Lesson 9

1. Lesson9 • Mark Twain --- Mirror of America

3. Objectives of Teaching: • To comprehend the whole text • To learn and master the vocabulary and expressions • To learn to paraphrase the difficult sentences • To understand the structure of the text • To appreciate the style and rhetoric of the passage.

4. 5 aspects of our discussion • Background information • Type of writing • Structural analysis • Detailed study • Rhetorical devices

5. I. Background Information: • 1. Mark Twain (1835-1910) Mark Twain was the pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, the American humorist and writer. The phrase “mark twain”, meaning “2 fathoms deep”(12 feet), was employed in making soundings on the Mississippi river boats to show the navigable depth. He was the author of popular and outstanding autobiographical works, travel books and novels.

6. I. Background Information: The first 36 years of Clemens’ life as a boy in a little town in Mississippi, as a reporter on the far western frontier and as a traveler abroad supplied him with copious material which he used later for his best and most successful writings. Among his well-known works are Innocents Abroad, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

7. I. Background Information: 2 . National Geographic Magazine, with a circulation of more than 10 million copies annually, is the third biggest only next to TV Guide and Reader's Digest (more than 16 million ). It is a monthly journal run by the National Geographic Society based in Washington DC, a non-profit scientific and educational organization.

8. I. Background Information: 3. A brief outline of Tom • Tom lives with his younger brother Sid and Aunt Polly in St. Petersburg, a remote town on the banks of the Mississippi river. While his brother Sid is a “model” boy, Tom is quite the opposite of his brother.

9. I. Background Information: • At school he disobeys his teacher and always busies himself with outside matters at the lessons. Tom’s bosom friend is Huck Finn, a boy deserted by his drunkard of a father and looked upon as an outcast in the town.

10. I. Background Information: • But Tom has read many books and wants to make his life just as bright as it is depicted in the stories. He devises games in which the boys play the role of brave outlaws and warlike Red Indians who are the terror of the rich and the oppressors.

11. I. Background Information: • One night the boys involuntarily witness the murder of Dr. Robinson. An innocent man is charged with the crime. But on the day of the trial Tom fearlessly exposes the real criminal the Indian Joe who escapes through an open window of the courtroom.

12. I. Background Information: • Another night, the boys went out to dig for hidden treasures near a deserted house three miles from town. There they almost fall into the hands of the murderer who accidentally finds a box filled with gold coins.

13. I. Background Information: • Shortly after the incident Tom goes to a picnic with a party of schoolmates. Exploring a cave, he gets lost with Becky Thatcher, the daughter of the Judge. Tom behaves like a brave boy, calms Becky’s fears and finds the way out of the cave.

14. I. Background Information: • In a few days’ time Tom and Huck return to the cave. They find the dead body of the murderer, who could not have found the way out of the cave and also the hidden treasures.

15. I. Background Information: 4. A brief outline of Huck • Tom and Huck find the money. They each get six thousand dollars, which they deposit with Judge Thatcher. The Widow Douglas takes Huck for her son and tries to “civilize” him.

16. I. Background Information: • In the meantime, Huck’s father tries to get the money and succeeds in kidnapping the boy and imprisons him in a lonely cabin. To free himself from both the boring widow and the brutal father, Huck runs away to a deserted island in the middle of the Mississippi river.

17. I. Background Information: • In doing so, he makes it appear that he has been murdered by some robbers. On the island he meets Jim, Miss Watson’s runaway slave, and the two become close friends.

18. I. Background Information: • They started down the river, come across all sorts of people and have lots of fun and adventures. Toward the end of the novel Jim is caught and imprisoned at a farm, and Huck and Tom make a spectacular but unsuccessful attempt to rescue him.

19. I. Background Information: • At last it turns out that Huck’s father has died and Miss Watson has also died, but not before setting Jim free in her will.

20. II. Writing Type: Biography A biography is, by definition, an account of someone's life that has been written by someone else. Or a written history of someone's life. • Generally, a biography is about sb. who enjoys certain reputation, who has acquired certain fame by his / her success in certain area. The protagonist can be a positive or negative character.

21. III . Structural Analysis • Part 1: (the 1st para.): Introduction • Part 2: (Paras 2- 19): his experiences and career • Section 1. (paras2-3 ): the setting, background knowledge. • Section 2. (paras4-6):early years of life on the Mississippi and as a Confederate guerrilla Section 3. (paras7-13): On his way to success • Section 4. (paras14- 19):Comments on his best works. • Part 3: (paras 20-22) : Personal tragedy and conclusion

22. IV. Detailed study of the title • 1. Mirror of America: 1).A mirror : a person or a thing which reflects or reveals the truth of something or somebody. 2) Mark Twain ---- Mirror of America: ----- Mark Twain’s life and works are a reflection of the America of his time 3). Figure of speech: metaphor

23. IV. Detailed study of part 1 • 2. Most Americans remember Mark Twain as the father... and adventure. 1). Rhetorical devices: Metaphor : Father : the author who creates Huck Finn. Hyperbole: Endless/ eternal: everlasting Parallelism: The whole sentence:.

24. IV. Detailed study of part 1 2). idyllic: [i / ai] a simple happy period of life, often in the country • an idyllic setting, holiday, marriage 3). cruise: A cruise is a holiday during which you travel on a ship and visit lots of places. When it is used as a verb, it means to move at a constant speed that is comfortable and unhurried. He was on a world cruise. They spent the summer cruising in the Greek islands.

25. IV. Detailed study of part 1: 4) the meaning of the whole sentence: Mark Twain is famous to most Americans as the creator of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Huck's sailing / travel on the river was so light-hearted, carefree and peaceful that it made his boyhood seem to be infinite, while Tom's independent mind and his exciting and dangerous activities made the summer seem everlasting.

26. Detailed study of part 1: • 2. I found another Twain as well…a black wall of night. 1). cynical: A cynical person believes that all men are selfish. He sees little or no good in anything and shows this by making unkind and unfair remarks about people and things. cynic: n. a person who believes that people do not do things for good, sincere or noble reasons, but only for their own advantage a cynical remark, attitude, smile

27. Detailed study of part 1: 2). deal, dealt: to give , to give out, to strike, to distribute • Who deals the cards next? • to deal sb. a blow 3) obsess: to worry continuously and unnecessarily. • If sth. obsesses you or if you are obsessed with it or by it, you keep thinking about it over a long period of time, and find it difficult to think about anything else. • She is obsessed by the desire to become a great actress.

28. Detailed study of part 1 4). frailty: a weakness of character or behaviour. • One of the frailties of human nature is laziness. • That chair looks too frail to take a man's weight. • There is only a frail chance that he will pass the examination. 5) Obsessed with the frailties of the human race: continually distressed by the moral weakness of the human race.

29. Detailed study of part 2: section 1 • Section 1 (para2-3) • 1 tramp: a person who has no home or permanent job and very little money. A woman who is thought to have sex with a lot of men is cursed to be a tramp.. • There's a tramp at the door begging for food. • 2. pilot: a person who with special knowledge of a particular stretch of water, esp. the entrance of a harbour, and who is trained and specially employed to go on board and guide ships that use it.

30. Detailed study of part 2: section 1 • 3. prospector: a person who examines the land in order to find gold, oil, etc. • 4. starry: full of stars in the sky, indicating sparkling, glowing, and flashing. starry-eyed: full of unreasonable or silly hopes. If you are starry-eyed, you are so full of dreams or hopes or idealistic thoughts that you do not see how things really are. • We were all starry-eyed about visiting London. • 5. acid-tongued: If sb. is acid-tongued, he makes unkind or critical remarks.

31. Detailed study of part 2: section 1 • 6. range: to travel without any definite plan or destination • 7. digest: • If you digest information, you think about it, understand it, and remember it. • The report contains too much to digest at one reading. • He reads rapidly but does not digest very much.

32. Detailed study of part 2: section 1 • 8. adopt: to take and use as one's own • The US decided to adopt a hard line towards terrorism. • Having no children of their own, they decided to adopt an orphan / dog. • adopt a name, a custom, an idea, a style of dress • adept: n, ~ (in sth); ~ (at/in doing sth) • He's an adept in carpentry. • adapt: to make sth suitable for a new use, situation, etc. • This novel has been adapted for TV from the Russian original. • Our eyes slowly adapted to the dark.

33. Detailed study of part 2: section 1 • 9. signal: a sign, gesture, sound, etc. that conveys a message • a signal made with a red flag • She flashed the torch as a signal. • They signaled their discontent by refusing to vote. • This is an event signaling a change in public opinion. • 10. attest: to show to be true, to give proof of, to declare solemnly • Historic documents and ancient tombstones all attest to the fact that this is a historic battlefield.

34. Detailed study of part 2: section 1 • 11. artery: blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body(动脉 ) • vein: any of the tubes carrying blood from all parts of the body to the heart (静脉) artery: main road, main channel. (metaphor) 12. commerce: the buying and selling of goods, trade. Commerce = commodities (synecdoche)

35. Detailed study of part 2: section 1 • 13. delta country: Delta is the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet, which is shaped like a triangle. Therefore anything in the shape of a delta, esp. a deposit of sand and soil formed at the mouth of some rivers is called a delta. • 14. molasses: a thick dark to light brown syrup that is separated from raw sugar (糖浆) • cf: syrup: a thick sticky solution of sugar and water, often flavoured (糖液=糖+水)

36. Detailed study of part 2: section 1 • 15. westward expansion: When America became independent, there were only 13 states along the Atlantic Ocean. By 1850, the United States had expanded to the Pacific coast. Events in this westward expansion include: • The massacre of the native Indians( 对土著印第安人的大屠杀) • The 1803 Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon‘s France.(1803年路易斯安那购地) • The 1845 Texas Annexation(得克萨斯兼并) • The 1848 Mexican Cession(墨西哥领土割让) • Also the California Gold Rush in 1848(淘金热)

37. Detailed study of part 2:section 1 • 16. basin: • the Yellow River Basin • The basin made up 3/4 of the populated area of the US of that time. • 17. drain: to cause to become gradually dry or empty • Boil the vegetable for 2 minutes and then drain the water. • brain drain: movement of trained technical and scientific personnel for one county to another ( because of better opportunities ) 人才外流

38. Detailed study of part 2 : section 2 • Section 2: paras 4 -- 6 • 1. cub: the young of various types of meat-eating wild animals, such as lion, bear; Here it means inexperienced youth. • 2. cast of characters: the cast of a play or a film consists of all the people who act in it. Here it means: people of all sorts. Rhetorical device: alliteration

39. Detailed study of part 2 : section 2 • 3. cosmos: the whole universe considered as an ordered system. here it means a place where one can find all types of people rhetorical device: hyperbole • 4. feud: long-lasting and bitter quarrel or dispute between two people or groups • the feud between Romeo's family and Juliet's

40. Detailed study of part 2 : section 2 • 5. piracy: robbery of ships on the high seas • pirate: a robber on the high seas • copy right piracy 盗版 • 6. lynch: (esp. of a crowd of people) to attack and put to death, esp. by hanging, a person thought to be guilty of a crime without a lawful trial私刑处死 • 7. slum: an area of a city where living conditions are very bad and where all the houses are overcrowded and need to be repaired.

41. Detailed study of part 2: section 2 • 8. soak up: to draw in by or as if by suction or absorption • The soil soaked up a huge volume of water very rapidly. …he absorbed and digested the colourful language with an astonishing good memory which seemed to be able to record things like a phonograph / gramophone.

42. Detailed study of part 2 : section 2 • 9. teem with • If a place teems with animals or people, it is very crowded and the animals or people are moving around a lot. • The water teems with fish and shrimps. • His mind teems with plans. • 10. humanity: human beings in general

43. Detailed study of part 2: section 2 • 11. flotsam: rubbish, wreckage such as bits of wood, plastic, and other waste materials that is floating on the sea, parts of a wrecked ship or its cargo found floating in the sea. • Here it refers to lawless people or social outcasts (社会残渣或是被社会驱逐的人) • 12. hustler: streetwalker, prostitute • 13. thug: a person who is very violent and rough, esp. a criminal , hooligan or villain

44. Detailed study of part 2: section 2 • 14. keen: a. sharp • My hearing is not as keen as it used to be. • He has a keen brain. • 15. perception: natural understanding • extra sensory perception • perceive: realize, notice, see or hear sth. esp. when it is not obvious to other people • Just as a good artist must have good perception of colour, a good musician must have good perception of sound. • Alcohol reduces your perception of pain.

45. Detailed study of part 2: section 2 • 16. trade: job, esp. one needing special skill with the hands • I am a fisherman by trade. • They work in the cotton / tourist / shoemaking / jewellery trade. • trade union

46. Detailed study of part 2 : section 2 • 17. acknowledge: recognize the fact, agree to the truth. • If you acknowledge a fact or situation, you accept or admit that it is true or that it exists. • This is a fact even our enemies abroad have to acknowledge. • He is an acknowledged expert on antique-examination.

47. Detailed study of part 2: section 2 • express thanks for sth. • His services to the country were never officially acknowledged. • acknowledgement: • We are sending you some money in acknowledgement of your valuable help. • If you quote somebody’s theory, you must send him your acknowledgement.

48. Detailed study of part 2 : section 2 • 18. acquaint: cause to know personally, make familiar with, • You must acquainted yourself with your new duties. • be acquainted with • I have heard about your friend but I am not acquainted with him.

49. Detailed study of part 2 : section 2 • make acquaintance of sb. / make sb's acquaintance • Where did you make his acquaintance? • Very pleased to have made your acquaintance. • nodding acquaintance / bowing acquaintance

50. Detailed study of part 2: section 2 • 19. motley: having or composed of many different or clashing elements • a motley crowd / crew, ie a group of many different types of people • 20. band: a group of people joined together for a common purpose (derog.)