Unit Five Force of Nature

1. Unit Five Force of Nature

2. Glossary • single-minded, narrow-minded, • noble-minded, low-minded • feeble-minded, small-minded • political-minded, conservation-minded • The day dragged by---eventually it was time for bed. • The dispute dragged on for some years. (T) • do / pay homage to n. • defining moment (T) • critical moment, decisive moment • at very onset

3. Go over the whole text to make a general impression with two questions. • Why did the author, when still a teenager, idolize (worship) Madame Curie? • Why is Marie Curie so famous in the world? • Answer to question 1 • She idolized Madame Curie because in her mind Curie was the strongest and most capable woman in the world; she was both a loving mother and an outstanding scientist. • Answer to question 2 .

4. Firstly, Curie and her husband Pierre won Nobel Prize in physics in 1903 for the discovery of radioactivity. (para8) • Secondly, after her husband died, she proceeded with the research work, and won a second Nobel Prize in chemistry for isolating the elements radium and polonium. • Thirdly, in her later years, she went back to the Radium Institute she established, teaching, traveling and lecturing until her death, at age of 66, on July 4, 1934. • Her professional devotion touches our hearts and inspires us to persevere in our lives

5. The whole text can be divided into 3 parts. • Part 1 (para1—3) • Part 2 (para4—13) • Part 3 (para14, the last para)

6. Part 1 (para.1—3) • Para. 1 • wrap sth. in • be wrapped in • She wrapped a baby in her arms. • He wrapped his arms around her. • He wrapped an arm around her waist. • I didn’t know very much about Curie beyond the basics.---- I didn’t know very much about Curie except the most important aspects of her life.

7. She was brilliant, single-minded, a legend.---- She was very intelligent, focused, famous. • I was just a girl with little direction, more drawn to words and made-up stories than to formulas and lab experiment.---- I was then a young girl without a clear idea of what to do in the future; but I was keener on literature than on natural science.

8. Para.2 • I think I admired that photo so much, not because of Marie Curie and what she stood for but because she seemed so exotic ---- I think the reason why I enjoyed looking at the photo was not because Marie Curie herself was in the photo, nor because she represented a great woman, but because her image appealed to me.

9. Para 3 • Marie Curie’s own daughters grew into accomplished women in their own right,---- Marie Curie’s own daughters distinguished themselves in their respective field due to their own efforts and competence. • a shred of • not a shred of evidence • a shred of truth • He was left without a shred of reputation. • in one’s (own) right • a super-competent multi-tasker (T)

10. super, multi, • 多媒体 • 多党的 • 多国的 • 多功能的 • 多边的 • 双边的 • Also she was a woman driven by passions, fighting battles much of her life with what a doctor now would probably diagnose as severe depression. (T) • ** Part 1 provides us with the background knowledge, informing us why the writer idolized Marie Curie briefly introduces the heroine and presents the writer’s evaluation of the heroine.

11. Part 2 (para.4—13) • Para .4 • For months she’d find places to hide so she could cry her eyes out.---- in the following months she would look for places to hide herself so she could cry to her heart’s content / cry very bitterly /weeping bitterly. • Para. 5 • landed a job as governess to a wealthy family ---- obtained a job as a tutor for children in a rich family. • She went up falling in love with Casimir ----Finally she fell in love with Casimir Zorawski

12. an accomplished student---- a clever and highly trained student • disinherit him---- reject him as one’s heir / deprive of the right of inheritance • She was beneath his station, poor, a common nursemaid.---- As she was a poor ordinary girl in charge of a child, she was much lower in social status than her young master. • In what still seems to me a remarkable act of courage ---- It still seems to me an extraordinary act of courage • meager savings----a very small amount of money saved. • and walked into history----and thus became somebody to remember

13. Para.6 • the broad brush strokes----the ways in which plans or ideas are explained or implemented • a tiny luminous stain congealed in a dish (T) • Para. 7 • The reality was a lot grittier—and a lot less romantic ---- The reality was much harder, not as romantic as shown in the 1943 film Madame Curie. • Shabby and dank----poorly-conditioned, old, damp and cold

14. Para.8 • In which fields can people win Nobel Prize? • In physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, economics and the promotion of peace • They were the toast of the European scientific community, feted lavishly and visited at home in Paris by acolytes who came from as far away as New Zealand to pay homage. ---- They were highly respected in the European scientific community, honored or entertained in a special and generous way and visited by faithful admirers who came from as far away as New Zealand to show great respect.

15. toast n. ---- sb. who is the object of much admiration • fete v. ----honor or entertain sb. in a special way • acolyte n. ----apprentice; faithful follower • It is said that Confucius had 72 acolytes • Para 9 • their triumph contained the seeds of their tragedy---- their great success was conducive to their future disasters • he fell into the path of a wagon---- he slipped into the way of a carriage.

16. Para. 10 • Pierre’s death marked the defining moment in her mother’s life.---- Pierre’s death started a complete characteristic change in her mother’s life. • The metamorphosis was less simple, more serious. A cape of solitude and secrecy fell upon her shoulders forever.---- The changes in Curie were profound and enduring. The shadow of loneliness and introversion hung over her for the rest of her life.

17. Para.13 • aplastic anemia (A) anaemia (B) • pernicious a. ----deadly; harmful • aplastic pernicious anemia • The cause was aplastic pernicious anemia, most likely due to radium and other radioactive elements (T) • ** Part 2 (para4—13) is the body of the narration, supplies objective and descriptive accounts of what Marie Curie experienced, vividly concentrating on the major events that shaped her life. The events are arranged mainly chronologically, i.e. mostly in the order of their occurrence.

18. Part 3 (para.14) • The Marie Curie that I discovered was no icon but a flesh-and-blood woman.---- The Marie Curie in my eyes was not an image of a holy saint, but an ordinary woman with human emotions, human qualities, and human weakness. • She conquered huge professional obstacles but paid a terrible personal price. (T) • truly glorious and tragic---- really magnificent and heartbreaking • ** In this paragraph, the writer found out that Marie Curie was an average female human being with the emotions, weaknesses, and strengths of a normal person, and that her life was both glorious and tragic.

19. Exercises: • Answer questions. • 1. In the author’s mind, Madame Curie was the strongest and most capable woman in the world. • 2. In science, she revolutionized the study of atomic energy and radioactivity, and succeeded in isolating the elements radium and polonium, for which she became the first person in the world to have won two Nobel Prizes. In life she was a woman driven by passions, fighting with severe depression most of her life. In the end, she suffered from and died of a disease caused by her own discovery.

20. 3. Young as she was, Marie Curie did not appear to be affected by her mother’s death at all and carried on with her schoolwork as if nothing had happened. But when she was left alone, she cried her eyes out for months to release her bitter grief. • 4. Only 22 years old, she was too young to confront the world all by herself. Survival in a big city like Paris would be difficult for a poor, common, and inexperienced girl like her. • 5. By contrasting the film scene with reality, the writer intends to emphasize the fact that the actual discovery of radium was much harder than it appeared in the film.

21. 6. Their tragedy was attributable to the fact that they worked around radioactivity nearly every day. Before winning the Nobel Prize. Pierre was severely ill from exposure to this fierce energy. He had increasingly difficulty walking, until 1906, when he fell into the path of a wagon, and a wheel ran over his head. He died instantly. Although Madame Curie won a brilliant success in science, she suffered a horrifying loss in life. • 7. Her death was caused by pernicious anemia which probably resulted from her long, devastating exposure to radium and other radioactive elements.

22. 8. The solving of the mysteries of nature presents a big challenge to natural scientists. The exploration of nature and the discovery of its mysteries call for painstaking and enduring effort on their part. For scientists, this is a mission that has great magnetic power, and they are so much drawn to it that they are ready to devote their whole life to it. And Madame Curie is undoubtedly one of them.

23. Explain the sentences. • 1. I was just a girl without a clear idea of what to do in the future; but I was keener on literature than on natural science. • 2. I think the reason why I enjoyed looking at the photo was not because Marie Curie herself was in the photo, nor because she represented a great woman, but because her image appealed to me. • 3. Marie Curie’s own daughters distinguished themselves in their respective field due to their own efforts and competence. • 4. Finally she fell in love with Casimir Zorawski.

24. 5. She, a poor, common nursemaid, was much lower in social status than her young master. • 6. The reality was much harder, not as romantic as shown in the 1943 film Madame Curie. • 7. They were highly respected in the European scientific community, entertained generously and visited by faithful admirers to show their respect to the Curies at home in Paris. • 8. The changes in Curie were profound and enduring. The shadow of loneliness and introversion hung over her for the rest of her life. • 9. The Marie Curie in my eyes was not an image of a holy saint, but an ordinary woman with human emotions, human qualities, and human weaknesses.

25. Writing strategies • 1. More instances of metaphorical language: • Para 1: …her arms wrapped around her daughters… • Para 3: Also she was woman driven by passions, fighting battles much of her life with what a doctor now would probably diagnose as severe depression. • Para 5: …walked into history. • Para 7: The reality was a lot grittier. • Para 9: For the Curies, though, their triumph contained the seeds of their tragedy. • Para 10: A cape of solitude and secrecy fell upon her shoulders forever. • 2. Elaboration of his point is mainly found in para.2

26. Explain the italicized part. • 1. except the most important aspects of her life. • 2. having no concrete goals or purposes to attain. • 3. because of their own efforts and talents. • 4. cry to her heart’s content. • 5. and thus became somebody to remember. • 6. started a complete characteristic change.

27. Sentence translation C—E • 1. Researchers suggest that people in their old age should engage in mental and physical activities, individually as well as in groups. • 2. The fact that he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games made him overnight the toast of his hometown. • 3. Many states leaders came to pay homage to him for his lifetime achievements. • 4. I suppose that the rapid change in life and globalization are apt to make people become less single-minded.

28. 5. His failure in winning a second championship dampened his enthusiasm for athletic activities. • 6. Expectations for economic recovery faded away when devaluation occurred again. • 7. My father and I fought, with no cooling-off period between rounds. It was a cold war lasting from the onset of my adolescence until I went off to college. • 8. The pitiful story told by the girl deeply softened the old lady’s heart.

29. Translate a passage. E—C • 瑞典发明家和实业家阿尔弗雷德-诺贝尔是一个在各方面对比鲜明的人（与众不同）。他是一个破产者的儿子，但成了百万富翁。他是一个科学家，却又爱好文学。他是一个实业家，但坚持理想主义。他很有钱，然而生活俭朴。和友人在一起他兴致勃勃，可私下里时常郁郁寡欢。他热爱人类，却未曾有妻子和儿女去关爱他。对祖国他一片赤子之心，却孑然一身，客死异乡。他发明了一种新炸药，以改进采矿和筑路等和平时期工业，但他却目睹炸药被用作战争武器杀伤同伴。在他有用的一生中，他常常感到自己无所作为。他的成就名扬天下，而他自己却始终默默无闻，殊不知他一生总是在回避抛头露面。但是，他逝世以后，他的名字却给别人带来了名誉和荣耀。

30. Topics for discussion • 1. The following details might be useful: • Marie’s attitude towards her first romance • The photo in which she was sitting under an elm tree, her arms wrapped around her daughters • Her reactions to her mother’s death when she was ten; • What she wrote to Pierre after his funeral 2. Consider both the effect of one’s career success on their family life and the possible difference between men and women in this respect .