Winston Churchill — His Other Life

1. 21st Century College English: Book 2 Unit 1 : Part A Winston Churchill — His Other Life

2. Unit 1: Part A • Pre-reading Activities • Background knowledge • Text A: Language Points • Exercises • Assignment

3. Pre-reading Activities • Preview • Pre-Listening

4. Pre-reading Activities: Preview Preview What is it that makes someone great? Why do certain people go down in history as outstanding characters, admired by millions? Are heroes and heroines truly different from other people — more intelligent, more courageous, stronger and better? Or is their fame just a matter of chance? The articles you’re going to read in this unit take a closer and more personal look at three every different figures from modern history: Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa and Princess Diana. As you read the texts, you’ll consider the acts these three are famous for; their strength of will, warm spirit and love of life; as well as the difficulties they faced, their personalities and their human nature — the “other side” of what made them special.

5. Pre-reading Activities: Listening Pre-reading Listening, p. 2 You're about to hear a conversation about Winston Churchill. Before you listen, take a look at the words below. Which do you think you're likely to hear when people discuss Churchill? Then, as you listen to the tape the first time, circle the words you hear. prime minister author painter politician World War I romantic fearless serious passionate World War II Check-up

6. Pre-reading Activities: Listening Pre-reading Listening, p. 2 You're about to hear a conversation about Winston Churchill. Before you listen, take a look at the words below. Which do you think you're likely to hear when people discuss Churchill? Then, as you listen to the tape the first time, circle the words you hear. prime minister author painter politician World War I romantic fearless serious passionate World War II Script

7. Pre-reading Activities Listening Passage M:So how was your visit to the museum? W:Fine. And you’ll never believe what I saw there: a painting by Winston Churchill! I never knew he was a painter. M:A painter? That can’t be right. It must have been a different Winston Churchill. W: No, it really was the famous one — the Prime Minister. The museum guard told me. M:I don’t believe you! When would Winston Churchill the Prime Minister have time to become a painter? He was too busy with the war. People don’t become painters overnight, you know! W:Well, World War II didn’t last forever. Maybe he became a painter after he retired. M:But he was a politician! Politicians aren’t artistic. You need passion to be a painter. W:So maybe he had a passionate side to his character that we don’t know about. Anyway, if you don’t believe me, we can check in the encyclopedia.

8. Intensive Study • Intensive Study • Difficult sentences • Key words, phrases & usages • Comprehension exercises

9. Intensive Study Text A: Winston Churchill — His Other Life by  Mary Soames

10. Intensive Study Winston Churchill — His Other Life by Mary Soames 1 My father, Winston Churchill, began his love affair with painting in his 40s, amid disastrous circumstances. As First  Lord of the  Admiralty in 1915, he had been deeply involved in a campaign in the Dardanelles that could have shortened the course of a bloody world war. But when the  mission failed, with great loss of life, Churchill paid the price, both publicly and  privately: He was removed from the Admiralty and lost his position of political influence.

11. Intensive Study 2Overwhelmed by the disaster – “I thought he would die of grief,”said his wife, Clementine – he retired with his family to Hoe Farm, a country retreat in Surrey. There, as Churchill later recalled, “The muse of painting came to my  rescue!” 3One day when he was wandering in the garden, he chanced upon his sister-in-law sketching with  watercolors. He watched her for a few minutes, then borrowed her brush and tried his hand – and the muse worked her  magic. From that day forward, Winston was in love with painting.

12. Intensive Study 4Delighted with anything that distracted Winston from the dark thoughts that overwhelmed him, Clementine rushed off to buy whatever paints and materials she could find. Watercolours, oil paints, paper, canvas — Hoe Farm was soon filled with everything a painter could want or need. 5Painting in oils turned out to be Winston's great love – but the first steps were strangely difficult. He contemplated the blank whiteness of his first canvas with unaccustomed nervousness. He later recalled:

13. Intensive Study 6“Very hesitantly I selected a tube of blue paint, and with  infinite precaution made a mark about as big as a bean on the snow-white field. At that moment I heard the sound of a motorcar in the drive and threw down my brush in a panic. I was even more alarmed when I saw who stepped from the car: the wife of Sir John Lavery, the celebrated painter who lived nearby.

14. Intensive Study 7“'Painting!' she declared. 'What fun. But what are you waiting for? Let me have the brush — the big one.' She plunged into the paints and before I knew it, she had swept several fierce strokes and  slashes of blue onthe absolutely  terrified canvas. Anyone could see it could not hit back. I hesitated no more. I seized the largest brush and fell upon my wretched victim with wild fury. I have never felt any fear of a canvas since.”

15. Intensive Study 8 Lavery, who later tutored Churchill in his art, said of his unusual pupil's artistic abilities: “Had he chosen painting instead of politics, he would have been a great master with the brush.”

16. Intensive Study 9In painting, Churchill had discovered a  companion with whom he was to walk for the greater part of his life. Painting would be his comfort when, in 1921, the death of his mother was followed two months later by the loss of his and Clementine's beloved three-year-old daughter, Marigold. Overcome by grief, Winston took refuge at the home of friends in Scotland — and in his painting. He wrote to Clementine:“I went out and painted a beautiful river in the afternoon light with red and golden hills in the background. Many loving thoughts ... Alas, I keep feeling the hurt of Marigold.”

17. Intensive Study 10Life and love and hope slowly revived. In September 1922 another child was born to Clementine and Winston: myself. In the same year, Winston bought Chartwell, the beloved home he was to paint in all its different aspects for the next 40 years.

18. Intensive Study 11 My father must have felt a glow of satisfaction when in the mid-1920s he won first prize in a prestigious amateur art exhibition held in London. Entries were anonymous, and some of the judges insisted that Winston's picture — one of his first of Chartwell — was the work of a professional, not an amateur, and should be disqualified. But in the end, they agreed to rely on the artist's honesty and were delighted when they learned that the picture had been painted by Churchill.

19. Intensive Study 12Historians have called the decade after 1929, when Winston again fell from office, his  barren years. Politically barren they may have been, as his lonely voice struggled to awaken Britain to the  menace of Hitler, but artistically those years bore abundant fruit: of the 500-odd Churchill canvases in existence, roughly half date from 1930 to 1939.

20. Intensive Study 13Painting remained a joy to Churchill to the end of his life. “Happy are the painters,” he had written in his book Painting as a  Pastime, “for they shall not be lonely. Light and colour, peace and hope, will keep them company to the end of the day.” And so it was for my father. (776 Words)

21. Winston Churchill Winston Churchill, a British Conservative statesman, orator, and writer, was noted for his leadership during World War II. He held various posts under both Conservative and Liberal governments, including First Lord of the Admiralty (1911-1915, 1939-1940), and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1924 -1929) before becoming Prime Minister (1940-1945, 1951-1956). His writings include The World Crisis (1923 -1929), The Second World War (1948 -1953), and A History of the English-Speaking Peoples (1956 -1958). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. Text-related Information

22. love affair — romance between two people who love each other but who are not married to each other; great enthusiasm or liking (for sth.) e.g. • The girl’s love affair with the 60-year-old man worries her parents.. • She started her love affair with ballet when she was only six. More to learn

23. affair, event, incident, accident: • Affair: 事情，业务，事件，韵事 personal affair affairs of state 国家大事 current affairs 时事(pl.) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 外交部 romantic affair 情事 Suez affair 苏伊士事件

24. affair, event, incident, accident: • Event: 事件（尤指大事），体育的比赛项目， 结果，后果 the chief events of 2005 2005年的重要事件 an annual event 一年的例行事 track events 径赛 in the event at all events

25. affair, event, incident, accident: • Incident: 事件（常指小事），（政治性）事 件，事变 an ordinary incident 一件普通的小事 border incident 边境事件 the July 7th Incident of 1937 七七事变

26. affair, event, incident, accident: • Accident: 事故，灾难；偶然，意外事件 traffic accident My meeting her at the station was a pure accident. by accident

27. circumstancesn. (pl.) — conditions of a situation which has an effect on what is done or on the way sth. is done e.g. • In some circumstances it may be necessary for the manager to come here in person. • Even under the most favourable circumstances this is not easy.

28. The Dardanelles Campaign It lasted from Feb. 1915 to Jan. 1916, and was a concerted military campaign against Turkey waged by Britain and France. The campaign, which had been expected to be a risky yet promising one, ended in the arduous retreat of British forces with a casualty of 213,980 men and heavy loss and damage to warships. The losing campaign led to Winston Churchill’s removal from the Admiralty. The Dardanelles is the strait between the Aegean and the Sea of Marmara, separating European from Asian Turkey. Text-related Information

29. Text-related Information

30. a bloody world war It refers to World War I (1914 — 1918). The war was fought mainly in Europe and the Middle East, in which the Allies — mainly France, Russia, Britain, Italy and the US defeated the Central Powers — principally Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. Text-related Information

31. missionn. —an important job sb. is sent to do in another place, esp. for a military or political purpose e.g. • The foreign minister’s mission to Paris is to negotiate a cease-fire. • It is his sole mission to expand the company’s business abroad.

32. pricen. — what must be given, done, or undergone to obtain or compensate for sth. e.g. •We paid a heavy price for the victory, for we lost 10,000 soldiers. Translate This is a small price to pay for independence. Key 这是为独立付出的小小代价。

33. overwhelmvt. — make (sb.) feel completely helpless, astonished, or embarrassed. e.g. • At the age of forty, he was overwhelmed with work, illness and family problems. Translate Fear overwhelmed me. More to learn

34. Overwhelmed by the disaster, … A past participial phrase, usually that of a transitive verb, can function as an adverbial modifying the main verb of the sentence to indicate cause, time, condition, concession, etc. Model As he was overwhelmed by the disaster, he retired with his family to a country retreat in Surrey. —Overwhelmed by the disaster, he retired with his family to a country retreat in Surrey. More to do

35. Overwhelmed by the disaster, … Drill 1. We were startled by the appearance of a mouse, so we promptly decided to clean our room. 2. Because they’re tired of their own cooking, they’ve decided to go to a restaurant for a change. Startled by the appearance of a mouse, we promptly decided to clean our room. Tired of their own cooking, they’ve decided to go to a restaurant for a change. More to learn

36. Overwhelming: too great resist or over- come; very great overwhelming victory overwhelming majority overwhelming urge to drink

37. retreat n. — a quiet or private place that one goes in order to rest or to concentrate on a particular problem or task. e.g. • a summer retreat • a weekend retreat Compare: resort, scenic spot

38. come/go to the/one’s rescue — help sb. when they are in danger or difficulty e.g. • We were about to close down the business, but the bank came to our rescue. • I was embarrassed as I couldn’t remember his name; fortunately Mary came to my rescue. Translate 士兵们救起了这个快淹死的人。 Key The soldiers went to the rescue of the drowning man. More to learn

39. rescue: vt. rescue sb. from… The firemen rescued a baby from the burning house. n. rescue team the rescue team made ten rescues in a week.

40. chance upon/on — meet or discover unexpectedly e.g. • She chanced upon some old love letters her husband kept in the back of the drawer. • I chanced upon an old friend in the street yesterday. Translate He chanced upon the solution to the problem.

41. try one’s hand (at/doing sth.) — try a new activity to test one’s ability; make an inexperienced attempt e.g. • After she lost her job, she thought she’d try her hand at writing a novel. • I tried my hand at repairing the bike, but without much success.

42. contemplatevt. — look at (sth.) for a long time in a quiet and very thoughtful way; gaze at --- consider the possibility of (sth.) e.g. • She lay back on the grass to contemplated the high, blue sky. • The lonely little boy contemplated the waves at the seashore. • I’m not contemplating retiring yet.

43. plunge into • push (sth.) suddenly and deeply into (sth.else) • get involved in (sth.) suddenly, without thinking carefully or preparing for it e.g. • Heather plunged her hands deep into her pockets. • She plunged bravely into the debate.

44. before sb. know it — (informal) very quickly and suddenly e.g. • At this time of the year, you could catch cold before you know it. Translate 嫌疑人很快就被带到了警察局。 Key The suspects were taken to the police station before they knew it.

45. fall upon — attack suddenly and violently e.g. • Terrorists were falling upon men and women in the street. Translate 强盗们从树后袭击了他。 Key The robbers fell upon him from behind the trees.

46. comfortn. — (a person or thing that brings) relief from worries, unhappiness, or disappointment e.g. • The President’s visit has given some comfort to the earthquake victims. • His occasional visits and phone calls are a comfort to his parents in their old age.

47. overcomevt. — overpower or overwhelm in body or mind e.g. • The firefighters were overcome by smoke. • Receiving the prize in honour of her dead father, she was overcome with emotion. Translate 要克服恶习并不容易。 Key It is not easy to overcome a bad habit.

48. take refuge in — find protection, help or relief in a place, person, action, etc. e.g. • During the frequent air-raids people took refuge in their cellars. Translate The troubled movie star took refuge in silence. Key 麻烦缠身的电影明星以沉默来逃避一切。

49. entry n. — the act of entering; a person, thing or group that is entered in a race, competition, etc. e.g. • Entry into the competition is free to all citizens. • Organizers of the speech contest have received over 10 entries.

50. odda. —(used after a number) with some extra; or so e.g. • twenty odd years ago • six hundred odd children • thirty-odd years 二十多年前 六百多个学生 三十多岁 More to learn