Unit 12 (Text I)

A Winter to Remember

Pre-reading discussion:

• G1. What’s your favorite season? Write down a few poetic sentences to describe it.

• G2. What’s your memorable winter? What made it so special? Share with us your experiences.

• G3. What does the title of the text suggest to you? Make your own predictions about the contents of the text.

Main idea and supporting details of the text

(finish reading in 3 minutes)

Main details:

• Time:• early January to late March• Place: • in the depth of the country• Events:• Unpleasant memories:• Outside:• 1. beautiful snow scene turned into

ugly sight• 2. birds growing tamer and waiting at

the doorstep• 3. water frozen almost instantly

Main details:

• Inside: • 1. central heating inadequate and

unco-operative; oil-stoves unavailable

• 2. draught coming in through windows, doors and holes in the walls

• 3. water-pipes frozen• 4. sitting inside in overcoats

Main details:

• One good thing:• eggs not broken when dropped• The thaw: • water squirting from pipes

bringing about a “flood”

Language Points:

• 1. depth: 1>a deep part or place:• the ocean depths• in the depths of the forest• 2>. the most profound or intense

part or stage • the depth of despair;

Language Points:

• 3> intensity; force• I had not realized the depth of thei

r feelings for one another.• 4> the severest or worst part• in the depth of an economic depre

ssion• 5> the range of one's understandi

ng or competence• I am out of my depth when it com

es to cooking.

Language Points:

• 2. rambling: • a large rambling country estate

(extended over an irregular area; sprawling)

• a rambling speech (lengthy and digressive)

Language Points:

• 3. set in• 1> to insert:• set in the sleeve of a gown.• 2> to begin to happen or be appar

ent• Evening was setting in as I took t

he road over Mountain Top.

Language Points:

• 4. grip:1>a tight hold; a firm grasp:

• a drowning swimmer now safely in the grip of a lifeguard

• 2> intellectual hold; understanding

• He has a good grip on French history.

Language Points:

• 3> control; management• He kept a firm grip on his childre

n.• come to grips with 努力对付；认

真谈论 (= get to grips with)• a grip of steel 紧握 , 紧抓不放• be at grips with 与 ... 搏斗 [ 扭作

一团 ]• bring to grips with 使 ... 面临 ...

Text II

January Wind

As the wind goes….

January Wind

Sunny or Windy today?

If wind has color….

(Group Discussion)

Phrases about “wind”

• high wind / biting wind

• brave the wind

• break wind

• wind and weather

• find out how /which way the wind blows first

• get wind of

• gone with the wind

• take the wind of sb.

• Wind is in that quarter.

Paragraph One

Group Work

Topics for Discussion:

• 1. find out words meaning “to make a sound” and explain them

• 2. find out figures of speech used in this paragraph

• 3. paraphrase: On a sunny day it can pause in a sheltered spot and breathe a promise of spring and violets.

• 4. translate the paragraph

Words about “making a sound”

• 1. scream: to utter a long, loud, piercing cry, as from pain or fear

• Jet planes screamed through the air.

• 2. bellow: to make a deep roaring sound characteristic of a bull

• ‘Go away!’ he bellowed angrily.• bellow with rage• bellow out [forth] a laugh

Words about “making a sound”

• 3. whisper: soft speech produced without full voice (a low rustling sound)

• The wind whispered in the pines.• 4. sing a lullaby: • lullaby: a soothing song with

which to lull a child to sleep

Words about “making a sound”

• 5. roar: to utter a loud, deep, prolonged sound, especially in distress, rage, or excitement

• The lion gave a loud roar.• roar with laughter [pain]• roar oneself hoarse• roar sb. down

Words about “making a sound”

• 6. shout: to say with or utter a loud, strong cry

• The old lady shouted at the boy.• 7. murmur: to make a low,

continuous, indistinct sound or succession of sounds

• The child murmured in her sleep.

Words about “to make a sound”

• 8. whistle: to produce a high-pitched sound when moving swiftly through the air

• The stone whistled past my head.

Figures of Speech

• 1. personification: a figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form

• Hunger sat shivering on the road.• Flowers danced on the lawn.

Figures of Speech

• 2. parallelism: a deliberate repetition of words or sentence structures for effect

• She tried to make her pastry fluffy, sweet and delicate. (parallelism of words)

• Perch are inexpensive; card are cheap; trout are abundant; but salmon are best. (parallelism of clauses)

Figures of Speech

• 3. metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another

• “All the world's a stage.” (Shakespeare)

paraphrase

• On a sunny day it can pause in a sheltered spot and breathe a promise of spring and violets.

• On a day when the sun is shinning, the wind can stop in a sheltered place. It can be warm and gentle, and it promises the coming of spring and the blooming of violets.

Translation http://www.bilinguist.com/data/hy02/messages/78843.html

• 一月的风有百种声音。它时而尖声呼叫，时而大声咆哮，时而柔声细语，时而哼起轻柔的摇篮曲；它时而怒吼着冲过光秃的橡树，呐喊着冲下山谷，时而登上爬满苔藓的悬崖峭壁，在松林间喃喃自语；它时而吹着口哨沿烟囱而下，让炉膛的火苗欢蹦乱跳。在阳光明媚的日子，它会在屋檐下驻足，喃喃低语：春天的脚步近了，紫罗兰就要盛开了；在寂寞的寒夜，它会来到窗沿，敲开窗户，轻声提醒人们：明天会有冰冻，道旁会有雪堆，池塘会冻结。

Group Work:

• For the following paragraphs, students try to translate them in groups and then a heated discussion on the translated versions is followed.

For more details of the translationConsult:

http://www.bilinguist.com/data/hy02/messages/78843.html