPracticeSample B ButterflyQuestions on content and structureWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesSample C The PresentQuestions on content and structurePreparing for your writin

16、gTask 2_Sample AWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesSample ARead the following essay about a wedding, and pay attention to how the writer begins her narration; how she presents the events; what effect the dialogue at the end of the essay brings.Preparing for your writingTask 2

17、_Sample A-1-2Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesMy Sisters Wedding It is difficult to forget the day when my sister got married and moved away. It happened on 3 March 1993 and I can remember vividly the wedding ceremony, the dinner and the emotional farewell she took from me.

18、1.2. I helped her to dress up, it was what younger sisters are for. I helped her on with the heavy saree (印度妇女披裹身上的整段布或绸). It was spun with expensive thread, as my father did not want to spare any expense. She was his favorite and he wanted her to be given away (在婚礼上将（新娘）交给新郎) with maximum pomp (盛况)

19、. They made a fuss when they saw that she was not ready. Finally, they left. I insisted on riding with my sister, so that one of the escort party (护送队) had to travel with my Dad. She didnt like it at all.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_3-4Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up ac

20、tivities The ceremony was long and exciting. My sister sat through it all with bowed head, as she was supposed to. I looked at her. She looked like the Goddess of Wealth herself. It was impossible to believe that as recently as yesterday, she had been running about in jeans.3. The wedding was over a

21、nd we went to the hall for the next stage of the celebrations, the sumptuous (丰盛的) vegetarian dinner. The couple sat on their thrones while the crowd went to congratulate them. I was standing beside my sister, with a permanent smile fixed on my face and accepting all the gifts on her behalf. One ecc

22、entric (古怪的) uncle of ours actually heaved (用力拉) a standing fan in. I believe he just had to be the man who gave the biggest present.4.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_5Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activities The dinner over, we went home. I was surprised when as soon as

23、 we reached home, my sister asked for dinner. She had been so excited that she had not eaten. And what with all the cousins teasing her mercilessly. At about 11:00 p.m. came the part we dreaded the most: my sisters official farewell to us. She said nothing: just hugged all of us and cried. Our mothe

24、r cried the most of all. Finally she reconciled (克制住) herself, gave the groom a long lecture on how he should take care of her darling and let them go. My father was a man of few words. He was all smiles and said nothing, but I knew that he was storing up his feelings for later.5.Preparing for your

25、writingTask 2_Sample A_6-8Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activities After they had left, I went into my room. I looked about. It looked so empty without my sister. We had been sharing that room since we were born. I lay in bed unable to sleep for at least two hours. Then I felt thi

26、rsty and went to get a drink. As I passed the hall, I saw my father sitting in the darkness. He was trying to come to terms with the loss of the darling of his life. I went up to him, put my arms around him and kissed him. “You still got me, Pa,” I said.7. “Yes, Geetha,” he said, “but for how long?”

27、8.(Taken from GCE “O” Level Challenging English Essays by Redspot Publishing 2001) 6.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_2_popWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesUsage: “When”, as a conjunction, is used to introduce a time adverbial clause. e.g. She was only twenty when

28、she had her first baby. He was quite shocked when I told him about it.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_4_popWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesUsage: “After” in the sample essay is used as a conjunction to indicate a time which is later than another event. It is ofte

29、n used in chronological narration.e.g. After we joined the motorway, the car started to make a strange noise. I went to the post office straight after I left you.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_pz1Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesThe first person narration: introd

30、ucing the time and events. Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_pz2Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesDetailed description of the saree followed by a reason.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_pz3Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesA related

31、detail about the narrators sister.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_pz4Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesTelling what they were doing during the dinner.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_pz5Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesThe emotion

32、al farewell.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_pz6Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesDescription of the narrators loneliness.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample A_pz7Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesComforting her father.Preparing for your

33、 writingTask 2_Sample A_pz8Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesA more emotional ending.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Ex1Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesFill in the blanks to show that you understand the structural elements of the essay. A narrativ

34、e essay, as a story, should have a plot (including , , and ), a , and an ending. A narrative essay should follow a logical time sequence: a order or a , that is, taking the readers back in time to reveal an incident that occurred before the presenttime_place_characters_climax_chronological_flashback

35、_PracticePreparing for your writingTask 2_Ex2Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesscene of the essay. A narrative usually contains to reveal actions or personality traits of the speakers. By presenting conversations, writers show rather than tell, often creating emphasis or a m

36、ore effect. dialogue_dramatic_Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample B1Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesSample BIn our life, many things (big or small) happen every day, and many people are quite observant. Suppose you see a butterfly struggling to come out of its cocoon.

37、Try to write a narrative essay to tell people a philosophic story. The following sample essay is just for your reference. Read it carefully and try to answer the questions after it. Preparing for your writing A man found the cocoon (茧) of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and wat

38、ched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snippe

39、d off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled (起了皱纹的) wings.Task 2_Sample B2Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activities1.2.Butterfly3.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample B3Writing and revisingAdditional re

40、adingWarming-up activities4. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a s

41、wollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.5.(Originally posted at http:/ www.worldoutside.co.uk/index.php?showimage=67)(Originally posted at http:/ /./html/wallpaper19.html)Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample B4Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activities What the

42、man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Gods way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedo

43、m from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. We could never fly!7.(Taken from the website: http:/ /a_butterfly_story.htm)6.Preparing

44、 for your writingTask 2_Butterfly1Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesThe Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Butterflies and moths (飞蛾) undergo complete metamorphosis (生变态) in which they go through four different life stages. 1)Egg A butterfly starts its life as an egg. 2) Larva The l

45、arva (caterpillar) hatches from an egg and eats leaves or flowers almost constantly. The caterpillar molts (蜕皮) many times as it grows. 3) Pupa (蛹) It turns into a pupa; this is a resting stage. 4) Adult A beautiful, flying adult emerges. There is no growth during this stage. This adult will continu

46、e the cycle and reproduce. Preparing for your writingTask 2_Butterfly2Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activities (Originally posted at http:/ / tracks / butterfly /images/lifecycle.jpg)Preparing for your writingTask 2_snip offWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activiti

47、essnip off: to cut sth. with scissors, usually with small quick cuts 剪断, 剪去e.g. Have you seen the scissors? I want to snip off this loose thread.Preparing for your writingTask 2_emergeWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesemerge v. to appear by coming out of sth. or out from beh

48、ind sth. 出现, 出来e.g. She emerged from the sea, blue with cold.Preparing for your writingTask 2_forceWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesforce v. use physical strength to move (oneself) against resistance; use physical strength to move (sth.) 用强力推动e.g. We forced our way through

49、the crowd at the trade fair.Preparing for your writingTask 2_crippleWriting and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiescripple v. to cause serious damage to someone or sth., making them weak and ineffective 严重影响, 削弱e.g. In this computer game, players can “win” by finding a way to cripple the

50、 war machines of their enemy.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Questions on Content and Structure1Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activitiesQuestions on content and structure:What purpose does the beginning paragraph serve? It serves as the setting / background / context.2. Why is th

51、is narrative essay written in the third person? Because in this way it seems more objective to the readers.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Questions on Content and Structure2Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activities3. Is the story told in the chronological order? If so, what are t

52、he adverbials of time and sequence? Yes, it is. They are: “one day”, “then” and “then”.4. What is the conclusion the writer draws after telling us the story?Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.Preparing for your writingTask 2_Sample C1Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarmi

53、ng-up activitiesSample CLife is enjoyable to some people while it can be hard to others sometimes. The following sample is an account of what happened to an old woman on her eightieth birthday. Simple as it is, the story shows us some aspects of the family relationship and gives us insights into the

54、 frustrations lonely people suffer. Now read it, pay attention to its structure, and then retell the story by answering the questions that follow. Preparing for your writing It was the old ladys birthday. She got up early to be ready for the post. From the second floor flat she could see the postman

55、 when he came down the street, and the little boy from the ground floor brought up her letters on the rare occasions when anything came. Today she was sure there would be something. Myra wouldnt forget her mothers birthday, even if she seldom wrote at other times. Of course Myra was busy. Her husban

56、d had been made Mayor, and Myra herself had got a medal for her work for the aged.Task 2_Sample C2Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activities1.2.The Present 3.Preparing for your writing The old lady was proud of Myra, but Enid was the daughter she loved. Enid had never married, but h

57、ad seemed content to live with her mother, and teach in a primary school round the corner. One evening, however, Enid said, “Ive arranged for Mrs. Morrison to look after you for a few days, Mother. Tomorrow I have to go into hospital just a minor operation. Ill soon be home.” In the morning she went

58、, but never came back she died on the operating table. Myra came in to the funeral, and in her efficient way arranged for Mrs. Morrison to come in and light the fire and give the old lady her breakfast.Task 2_Sample C3Writing and revisingAdditional readingWarming-up activities4.5.6.Preparing for you

59、r writing Two years ago that was, and since then Myra had been to see her mother three times, but her husband never. The old lady was eighty today. She had put on her best dress. Perhaps perhaps Myra might come. After all, eighty was a special birthday, another decade lived or endured just as you ch

60、ose to look at it. Even if Myra did not come, she would send a present. The old lady was sure of that. Two spots of color brightened her cheeks. She was excited like a child. She would enjoy her day. Yesterday Mrs. Morrison had given the flat an extra clean, and today she had brought a card and a bu