Contents

1. Contents Text One Pre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background information While-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions III. Language points IV. Difficult sentences Post-reading I. Grammatical items II. Translation exercises III. Oral activities IV. Writing practice Text Two I. Questions for comprehension II. Language points

2. Text I---My Stroke of Luck • Pre-reading I. Warm-up question 1. Think of a person you know who suffers misfortunes but still does whatever he/ she can to help others. Describe him/her to your classmates. 2. What happens to us in life often makes us think ourselves lucky or unlucky. Do you believe in luck? Please explain with your personal experience. 3. How important do you think love is for an unlucky person, especially someone who has lost good health?

3. II. Background information About the author Kirk Douglas is one of the US cinema's most enduring actors, his acting career has spanned over half a century and he has appeared in over 50 films. Born as Issur Danielovitch Demsky in Amsterdam, New York on December 9th 1916. His parents are Russian Jewish immigrants. He made his Broadway debut in Spring Again 1941. When the Second World War intervened, he served in the US Navy, returning to acting to feature in other stage productions such as Kiss and Tell. At the same time he began to appear in films, first winning popular acclaim as a prizefighter in 1949's Champion.

4. Many of his later roles were to follow the same pattern, as a tough and cocky ( overly self-confident or self-assertive) character. His films have included Lust for Life (1956), Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Lonely Are the Brave (1962), The Arrangement (1969), The Fury (1978), The Man from Snowy River (1982), Tough Guys (1986), and Greedy (1994). Kirk Douglas in THE VIKINGS

5. The Academy Awards • academy award  n. <美>奥斯卡奖(美国电影艺术金像奖) The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. academy award for sound The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. academy award for best actor academy award for best story

6. Short forms L.A. ---Los Angeles A.L.---Alabama N.D. ---North Dakota A.Z.---Alaska O.H.--- Ohio M.E.--- Maine O.K.---Oklahoma M.D.--- Maryland O.R.--- Oregon C.A.--- California M.A.--- Massachusetts P.A .--- Pennsylvania

7. While-reading I. Structural analysis • Chronological account (description of the air crash) —> flashback (his wife's intuition judgment on previous occasions) —» flashback (their romance and marriage) —> chronological account (the author's recovery from the air crash) —> flashback (his wife's surgery) —>• flashback (his wife's method to make people move on) —>• chronological account (the author's concluding comments).

8. Part I (Para.1-2): This part tells the readers what happens to the author and describes how his wife reacts to the accident. Part II (Para.3-4): It describes Anne’s good judgment on previous occasions and her experiences during the Second World War. Part III (Para.5-7): It tells the readers how the author met Anne, fell in love with her and eventually married her. Part IV (Para.8): It turns back to his recovery from the crash with his wife’s meticulous care.

9. Part V (Para.9-10): The author recalls how his wife handled her crisis: she never gave in and always tried to help others. Part VI (Para.11-13): It describes Anne’s reaction to his stroke and her method to make people move on. Part VII (Para.14): The author offers his general comments on Anne’s character with a philosophical remark.

10. II. Comprehension questions 1. How did Anne manage to survive during the Second World War? ---To escape fascism, she fled to Belgium, and then to Paris. With her linguistic she supported herself by writing German subtitles for French films. 2. What can be inferred about Anne from her experiences during the war, her job interview and her refusal to eat out with the writer? ---It can be inferred that Anne was an independent and honest lady.

11. 3. How did Anne react to the fact that her husband agreed to have her breast removed by diagnostic surgery without her knowledge? Anne did not feel sad and angry. Instead, she assured her husband that he had done the right thing. In other words, she appreciated what her husband had done for her. 4. What could Anne endure and what could she never tolerate? Anne could endure difficulties in the hardest times, but she could not tolerate one’s complaint or being wrapped up in sorrow for one's misfortune.

12. 5. Why did Anne refuse her husband’s idea of having his breakfast in bed? ---That was an indication of her tough love and her persistence in doing what she was right.

13. III. Language points • offer v. express willingness (to do sth.) --- I don’t need any help, but it was nice of you to offer. n. an expression of readiness to do sth. or to give sth.; an amount of money one is willing to pay for sth. ---She readily accepted his offer to give her a ride home. Collocation: on offer: for sale at a reduced price under offer: having a prospective buyer who has made an offer

14. collide vi. hit each other accidentally ---The motorbike and the bus collided at the corner of the street. Synonym: bump into, crash into Collocation: collide with sb. / sth. ---The two ships collided with each other in the heavy storm.

15. suicidal a. with a tendency to commit suicide ---People in a suicidal state had better go to seek professional help from counselors. Collocation: suicidal attempt suicidal behavior

16. star vi. appear as a main performer in a film --- Tom Hanks is to star in the action movie. vt. have sb. as a main performer ---Zhang Yimou has starred Gong Li many times in his films. n. famous or brilliant singer, performer, sportsman, etc. ---The film is an all-star cast. 这部电影全部为明星阵容。

17. Collocation: reach for the stars be very ambitious see stars having a feeling of seeing flashes of light, esp. as a result of being hit on the head stars in one’s eyes being happy and excited

18. show up arrive at a place ---The writer showed up with the students’ shouts and applause. Synonym: appear, come into view, turn up Collocation: show off try to impress others with one’s abilities, wealth, intelligence, etc. show sb. the door ask sb. to leave

19. poignant a. keen or strong in mental appeal ---The memories of two world wars are poignant. • be wrapped up in be totally absorbed in ---The boy was so wrapped up in his toys that he didn’t hear his grandmother’s words at all. Comparison: wrap sb. up in cotton wool protect sb. too much from dangers or risks wrap sb. up put warm clothes on sb.

20. console vt. give comfort to sb. in times of sadness ---He consoled himself by the thought that it might have been worse. Collocation: console sb. for / on sth.

21. beneficiary n. the receiver of a benefit ---Many poor students are the beneficiaries of this scholarship. Comparison: benefactor n.the person who gives money or other help to a person or a cause

22. inspire vt. influence, give a sudden good idea ---The movie was inspired by his painful experience of being discriminated by racialists. Collocation: inspire sb. with sth. / inspire sth. in sb. ---Our first sight of the dingy little hotel did not inspire us with much confidence / inspire much confidence in us.

23. handle vt. treat, deal with ---An excellent teacher must know how to handle his students. Collocation: handle without mittens deal with sth. sternly handle with gloves deal with sth. peacefully

24. set apart make sth. or sb. different, distinguish ---His white hair set him apart from the other men. Comparison: set about sth. / doing sth. start doing sth. set out leave a place and begin a journey set on sb. attack sb. set sth. aside place sth. to one side

25. IV. Difficult sentences • She saved me again after my stroke in 1995, when I became depressed and suicidal. ---She saved me again after my stroke in 1995 by helping me get over the depressing and preventing me from committing suicide. • But that took some doing on my part too. ---But I also made some efforts to adjust myself.

26. …, given that I’m sometimes an actor wrapped up in his ego. ---…, because I am sometimes too proud of myself as an actor.

27. Post-reading • Grammatical items • Negation and inversion • Unit noun

28. Negation and inversion Inversion involves putting an auxiliary verb before the subject of a clause. In formal English, it is quite common to use inversion after negative adverbial expressions and restrictive words such as only, never, hardly, little and seldom. ---At no time did he get permission for what he was doing. ---Not until the next morning did she realize how serious it was. ---Only later did they learn his terrible secret. ---Hardly had we walked in the door when the phone started ringing.

29. In some negative sentences, “not” is to negate the predicates in form, but actually it is used to negate other elements of those negative sentences. Therefore, while translating, we should transfer the negation in some cases. ---Every man cannot be a scientist. ---A high executive does not have a large vocabulary merely because of the opportunities of his position.

30. A negative may be transferred from a certain part of the sentence to another in translation. ---We don’t believe that our mother tongue is inferior to any other language in the world. ---I don’t think Father will fancy living an idle life like that.

31. Exercise A: Change each sentence into a negative with the given word. 1. I hope it will rain. (not) 2. You will find gold in Iceland. (nowhere) 3. I had ever worked hard as I did yesterday. (hardly) 4. I feel I can stand it much longer. (not) 5. She knows what surprises we have in store for her. (little) 6. I said I would accept late homework. (at no time)

32. Unit noun There are a number of nouns in English which can be used with mass nouns to indicate units that you can count after all. Some of the other unit nouns have more restricted collocations: they combine with certain nouns but not with others. Here are a few examples: ---a slice of cake ---a loaf of bread ---a lump of sugar ---a pinch or grain of salt ---a stroke of luck

33. Exercise B:Complete each sentence with an appropriate expression of quantity from the box below. an ear of a bit of a pack of a piece of a flock of a litter of 1. The teacher wrote the words with chalk. 2. There wasn’t corn left in the vegetable garden. 3. Tom found five pups in the backyard. 4. But aides say they detect wistfulness in his voice. 5. The children huddled together like sheep. 6. What she told you was lies.

34. II. Translation exercises • 中东地区的人民大都信奉伊斯兰教。(believe in) Most people in the Middle East believe in Islam. • 大火烧毁那幢房子时，我们呆呆地站着，注视着这一切。(stare) As the fire was destroying the building, we just stood and stared at all this.

35. 在破这个案子的时候，他更依赖直觉，而不是逻辑。(intuition)在破这个案子的时候，他更依赖直觉，而不是逻辑。(intuition) He relied more on intuition than logic in solving the case. • 地震后这个国家正经历着一个非常困难的时期。(go through) The country is going through a very difficult period, after the earthquake.

36. 上星期董事会授权安装一个新的电脑系统。(authorize)上星期董事会授权安装一个新的电脑系统。(authorize) Last week the board of directors authorized the installation of a new computer system. • 这个地区是一项大规模重大项目的最大受益者。(beneficiary) This area has been the greatest beneficiary of a large restoration program.

37. 政府用税收的钱资助高等教育。(finance) The government finances higher education with tax money. • 尽管警方不相信他的话，他仍然坚持说他说的是实话。(insist) He insisted that what he said was true, even though the police refused to believe him.

38. II. Oral activities Discuss with one of your classmates on the following topics. 1. We have all heard or read some moving love stories such as those of our parents’ generation, those of cancer patients, and those of the survivors in Sichuan province after the earthquake in May 2008. Tell one of them to your classmates and tell them what particularly moves you.

39. Ideas for reference: — True love creates miracle. — True love lies in mutual support and understanding. Love means never abandoning your beloved ones. —True love heals all wounds.

40. 2. Suppose you were in love with a girl or a boy. For some reasons (social, financial, or physical reasons) your parents are strongly against it. Try to convince your parents that the girl or the boy is worthy of your love and your decision to marry him / her is correct, while your parents try to persuade you to change your mind.

41. Ideas for reference: — I think wit and personality are more important than a pretty face. — We share same interests, hobbies and values. We both understand and appreciate each other. — We both have shortcomings, but we have learned how to help and accept each other. With true love, we have great confidence to overcome difficulties and shoulder responsibilities ahead of us.

42. III. Writing practice • Write a 250-word composition on the topic ‘Happiness’. In the first part, give your definition of happiness. In the second part, discuss what factors are necessary to achieve happiness. In the third part, sum up the major points discussed in the second part. 海南大学外国语学院基础英语研室

43. Text II---A New Attitude to Gratitude Lead-in questions 1. What would you do generally to express your appreciation after you have received gifts from others? 2. What would you expect others to do when you send them gifts?

44. I. Questions for comprehension 1. What did the author ask her children to do to express their gratitude? 2. What’s new about the attitude to gratitude? 3. How do you think we should appreciate what others do for us?

45. II. Language points • …however, they would do so only with much prodding: …however, they would not do it before I urged them again and again. In this structure, ‘only’ can also be placed in front of the verb, especially in informal English. For example: ---he would only go there with his girlfriend. • …become mother-deaf: refused to pay attention to what Mother said. Notice the rule of word formation here: noun+adj. examples include: fire-proof, water-resistant…

46. Something snapped: Suddenly I got an idea. • Bursting free the confines of the car, the children headed fro their yard toys: The children impatiently rushed out of the car which had limited their freedom for a while and ran towards their yard toys.

47. Silence reigned as the children gathered their thoughts…: No one uttered a sound as the children were thinking about what to write. • In time you’ll: In the future (or: Eventually) you’ ll…

48. Good Bye!