The Light at the End of the Chunnel

1. The Light at the End of the Chunnel 郧阳师专英语系综合英语教研室

2. Background knowledge • The English Channel: commonly called the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France, and connecting the Atlantic in the west with the North Sea on the east via the Strait of Dover. It is 34 to 240 km. (21-150 miles) wide and 560km. (350 miles) long. The Channel is at its narrowest between Dover in England and Cape Gris-Nez, near Calais, in France, it being 34 km. (21 miles) wide. Its average depth decreases from 120 to 45 meters (400-150 feet).

3. Background knowledge • From earliest times, the Channel served as a route for, and a barrier to, invaders to Britain from the Continent. It was crossed by Julius Caesar’s legion in 55 B.C. and Norman forces in 1066. However, when Napoleon and Hitler threatened to cross it, they failed. Therefore, the Channel has chiefly served as a physical barrier to the invasion of Britain. Transportation across the Channel used to be supplied by ferry boat service only.

4. Background knowledge The long-lasting Anglo-French conflict In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, France, conquered England and became King William I of England. After the Norman Conquest, French manners and culture predominated among the English nobles. In 1154 King Henry II recovered the English throne. Thereafter the holdings of English kings in France were greatly increased. At one time, France assisted Scotland, over which the English kings attempted to dominate. These sources of friction led to intermittent fighting between the two countries from 1294 to 1337.

5. Background knowledge • In 1337, Edward III of England (1327-1377) took the title of King of France. This step began the Hundred Years’ War which continued on and off until 1453. Early in the conflict the English crushed the French, but by the end of Edward’s reign the French had reconquered almost all the territory Edward had won. Fighting between the two countries continued in the fourteenth and the fifteenth century. During King Henry VIII’s reign (1509-1547), England again invaded France and expanded it holdings around Calais.

6. Background knowledge • From 1689 to 1815 there was a series of conflicts between Britain and France for domination of the North American continent. The principal objective of the British government was to drive the French out of North America once and for all. The maritime and colonial struggle between Britain and France for world empire and trade, which began in 1689, lasted until the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. It was about this time that the long duel between Britain and France was over.

7. Background knowledge • The Channel Tunnel Project • The Channel Tunnel Project is the scheme for an under-ocean tunnel linking Britain and France, which has been discussed on governmental levels for almost 200 years. • The first proposal for a Channel Tunnel came in 1802 from a French engineer. Napoleon showed interest, but the renewal of the war suspended the question, which, however, was taken up again and again throughout the nineteenth century. The proponents of the project were generally French, with the British government holding off for security reasons.

8. Background knowledge • In the early 1880s, digging actually began near Folkestone, Kent, England, and Sangate, France. A pilot tunnel 2000 yards long was bored from the English side before a rage from the press over the alleged threat to Britain’s security caused the British government to cancel the project.

9. Background knowledge • The defence considerations remained decisive until the 1950s, when the missile age made it appear obsolete. The Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed and it published in 1960 a proposal for a rail tunnel from Folkstone to Calais. In 1964 the two governments agreed to proceed with a rail tunnel. After frequent extensions of the estimated completion date, with costs constantly rising, the British government cancelled the project early in 1975, leaving two and a half kilometers of preliminary digging on both sides of the Channel. In 1978 the matter of a Channel crossing was again raised.

10. Background knowledge • At long last, construction began again in December 1978, and after sever years of unremitting toil, the Chunnel was completed at the cost of 13.5 billion dollars.

11. Types of the text • The text is a feature report which introduces one of the significant transport construction projects in the modern history of European architecture. This report includes different opinions toward the Chunnel, the opinions of the local residents of both sides of the English Channel, as well as the comments of the construction tunnellers.

12. Structure of the text • The text consists of two parts: • Part I describes the attitudes of the English and the French people towards the Chunnel; • Part II describes briefly the breakthrough ceremony for the south running tunnel.

13. Style of the text • The text follows the organization of a typical journalistic feature report: • a) A short opening paragraph sets the scene, in which the thesis is stated in the second sentence:” For the first time since the ice age, England was about to be linked to France.” • b) Immediately following the opening paragraph is the unbiased presentation of the opinions of both English and French local residents across the English Channel.

14. Style of the text • c) The text then proceeds with the reporting of the officially scheduled Chunnel inauguration to show the determination and initiative endeavour of the British and French Governments to connect Britain with the rest of Europe, in order to emphasize the significance of the project. • d) After the intentional delay to create suspense, the author introduces the tunnel proper and the historical contributions and benefits of this tunnel thoroughfare.

15. Style of the text • e) Much of the report, then, is devoted to the real-time account of the exciting work at the breakthrough site of the Chunnel, an account based on the author’s personal experience and first-hand information. • F) The report ends up with revealing the business worries on the part of the Chunnel authorities, who were concerned with, but not without hope, the business of the tunnel transport: promotion work was expected to facilitate the effective use of the Chunnel on the part of the French population.

16. Questions • How did the English and the French people look at the Chunnel, joyously or resentfully? Why do you think so? • How do you visualize the breakthrough ceremony? Exercise your imagination.

17. Detailed Study of the StoryPart I Paragraph 1—7 • Question 1: • What did an English couple say about the French people, and what did a Frenchman say about the English people? Why do you think they showed a mutual feeling of dislike?

18. An English retired civil servant said that he’d rather have England become the 51st state of the U.S.A. than have his country linked to France. He added that the French didn’t care for anybody. His wife said that France was an awful place and that the French people drank wine all the time. She disliked French food and preferred to have English sauce with her food. In the meantime, a French farmer complained about English ketchup and about their not having any good wine. The British and the French disliked each other because there had been long years of conflict between the two countries.

19. Detailed Study of the Story • 1.… not two miles from the soon-to-be-opened English Channel Tunnel,… • Compound adjectives • 1) the soon-to-be-opened English Channel Tunnel (lines 1-2) means “that is to be opened soon” • e.g. an easy-to-perform trick • a difficult-to-use camera • the soon-to-be-completed Metro • 2) Gull-wing means “like the wings of the gull”. • e.g. a baby-food store • a mountain-top hut • city-reconstruction discussions

20. 3) Cross-Channel-link means “building a link that crosses the Channel”. • e.g. a keep-fit-class schedule • a cross-border-raid threat • 4) 31-mile-long • e.g. a ten-year-old boy • a three-inch-thick book • a 3-hour-long journey

21. … stiff upper lips trembled: • (keep/carry/ have) a stiff upper lip: (show)the ability to appear calm and unworried when in pain, trouble, etc（遇痛苦、困难等时）（表现）沉着而坚强的能力，咬紧牙关。 • e.g. The prisoners tried hard to keep a stiff upper lip in spite of the hardships of the prison. • We managed to keep a stiff upper lip when the company announced that they would close down our office. • One failure means nothing. You've got to keep a stiff upper lip. • 此短语用板起的脸孔替换隐藏悲伤或害怕这种性格特征，使用了metonymy（换喻，转喻）的修辞手法。 • Metonymy: It’s substituting the name of one thing for that of another with which it’s closely associated. Thus the crown can stand for a king, and the White House for the American government, the bottle for wine or alcohol, and the bar for the legal profession. When metonymy is well used, brevity and vividness may be achieved:

22. 英语中的metonymy和另外两个修辞格synecdoche和antonomasia都是不直接说出事物的本来名称，而换用另一个名称或另一个说法。它们大体上相当于汉语的“借代”这一修辞格。如city（城市）代替“城市居民”；crown（王冠）喻指君主、王权、王国政府等；doll（玩具）往往可以喻指姑娘，宝贝儿等。英语中的metonymy和另外两个修辞格synecdoche和antonomasia都是不直接说出事物的本来名称，而换用另一个名称或另一个说法。它们大体上相当于汉语的“借代”这一修辞格。如city（城市）代替“城市居民”；crown（王冠）喻指君主、王权、王国政府等；doll（玩具）往往可以喻指姑娘，宝贝儿等。 • 1）秃头站在白背心的略略正对面，弯了腰，去研究背心上的文字。（鲁迅《示众》） • Baldy, standing almost directly opposite WhiteJerkin, stooped to study the characters written on his jerkin. • 3）His wife spent all her life on the stage.(= theatrical profession) • 他的妻子在舞台上度过了一生。（=戏剧工作，表演艺术）

23. 4）Paper and ink cut the throats of men, and the sound of a breath many shake the world.(=written words;speech) • 纸墨能割断人的喉管，嗓音能震动整个世界。（纸墨=写几个字）；（嗓音=说几句话） • 5）The pen is mightier than the sword.笔杆子比刀剑更有力。（=文章） • 6）His joke set the whole table in a roar.他的笑话引起满座哄堂大笑。（桌子代替一桌人）

24. 课文中用代表英国人的性格特征的面部特征代替英国人，这种一局部代表全部课文中用代表英国人的性格特征的面部特征代替英国人，这种一局部代表全部 • 的方法称为（Synecdoche提喻法，举隅法）When a part is substituted for the whole • or the whole is substituted for a part, synecdoche is applied: • 1）Many hands make light work.人多好办事。（synecdoche---- 用手代替人） • 2）He had to earn his daily bread by doing odd jobs. • 3）Some mute inglorious Shelly here may rest. • 某个沉默的、无名诗人也许在此长眠。（antonomasia----用雪莱代替诗人）

25. 3. An ice age is any point of several periods when glaciers, especially in the form of great ice sheets, covered more of the earth’s surface than they do today.冰川期. Each ice age lasted at least three million years, most of the earlier ones lasted more than 10 million years. Today we live in a warm period during or just after the Quaternary ice age 第四纪冰川期which was in the Pleistocene Epoch更新世，beginning 2.5 million years ago. It’s believed that all of the early development of humans came during this last ice age and civilization has come into existence as its result. “For the first time since the world began to exist” clearly this is an exaggeration.

26. 4. I’d rather England become the 51st state…. (Grammar) • e.g. I’d rather you stayed with us over the weekend. • He’d rather John hadn’t called on him • 5. … a retired civil servant with a complexion the color of ruby port. • Civil servant: a person employed in the civil service or the government departments.公务员，文职人员 • Para: … a retired government official whose face is red colored, typical of a person living by the sea. • A completion 与the color of ruby port 为同位语。

27. 6. He nodded toward the steel gray Channel out the window, his pale blue eyes filled with foreboding. • He nodded…his pale blue eyes filled with foreboding—a nominative absolute • construction • e.g. The work done, we left the office with a light heart. • The last bus having gone, we had to walk home. • It being a holiday, the park was crowded with people. • 一．独立主格结构含义 • 独立主格结构，又叫独立结构（absolute construction）。它在句法上游离于句子主体之外，跟主句没有任何句法联系；但在意义上却与主句紧密联系在一起，共同构成一个完整的语义环境。独立主格结构没有主语和谓语，只有逻辑上的主语，因此，它在句法上不是句子，而是一个独立于句子成分之外的独特结构形式。 • 独立主格结构可置于句首、句尾，用逗号与主句隔开。

28. 二、独立主格结构的形式 • 独立主格结构可分为两部分，一部分是名词或代词（主格），起着逻辑主语的作用；另一部分由形容词、副词、名词、分词、不定式、介词短语等构成，表示前面名词或代词的状态、状况或动作。 • 1）名词／代词＋形容词 • I heard that she got injured in the accident，my heart full of worry． • 我听说她在这场事故中受了伤，内心充满担忧。 • He stood silent in the moon-light，his door open． • 月光下，门开着，他默默地站立在那。

29. 2）名词／代词＋现在分词 • Winter coming，it gets colder and colder．冬天来了，天气越来越冷了。 • The rain having stopped ，he went out for a walk．雨停了，他出去散步。 • 3）名词／代词＋过去分词 • More time given，we should have done it much better． • 如果给我们更多的时间，我们会做得更好。 • The boy stood there，his right hand raised．那个男生站在那里，右手高举。

30. 4）名词／代词（主格）＋不定式 • Here are the first two volumes，the third one to come out next month． • 这是前两卷，第三卷将于下月问世。 • The two boys said good-bye to each other，one to go home，the other to go to his friend's． • 两个男孩彼此道了别，一个回了家，另一个去了他朋友家。 • 5）名词／代词十介词短语 • The huntsman entered the forest，gun in hand．那位猎人手里提着枪走进了树林。注意：这里，gun in hand还可以说成with a gun in his hand，但不可以说a gun in hand或gun in his hand。

31. 6）名词／代词十副词 • Nobody in，the thief took a lot of things away． • 由于没有人，小偷拿走了许多东西。 • Lunch over，he left the house．But he was thinking． • 午饭结束，他离开屋。但他还在考虑。 • 7）名词／代词＋名词 • He fought the wolf，a stick his only weapon． • 他和狼搏斗着，唯一的武器是一根棍棒。

32. 8）with复合结构 • 它的构成是：“with ＋ 宾语 ＋ 宾语补足语”。宾语由代词、名词、名词词组充当，宾补由分词、不定式、形容词、副词、介词短语、名词等充当。 • Holms and Watson sat with the light on for half an hour． • 福尔摩斯和沃森坐着，让灯亮了半个小时。（介词短语） • He used to sleep with the door open．他过去常开着门睡觉。（形容词） • With a boy leading the way，they started towards the village．由一个小男孩领着路，他们朝那个村子去了。（现在分词） • With the work done，he went home．工作做完后，他回了家。（过去分词）

33. 7．… , as the gull-wing eyebrows shot upward. • Para: when he raised his eyebrows suddenly which were as thick as the wings of a seagull. • 此处gull-wing eyebrows为一暗喻，比喻老人的眉毛浓密。 • 8. … the entente was scarcely more cordiale… • Entente and cordiale are both French words meaning “understanding” and “friendly” respectively.

34. The meaning of sentence: The understanding on the other side of the Channel was hardly more friendly, in other words, the understanding is just as unfriendly. The use is a reference to a historical event. As was mentioned before, conflicts between Britain and France had been incessant for centuries. At the end of the nineteenth century, Britain and France were again on the verge of war. In 1901, however, things took a turn for the better, as King VII of Great Britain was a Francophile (i.e., a person who is friendly to France). The way was opened for agreements between the two countries, and the Entente Cordiale, a friendly understanding, was arrived at.

35. 修辞手法：allusion • Allusion is a short, informal reference to a famous person or event: • Angry young man • ［义］愤怒的青年 • ［源］据英国文学史，愤怒的青年源出L.A 保罗(Leslie Allen Paul)的一本同名自传，后因剧作家约翰．奥斯本的剧本《愤怒的回顾》（Looking Back in Anger）而流传。今指战后英国对社会现有体制不满的一代青年。 • ［例］I don’t want to the convention to think we’re just a collection of angry young men.(J.F.Kennedy) • 我不愿这次会议将我们视作只是一群愤怒的青年。

36. Alice-in-Wonderland • ［义］想入非非的；不合逻辑的；自相矛盾的 • ［源］出自英国著名作家刘易斯．卡洛尔（Lewis Carroll）的同名小说《爱丽丝漫游奇境记》(Alice in Wonderland) • ［例］This is an Alice-in Wonderland approach to the problem. • 这种研究问题的方法实在是太想入非非了。 • ［注］常作形容词用

37. Apple of his eye • ［义］瞳仁；珍爱的人（物）。（古人认为瞳仁像苹果一样，是固体圆球，对于人十分宝贵，故用比喻珍贵之人或物） • ［源］当耶和华发现雅各(Jacob)“在旷野荒凉野兽吼叫之地，就环绕他，看顾他，如同保护眼中的瞳仁”。（《圣经．申命记》） “in the waste howling wilderness he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye”.(Bible.Deut.32:10) • ［例］I sacrificed everything to make you happy and safe. I won’t talk about your father, but you, you were the apple of my eyes. • 为了使你生活平安幸福，我曾牺牲了一切，我不谈你父亲，但你，你那时是我的宝贝。（B．考卜斯：《彼得曼的梦》）

38. 9. a village a beet field away from the French terminal: a village which is only a short distance away from the French terminal. • A beet field is a field where beet, a root vegetable, is planted; it can’t be very big.

39. 10. All they eat is ketchup. • Ketchup: Ketchup is a Chinese word in origin. In the Amoy dialect of southeastern China, koechiap means 'brine of fish.' It was acquired by English, probably via Malay kichap, toward the end of the 17th century, when it was usually spelled catchup (the New Dictionary of the Canting Crew 1690 defines it as 'a high East-India Sauce'). Shortly afterward the spelling catsup came into vogue (Jonathan Swift is the first on record as using it, in 1730), and it remains the main form in American English. But in Britain ketchup has gradually established itself since the early 18th century.

40. 11. A tiny explosion of air from pursed lips, then the coup de grace. • Pursed lips: 噘起的嘴巴 • Coup de grace: (French) a decisive finishing blow致命的一击

41. Paragraph 8 • 12. … bye grace of one of the engineering feats of the century, for rich or poorer, better worse, England and France are getting hitched. • by grace of: due to, by the favour of. The usual phrase is by the grace of God, meaning “owing to the favour shown by God”. • for richer or poorer, better or worse: Whether one likes it or not; whatever happens.

42. The literal meaning of the two phrases is: “on terms of accepting all results”, or “it’s not certain what the consequences will be, but they will have to be accepted, because the action has been taken.” • Para: Thanks to one of the remarkable construction achievements of the 20th century, whether one likes it or not, England and France are on the way of getting geographically connected.

43. 13. Queen Elizabeth of Britain: Elizabeth II (1926- ), queen of the United Kingdom (1952- ) • 14. President Francois Mitterrand: (1916-1996) became President of France in May 1981. • 15.inaugurate: • a.When a new leader is inaugurated, they are formally given their new position at an official ceremony. • e.g.The new president will be inaugurated on January 20. • b.When a new building or institution is inaugurated, it is declared open in a formal ceremony. • e.g.A new center for research on toxic waste was inaugurated today at our university. • c.It you inaugurate a new system or service, you start it. • e.g.Pan Am inaugurated the first scheduled international flight.

44. Question 2 • With help of the information given in the notes, explain the following: • 1)200 years of failed cross-Channel-link schemes, and • 2)1,000 years of historical rift. • 1):The Channel Tunnel Project had been discussed between Britain and France on governmental levels for almost two hundred years. It was in 1802 that the first proposal for a Channel Tunnel was put forward the nineteenth century and for the most part of the twentieth century. It did not come to fruition until the last decade of the twentieth century. • 2) Beginning with Norman Conquest in 1066 until the early nineteenth century, there had been incessant conflicts between Great Britain and France. All in all there was a rift between the two countries for about one thousand years.(See the details in the notes)

45. 16.…sweeping aside 200 years of failed cross-Channel-link schemes, 1000 years of historical rift, and 8000 years of geographic divide: • para: according to the theory of geological evolution, the ecologically important land bridge across the Strait of Dover was finally submerged about 8000 years ago. • 此处使用了层进(climax)的修辞手法，历史年代的逐步追溯使读者对这一共曾的 • 重大意义印象深刻；这种按照词义的轻重深浅，逐层依次递进，最后达到顶点的 • 修辞手段，可以逐步加深读者印象，迅速达到高潮，最后揭示主旨，往往使文章文才斐然，震撼人心。

46. Paragraph 9 • Question 3 • How will the Chunnel facilitate the transport between Great Britain and France, or rather, between Great Britain and other European countries? • It will greatly facilitate the transport between Great Britain and France. For example, for a motorist to cross the English Channel, he can use the Chunnel Shuttle Service and cross the Channel in only 35 minutes, as against 90 minutes by ferry before. The through service provided by Eurostar passenger trains takes only 3 hours to travel from London to Paris, and 3 hours 10 minutes from London to Brussels, Belgium.

47. Paragraph 10 • How do you understand the following sentence? • 17.The chunnel rewrites geography, at least in the English psyche. The moat has been breached. Britain no longer is an island. • Answer:

48. The English Chunnel had served as a barrier to invasion of Britain for centuries, and invasion by tunnel was at one time “the ultimate British nightmare”(National Geographic, May 1994,p. 39). As a matter of fact, whenever the idea of a link between the two countries emerged, there also appeared visions of invasion, and proposals for a link simply foundered. But the completion of the Chunnel has now joined Britain to the European continent. In other words, Britain is no longer an island. Thus the geographical condition is completely changed, especially to the British people. • Para: As far as the British are concerned, the Chunnel has changed the geographical pattern which long separated Britain from Continental Europe.

49. Part II • Paragraph 1 • Question 5 • How did the author of the article get the opportunity of witnessing the • breakthrough ceremony for the south running tunnel? • The author, Cathy Newman, is a senior staff member of the National Geographic magazine. Being a journalist, she was presumably invited to attend and to cover the breakthrough ceremony, as there were also several dozen other journalists going with her. • 18.It’s June 28, 1991, and I’m packed into a train • Para: the historical present which adds vividness and dramatic and lifelike quality to the description.

50. Paragraph 2 • Question 6 • Why did one of the visitors say “makes you appreciate British Rail”? • It’s because the construction workers’ train which took them down the tunnel screeched in a dreadful way, whereas the British Rail passenger trains would not make such noise. • 19. The Chunnel is a work in progress. • In progress: being done or made.进行中 • e.g. An inquiry is in progress.调查工作此刻正在进行中。 • Para: the Chunnel is under construction. • 20. White dust fills the air. • Para: Characteristic of the land on the English side of the English Channel arewhite cliffs of chalk, therefore the white dust.