By Florence Cartlidge

1. A Class Act 一课千金 By Florence Cartlidge

2. Intensive Study Para1-3 The hard conditions Q: What does she mean by “yet I could not have asked for more enterprising and optimistic parents”? (underline words used to describe her parents) She thinks that her parents were the best parents in the world, because they did their best to support the family, to bring joy to the family and keep their children well-fed and spotlessly-attired. Q: Why dose the author still have some trouble in school? (underline words used to describe the children’s clothes)

3. 1 • Blitz [blits] vt.: to attack a place with bombs dropped from aircraft • Manchester [mæntʃistə] ：曼彻斯特（英格兰西北部城市） • Pawnshop [‘pɔ:nʃɔp]:当铺 • Rife  [raif] : very common or frequent

4. rife Adj. —If sth unpleasant or bad is rife in a place, it is very common there egs. Disease is rife in the area. 这个地区疾病盛行。 Tran: 这是一个腐败成风的国家。 It is a country where corruption is rife. be rife with sth The thesis is rife with errors. Los Angles is rife with gossip about the star’s private life.

5. Enterprising  ['entə.praiziŋ] :adj.—having or showing the ability to think of new projects or new ways of doing things 有事业心的、有进取心的，有创业精神的 egs. an enterprising person N. ①–事业心，进取心 a man of enterprise ②a company /business 公司，企业，事业单位 国有企业 state-owned enterprise 中小型企业 small and medium-sized enterprise

6. meticulous adj. meticulous in sth—paying careful attention to every detail极仔细的; 一丝不苟的 • a meticulous plan 周密的计划 • meticulous records 详细的记录 • meticulously clean 一尘不染

7. attire fml • N. clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion formal attire 礼服 splendid attire 盛装；华丽的服饰 • V. To dress or clothe, especially in fine or elaborate garments.

8. Para 3 how to understand? my clothes were ironed to a knife-edge, and shoes polished to a gleam rhetorically, to a knife-edge, and to a gleam are hyperboles meaning my clothes were ironed to a degree that it looks like a knife-edge and my shoes were polished until they gleamed

9. paraphrase While Mom had scrimped and saved to obtain most of the gear, but I still don’t have the prescribed blue blazer and hat band. Although Mom had tried to spend as little money as possible in order to buy most of the clothes required by the school, she still could not afford the blue blazer and hat band.

10. hat band

11. scrimp v v —to spend very little money on the things U need to live, esp so that U can spend on sth else 省吃俭用、节衣缩食 egs. scrimp one’s household • We have to scrimp and save to pay the bill. • When they were first married, they had to scrimp on food and clothes. Trans: 为了让孩子接受良好的教育，他们省吃俭用。 They scrimped and saved to give the children a good education.

12. prescribe • to order a medicine or other treatment prescribe sb sth for sth The doctor prepared to prescribe a receipt. • to establish rules, laws, or directions规定, 指定 The law prescribes how to punish this crime. The syllabus prescribes precisely which books should be studied. • Prescription for The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. a prescription for happiness 秘诀

13. scribe：写东西 scribe—scription—scriptive describe：v.描述，描写 prescribe：v.开药方 subscribe：提交，订阅 ascribe：归因于 circumscribe：v.限制 Conscribe: 征兵

14. gear [ɡiə] N. the equipment /clothing needed for a particular activity wear the latest gear check in the dictionary for other meanings

15. Para4-7trouble at school Read Para 4 &5 and answer the following Q: Q: Why does the headmistress make it her mission to teach the author a lesson? How was the author punished at school?

16. Language Points --rationing  a policy of limiting the amount of food, fuel, etc., that one is allowed to have when there is not enough for everyone to have as much as they want 配给制，限额配给 • wartime rationing战时定量配给 • rationingof goods商品配给制

17. ration • N. a fixed amount of food, fuel, etc配给量 • V. [passive] ration sb to sth The villagers were rationed to two liters of water a day. My children would watch TV all day long, but I ration it.

18. Relax —to make a rule/law less strict Two weeks after the police relaxed security at the airports, there was a bomb attack.

19. How to understand? Because of the war, rationing was in place and most schools had relaxed their attitude towards proper uniforms knowing how hard it was to obtain clothes. Because of the war, the government implemented a system of limiting the amount of almost everything, and most schools had made their dress codes less rigid, because they know it was not easy for the students to get proper clothes.

20. assembly a gathering in a school晨会 assemble v All the students were asked to assemble in the main hall.

21. 5 comply with: to act according to an order/rule egs. The factory was closed for failing to comply with government safety regulations. 工厂由于未能遵守政府的安全条例而被关闭了。 The rule must be complied with. 这条规则必须遵守。 in compliance with

22. Para6&7 No.1 How did the author react to the punishment? First, tried to explain Then, had no choice but to go through it and kept it to herself. No.2 Why did the author not tell her mother about the humiliation she suffered at school.

23. paraphrase Para 6 My punishment also extended to being barred from the gym team or not taking part in the weekly ballroom dancing classes, which I adored. My punishment did not end there, I was not allowed to join the gym team or to attend the weekly ballroom dancing classes, which I loved very much.

24. Language Points bar: to prevent sth, to forbid sth bar sb from doing The government has acted to bar this kind of tobacco. A lack of formal education is no bar to becoming rich. a bar of chocolate be behind bars The students all attended, bar three who were ill.

25. 6 adore  • (fml) to love sb very much • (infml) to like sth. Very much egs. It is obvious that she adores him. I absolutely adore chocolate. adorable adj. an adorable child adoring adj. her adoring grandmother adoration egs. He gazed at her with pure adoration.

26. 7 Para 7 • Well-meaning: wanting to have a good effect, but not always achieving one • ritual ['ritjuəl] (a.): routine • Blinkered ['bliŋkəd]: narrow-minded • Hard-nosed: practical and determined • Mortify ['mɔ:tifai]: to cause sb to feel extremely ashamed • On the warpath: angry and likely to argue or punish

27. 7 How to understand? However, in my 12-year-old mind I had no choice but to see punishment through. ---However, I was only a 12-year-old girl. I thought I had no alternative but to go through the punishment.

28. see through • see through sb/sth看透，识破 • see sb through帮助度过(experience/suffer) • see sth through 坚持完成 He was a prisoner of war for five years, but his courage saw him through. We will see you through until you finish your college education. I saw the project through and then resigned. We can see through your little game.

29. speak up for • speak up for sb—to say sth to support/defend sb • spoke up for me—to express her opinion publicly for me • on the warpath—to be very angry and wanting to fight/punish sb • He would have got very angry and wanted to fight immediately in order to protect me

30. mortify v. make sb feel very ashamed/embarrassed使难堪；使羞愧 egs. She was mortified to realize that he had heard every word she said.

31. Part 3(8-11) the photographic portrait sitting Q: How did the author feel about the portrait sitting? pick out the words revealing her feelings) Q: Why did the author walk to the stage of her own accord? Because her past experience told her that such ritual punishment would occur anyway. It is inevitable.

32. Language Points I was beside myself with excitement: my imagination fuelled by glamorous shots of the popular Hollywood temptresses. I was extremely excited when I imagined myself in attractive pictures like those of popular actresses in Hollywood.

33. 8 be beside oneself: if you are beside yourself with a particular feeling, it is so strong that it makes you almost out of control. egs. When she passed the exam at last she was beside herself with joy. He was beside himself with rage when I told him what I have done.

34. fuel ['fjuəl] N. fossil/solid/nuclear/ fuel V. • 给提供燃料 • put petrol/gas into a vehicle • to increase sth/to make it stronger egs. Our heating system is fueled by gas. The chairman’s speech fuelled speculation that he is about to resign. Trans:工资提高刺激通货膨胀。 Higher salaries helped to fuel inflation.

35. 9 Trimmed [trimd]: —if clothes and other cloth items are trimmed, they are decorated, especially around the edge.

36. She had no hint of the torment I faced. She knew nothing about the punishment I suffered in the school. torment N: extreme suffering, esp mental suffering Vt. make sb suffer very much

37. 10 • Emerald green [‘emərəld]: 翠绿色的 • beady ['bi:di]: small and bright, especially like a bird’s eye • Trudge [trʌdʒ]: to walk very slowly with effort • Of my own accord: if you do sth of your own accord, you do it without being asked to do it. egs. The symptoms will clear up of their own accord after a few days.

38. 10 Q: how does she walk to school? Please underline the relative words. drag—trudge—heavy-hearted

39. drag • walk without lifting the feet • move slowly and as if with great effort • persuade to come away from something attractive or interesting egs. She had to drag her child away from the toy shop. I really have to drag myself out of bed this morning. He walked with a drag.

40. 11 Paraphrase: Tears of frustration threatened to break free as I wondered for the umpteenth time why the unfeeling teacher couldn’t look past my clothes for once and see the obedient and eager-to-participate young girl beneath. — I felt so frustrated that I was on the verge of tears when I wondered, as what I had done innumerable times, why the unsympathetic teacher would not overlook my clothes even once and see how hard I tried to comply with the school policy and how eager I was to participate in all the activities.

41. umpteenth umpteen adj. (infml) very many for the umpteenth time—many times egs. I’ve told this story umpteen times. I drank my umpteenth cup of coffee. 我们已经去过无数次了，她仍然不认识路。 We’ve been there umpteen times and she still can’t remember the way.

42. Part 4(12-15) climax 12 Q: What did the author expect to occur when Miss Mc Vee ordered her to come and sit in the front row? Another humiliation. Q: What was the result? It was out of her expectation and warmly praised.

43. Para 12 I console myself I could at least…regain my composure. —I could at least forget the humiliation for a while by reading Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities.

44. console v. —to make sb who is sad or disappointed feel better by giving them comfort or sympathy • I tried to console her with a box of chocolate. • 你可以安慰自己你已经尽了最大的努力。 Console yourself with the thought that U did your best. N. consolation

45. composure  n. : the state of being calm and in control of your feelings/behavior 沉着，镇静 to keep/lose/regain/recover your ～ egs. U may feel nervous, but don’t lose ur ～ in front of her. Tran: 他恢复了平静。 He recovered his composure . V. compose

46. blinking back tears —shutting and opening one’s eyes frequently in order to get rid of tears battle back tears in Para 6

47. What does the author mean by last sentence? —This sentence suggests that the author was beginning to suspect that Miss Mc Vee had joined other teachers because she “ordered her” to come and sit in the front row, directly before her. The author probably thought that Miss Mc Vee was going to punish her for what she was wearing.

48. The word “surely” actually suggests that she was not sure whether Miss McVee “had cross into the enemy camp”.

49. Para 13 dejection: n忧郁,沮丧 —a feeling of unhappiness/disappointment dejected adj. unhappy/disappointed • He left in dejection. 他垂头丧气地走了。 • He went away in dejection. 他灰溜溜地走了

50. 15 The words by Miss McVee exert a profound influence on the author. Please translate it into Chinese.