Unit three A Hanging

1. Unit three A Hanging

2. Glossary • condemned cell • the condemned man • a wisp of • Wisps of smoke rose into the air. • stand by • grave a./n. gravity n. gravel n. • He cut me short rudely. • cut the matter short • in full tide----in the best time of life • convict v. convict sb. of a crime • convict n. ---- prisoner • vanish v. ----disappear

3. how much do you know about our nation’s criminal law? Does it contain capital punishment? • Since we are not law-majors, we are English majors, we know little about criminal law. But we have some common sense about criminal law, e.g. murders, fire-raisers or arsonists, drug sellers and drug smugglers shall be punished severely. If the circumstances are serious enough to cause personal injury, to do bad damage to the property and to make grave losses, they shall have capital punishment / death penalty / be sentenced to death.

4. The whole text can be divided into three parts. • Part 1 (para.1) • Part 2 (para.2—14) • Part 3 (para 15—22) • Summarize the text in one sentence. • The text is a descriptive narration. It relates a true story about the execution of a condemned prisoner in Burma.

5. Part 1 (para 1) • The story took place in Burma on a very wet morning during the rainy season • rains: Rain falls in certain season; it is called rains. • We were waiting outside the condemned cells.---- We were waiting outside the very small rooms in a prison where prisoners, who had been sentenced to death and who would be hanged in plan, were being kept. • shed----one-story building, with simple roofed structure. • Why double bars were used? • To avoid prisoners running away from prison / to keep prisoners from running out of the prison.

6. ten feet by ten----ten feet long and ten feet wide • with + n. + p.p. ( Please give a description of my pose ) • I am standing here with a pen held firmly in my hand. • I am standing here with my arms folded in front of my chest. • due to be hanged---- who were scheduled to be hanged • ** The first part, para.1 introduces the setting and the characters of the story and briefly describes the bad living conditions of the condemned men, who live in a small cells, each of which measured about ten feet by ten and were quite bare within.

7. Part 2 (para.2—para14) • Para. 2 • a puny wisp of a man----who was a small, thin and weak man. • with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes (T) • lashed his arms tightly to his sides (What kind of gesture did the prisoner make. Make a gesture of this, please.) • in a careful, caressing grip ---- holding him firmly and continuously in a careful manner. • the while----at the same time; meanwhile • as though all the while feeling him to make sure he was there (T)

8. how did the convicted man react while the warders were getting him ready? • He stood without putting up any resistance. He quite willingly let his limp arms be tied up with the ropes, as though he paid no attention to what was happening. • Para. 3 • for God’s sake (T) • Para. 4 • he bubbled----he uttered, as though making the sound of rising bubbles.

9. Para. 6 • with their rifles at the slope----carrying rifles that tilted over their shoulders. • The rest of us, magistrates and the like, followed behind.---- We, government officials and inspectors, walked behind the warders and the prisoner. • Para. 7 • his muscles slid neatly into place---- his muscles appeared to be functioning normally. • The drawers slide in and out easily. • And once, in spite of the men who gripped him by each shoulder, he stepped slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path. (T)

10. Para. 8 • I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide. ---- I found the inexplicable injustice that was being done in putting to an end a prisoner’s life, which was still in its prime. • ---- I realized how awfully wrong it was to hang an active, healthy and conscious man. • All the organs of his body were working——bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming——all toiling away in solemn foolery. ------All the organs of his body were playing their normal functions --- all were working very hard and seriously (but they were doing sth. useless because they would be destroyed in a few minutes)

11. on the drop----on the trapdoor on the gallows • when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to life. (T) • in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone——one mind less, one world less. ------ The prisoner, who belonged to us now, would be promptly put to death——We shall lose a man who can also think and reason like us, and who is also a unique individual like each of us.

12. ** Para.8 describes the writer’s psychological activities when he saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle on the path. He realized that it was terribly wrong to hang a healthy, conscious man to death. • What can we infer about the author’s attitude toward capital punishment? • He was undoubtedly an abonitionist of capital punishment.

13. Para. 9 • with a servile crouch (T) • half led half pushed him to the gallows and helped him clumsily up the ladder. (T) • Para. 10 • the last sentence of the para (T) • not…or… He is not rich or kind. • not….but… He is not rich but kind. • not…and… He is not rich and kind.

14. Para.11 • Everyone had changed color---- Everyone was feeling so horrified that their faces turned paler. • Para. 13 • Very slowly revolving---- His dead body was turning in a circle slowly. • as dead as a stone (T) • Para.14 • “He’s all right.”---- “The convicted is absolutely dead.” • 他从门后面冲了出去。 He rushed out from behind the door.

15. blow out a deep breath • take in a deep breath • ** The second part (para.2—14) describes how a condemned prisoner was escorted to the gallows, how he behaved and walked. What is significant here is the comments the writer has made concerning the cold-blooded destruction of a healthy, conscious man.

16. Part 3 (para.15—22) • Para.15 • with their waiting prisoners---- with the prisoners who are waiting for the warders. • pannikin----small metal cup / plate /pan • it seemed quite a homely, jolly scene, after the hanging (T) • an enormous relief had come upon us now that the job was done.—(T) • One felt an impulse to sing, to break into a run, to snigger.---- People had a strong desire to sing songs, to start running and to laugh in a half-suppressed manner.

17. Para.15 provides a glimpse of the hard life of the convicts and provides an account of how the characters concerned were feeling, such characters as the writer, warders magistrates, etc. • Para. 16 • with a knowing smile (T) • his appeal had been dismissed. (T) • Do you not admire my new silver case, sir? Class European style. (T) • Why did the boy raise this question? • He intended to show off his cigarette case and more importantly to change the topic of conversation to drive away the unpleasantness of the hanging.

18. Para. 18 • Well, sir, all has passed off with the utmost satisfactoriness.---- Well, sir, everything has been done smoothly and comes to a most satisfactory end. • be obliged to do sth.---- be forced to do sth. • be obliged to sb. for sth.---- be grateful to sb. for sth. • Most disagreeable.---- Most unpleasant. This is a most unpleasant thing to do. • Para. 19 • Wriggling about---- Moving about quickly and shortly

19. Para. 20 • You will scarcely credit, sir, that it took six warders to dislodge him,---- You can hardly believe that it took as many as six warders to remove him from the cage bars • Para 22 • native and European alike, quite amicable. (T) • young and old alike (T) • ** Part 3 (para15—22) gives the ending of the story, where thought-provoking descriptions are provided and some tragic events inserted. • What do you think of the whole story? • The whole story is full of dynamic, frightful, and miserable narrative descriptions. It is impressive and unforgettable.

20. Exercises: • Answer questions. • 1. The warders appeared quite tense gripping him by arm and shoulder to make sure he was right there, whereas he stood quite unresisting with his arms limply in the ropes, and later walked quite steadily towards the gallows. • 2. He was the leader of jailers, a fat Dravidian in a white drill suit and gold glasses, conducting the hanging. • 3. It suggests indirectly that the prisoner to be hanged seemed calm, quiet and tranquil. • 4. It implies that the prisoner was alive like anyone else, with his brain reasoning quite effectively

21. 5. He did so, perhaps in order to embolden himself facing death. • 6. He blew out a deep breath, and the moody look had gone suddenly out of his face, and he felt completely relieved from the tension. • 7. Everything seemed to have returned to normal. The warders unfixed their bayonets, and two of them got ready to ladle out rice, and the convicts were getting their breakfast in a homely, jolly atmosphere, people wanted to sing, to run, to chat and to laugh. • 8. He was extremely satisfied with the job done that day because the hanged prisoner had died instantly without any disagreeable trouble left.

22. Explain sentences. • 1. We were waiting outside the cell, where prisoners under the death sentence were jailed. • 2. We, government officials and inspectors, walked behind the warders and the prisoner. • 3. I found the inexplicable in justice that was being done in putting to an end a prisoner’s life, which was still in its prime. • 4. The prisoner, who belonged to us now, would be promptly put to death. • 5. People had a strong desire to sing, to run and to snigger. • 6. You can hardly believe that it took as many as six warders to remove him from the cage bars.

23. Explain the italicized parts in sentences. • 1. who was schedualed to be hanged. • 2. who was a small, thin, and weak man. • 3. holding him firmly and continuously in a careful manner. • 4. carrying rifles that tilted over their shoulders. • 5. his muscles appeared to be functioning normally. • 6. we will lose a man who can also think and reason like us, and who is also a unique individual like each of us.

24. Translation C—E • 1. My daughter started jumping up and down with rage when she heard she couldn’t go. • 2. The party was in full tide when the police burst in. • 3. Helen reached out and took a glass from the cupboard. • 4. Parents are more tolerant of children in public places than at home. • 5. The discussion threw up a lot of interesting ideas. • 6. It isn’t polite to poke fun at your colleagues in public. • 7. This room could do with a cleaning for distinguished guests. • 8. The fashion festival passed off peacefully, despite all sorts of fears the local government had.

25. Translate a passage. E---C • 每天下午都有一队年迈的妇女从我屋前的马路上走过，每个人都背着一捆重重的柴火。 因为上了年纪，再加之常年日晒，她们骨瘦如柴，而且全都长得很矮小。有一天，一个可怜的老年妇女蹒跚着从我身边走过，她身高不足四英尺，背着一大堆柴火。我拦住他，在她手里塞了一枚五苏的硬币。对此，她发出一种犀利的声音以作回报，部分是出于感激，但主要是由于惊讶。我以为，在她看来，我对她的关注似乎差不多是在触犯一条自然法则。她心甘情愿地接受一个老妈子的地位，也就是说，愿意当一个负重的家畜。经常可以看到一家人外出旅行，父亲和长大成人的儿子騎着毛驴走在前面，而一个老妇人步行跟在后面，肩上还扛着行李。