Unit 36 My First lass

• Expressions  • 1. Expressions for education systems: • group, class, grade (form in British elementary and

secondary education), elementary (or primary) / secondary / tertiary education…

• 2. Expressions for educational functions:• nursery, kindergarten, play centre, day-care centre,

kindie, elementary / primary schools (the former AmE, the latter BrE), junior high school / senior high school (AmE), middle school / high school (Chinese), comprehensive school (BrE), grammar school / public school, college, university, academy, school (for professionals such as school of engineering / law / medicine, etc.), vocational school / institute, institute (for education or research)…

• 3. Expressions for people involved in education:• pre-school children, pupil, student, nurse, teacher,

headmaster, principal, lecturer, assistant lecturer, associate professor, professor, president (in tertiary education), chancellor (BrE), counsellor, (university students: freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior), undergraduate, postgraduate, researcher, school-leavers (BrE), graduates (AmE), drop-outs…

• 4. Expressions for school organisations:• teaching group, department, centre, unit, school,

branch, office, general service / logistic department

• 5. Expressions for school facilities:• gymnasium (gym), playground, classroom, library

(school / departmental), laboratory, canteen / dining room, hostel, clinic, accounts department, bookstore, theatre hall, classroom building, administrative building, student dormitory / hall of residence, teachers' residential area…

• 6. Expressions for school activities:• lecture (n. / v.), discussion, seminar (n.), demonstrate

(v.), demonstration (n.), presentation, perform / make / do / carry out an experiment, attend, pass / fail / take (exams, courses) / sit exams, sit for (an exam, mainly BrE), earn credits, do well / badly in exams, revise / review lessons, take notes…

• Listening • Friday afternoon

• 1. He sat in the front next to the door because he wanted to leave the lecture hall quickly when the bell rang.

• 2. The boys attending the lecture would not be able to go to college because they were not good at lessons.

• 3. Peter's rat got out and it caused an upheaval at the back of the hall. Boys were shouting, bending over, and jumping up and down. No one was paying any attention to the lecturer.

• 4. The rat ran for the Careers man, who threw himself forward and clutched it with both hands. Peter rescued his rat from the Careers man's clutch and slipped it into the pocket of his jacket.

• Text My First Class• 1. What kind of class do you think is a problem class

for the teacher? List at least three things that the problem class would do.

• 2. What method would you recommend to the teacher to handle such a class? Punishment or what?

• 3. What would be the difficulties facing a new teacher in a problem class?

• Main Idea    　　• Miss Slade, a new teacher, had to take over a

problem class. Her colleague, Martin, offered to introduce her to the class. Upon entering the classroom, they saw a boy throwing a book at another student. As usual, Martin used corporal punishment which aroused hostility among the students. Miss Slade was shocked by the brutality of the teacher and made attempts to remedy the situation.

• What Martin did in class: • When finding out who the trouble-maker was,

Martin taunted him with sarcastic remarks and warned the other students. He took the opportunity to show the new teacher how powerful and effective he was in putting down any trouble in class.

• What Miss Slade did to save the situation: • First she looked at Riccio sympathetically, noting his

pale look and ill-fitting clothes and later when the poor boy returned to class she showed her disgust for Martin's brutality although she did not say anything. Then, she made attempts to divert the students' attention from the incident by asking them to stop talking, but to no avail. Then, at the suggestion of a student, she took the roll call to get the attention of the class and she finally got the students to listen. All along she was very friendly and talked humorously, hoping to amuse them and thus regaining their trust.

• Corporal punishment … the middle of the term. • [summary] The story is set against the background

of a boys' high school. The narrator is going to teach a "problem class" which means, the boys in this class have serious discipline problems and do badly.

• corporal: a. of the body           n. (army) lowest noncommissioned officer (below a sergeant) corporal punishment: punishment by beating, whipping etc.

• used to: If something 'used to' happen, it happened regularly in the past. Similarly, if something 'used to' be the case, it was the case in the past.

• She used to tell me stories about people in India and Egypt.I used to be frightened sometimes.

• deal with: when you 'deal with' a situation or problem, you do what is necessary to achieve the result you want.

• They learned to deal with any sort of emergency.• If a book, speech, or film 'deals with' a particular

subject, it is concerned with it.The film deals with a strange encounter between two soldiers.[idiom] deal in: If someone 'deals in' a particular type of goods, they sell them.He dealt in all domestic commodities.The shop deals only in trousers.

• disaster: n. great misfortune disastrous: a. causing disaster

• a defeat that was disastrous to the country• approach: v. to come near to, to compare with

Footsteps approached the cell in the darkness.Few writers can even approach Shakespeare in greatness.

• 1. The school was now thudding … into classrooms. • [paraphrase] • The school was noisy with all the disturbance as the boys

moved out of the assembly hall in a continuous flow.'Thudding with activity' indicates that the noises made by the boys moving out of the assembly hall could be heard even inside the teachers' office.

• thud: n. dull sound as of a blow on sth. soft           v. to strike, fall with a thud

• I could hear him thudding about upstairs in his heavy boots.• At night, we can hear the sound of branches thudding against

the walls of the hut.• The car hit the child with a thud.• stream: v. to flow or move as a stream

Sweat streamed down his face.People were streaming out of the station.

• assembly hall: meeting place

• 2. There you are [grammatical point] 'Inversion' means putting the verb before the subject. If there is no auxiliary, 'do', 'does' or 'did' is added.

• Only yesterday did I realize what was going on.• In the other sort of inversion, called complete

inversion, the whole verb comes before the subject; 'do' and 'did' are not used.

• Round the corner came a milk-van.• Sometimes when 'here' and 'there' is put in the

beginning of a sentence, the whole verb is put before the subject.Here comes the bus.There goes the vicar!There's a man at the door.Note that inversion is not used if the subject is a pronoun.Here she comes!

• 3. And if you do, I'm in Upper 6th B. Punishment is swift and painful. 

• [paraphrase] • And if you do have any trouble, you can go and look

for me in 6th B. What Mr. Martin means by punishment is corporal punishment as will be told later in the story. This remark reflects Martin's philosophy of education. He believes that corporal punishment, administered immediately and inflicting pain on the troublemaker, is effective in correcting a boy's misbehavior although it is painful.

• 1. wing: n. part of a building that stretches out to one side from the main part 边房，建筑物的侧翼

• 2 ． The door stood .. class to the other. • [paraphrase] • From the open door Miss Slade caught sight of what

was going on inside the classroom• The door stood open...

[grammatical point] v. + a.Some verbs can be followed by adjectives, when we are really describing the subject of the sentence, and not the action of the verb. This often happens in descriptions with 'sit', 'stand', 'lie'.The valley lay quiet and peaceful in the sun.She sat motionless, waiting for their decision.

• onto: to a position on, facingThey came out of the garden onto a brightly-lit street.

• scene: The noun 'scene' has several meanings.It can refer to a part of a play, film, or novel.... the balcony scene from 'Romeo and Juliet'.It was like some scene from a Victorian novel.

• The scene of an accident or crime is the place where it happened.They were only a few miles from the scene of the crime.

• You can indicate your impression of the things that are happening in a place at a particular time by inferring to them as a scene of a particular kind.The moon rose over a scene of extraordinary destruction

• The word 'scene' in the text suggests that there is something unusual about the situation inside the classroom. The view is unusual because it is the narrator first class, furthermore, the class is not an ordinary one, but a 'problem' one. She is anticipating something unusual happening inside.

• boyish: a. like a boy similar words are: girlish, childish, etc.

• pandemonium: n. scene of wild and noisy disorder Pandemonium reigned in the classroom until the teacher came.There was pandemonium when the news was announced.

• missile: n. object or weapon that is thrown or discharged Missiles thrown at the police included stones and bottles.

• 1. grind one's jaws: to press or rub sth. firmlyHe ground his jaw in frustration. 

• 2. you bastard: Bastard is an insulting word addressed to someone who you think is mean, vicious, etc.. One uses it when one gets extremely angry. It is not a suitable word to use before the students at all. This reflects that Mr. Martin himself is not well-bred, and that he despises the students, showing them no respect at all.

• The boy got to his feet, in no special hurry.• [paraphrase] • The boy stood up slowly. It suggests that the boy was

reluctant to follow Mr. Martin's order as he must know that it meant corporal punishment for him.get to one's feet: to stand up

• 3. He was long, … too short.  • [paraphrase] • The boy looked ill-nourished and poorly dressed. The

inclusion of this detail points up Miss Slade's sympathy for the students. She was an entirely different type of teacher from Martin.

• sallow: a. (of the human skin or complexion) an unhealthy yellow color           v. to make or become sallow He looks very sallow after his illness.Some words about the colour of hair and skin:black    dark   brunette / brunet 深色的 swarthy 黝黑的 white fair    light   grey blond     blonde   pale    tan 晒成棕褐色 sunburn   red   weatherbeaten 饱经风霜的 freckle auburn 赤褐色

• blazer: clothes for school

• 4. apprehend: v. to understand, fear apprehensible: a. capable of being apprehended apprehension: n. apprehensive: a.

• content: 'Content' can be used as a noun, an adjective, or a verb.

• Used as a plural noun:The contents of something (such as a box or room) are things inside it. Note that...pouring out the contents of the bag.'contents' is a plural noun. You cannot talk about 'a content'.The contents of something (such as a document or tape) are the things written in it or recorded on it.He knew by heart the contents of the note.

• Used as an uncountable noun:The content of something such as a speech, piece of writing, or television programme is the information it gives, or the ideas or opinions expressed in it.I was disturbed by the content of some of the speeches.

• Used as an adjective:If you are content to do something or are content with something, you are willing to do it, have it, or accept it.A few teachers were content to pay the fines.Children are not content with the explanation.

• If you are content, you are happy and satisfied. 'Content' is not used with this meaning in front of a noun.However hard up they are, they stayed content.

• You can also use 'content' to say that someone is happy and satisfied. 'Contented' can be used in front of a noun or after a verb....firms with a loyal and contented labour force,For ten years they lived like this and were perfectly contented.

• reluctantly: ad. unwillingly reluctant: a. reluctance: n. After much thought, we reluctantly agreed.She made a great show of reluctance, but finally accepted our offer.

• quiver: v. to tremble slightly The moth quivered its wing.Quivering with rage she slammed the door shut.

• genuine: a. true, really what it is said to be This picture has proved to be genuine and not a copy.He seems to have a genuine interest in helping the children.

• Martin allowed a dramatic … behind Riccio. • [paraphrase] After Riccio went out of the classroom, Martin deliberately

stopped for some time to let his act of authority be felt more strongly by the students as well asMiss Slade. In fact he was not just displaying his authority to intimidate the students but also to impress the new teacher how powerful he was. This description vividly depicts what kind of person Martin was.

• dramatic: a. of drama, sudden or exciting, like an event in a stage play Dramatic changes have taken place in the international situation.

• I felt eager to … kept their eyes down. • [paraphrase] • I felt eager to tell him that I didn't understand why the

boys should carry the scars for life for just being childish. But the boys understand quite well from previous experience that Martin's question needn't any answer at all: he was not questioning the boys whether they understood or not but was making a very strong statement that they should understand fully what would be at stake if they dared to disregard his order.

• a rhetorical question: one asks for the sake of effect, to impress people, not because an answer is needed or expected

• brighten: v. to make or become brighter, or lighter, more cheerful, etc. These pictures brightened the room. The sky is brightening. [word formation] a. + -en --- v.eg. darken, sadden, lighten, quicken, etc..

• bring along: to come together with [idioms] bring about: to cause to happen bring up: to rear

• train: v. to aim train on: to point or aim at sb. or sth.He trained a gun upon the enemy's positions.

• I smiled. No one smiled back, … on my face. • [paraphrase] • I was left in an embarrassing situation because my smile was

met with a cold response from the students. It froze on my face just like a stranded boat washed to the shore unable to go back to the sea.

• strand: v. to run ground, be left in difficulties, helpless, without money, friends, etc. He was stranded in a foreign country.  

• expect:cf. expect sb. to do sth.  expect + that-clauseIf you say 'I expect John will come to the meeting', you are expressing a simple belief. If you say 'I expect John to come to the meeting', you are indicating that you want John to come to the meeting, and that you will be annoyed or disappointed if he does not come.

• co-operation: n. working together for a common purpose co-operative: a. co-operate: v.

• behave: v. to act He has behaved shamefully toward his wife.[idiom] behave oneself: to be polite behavior: the way someone behaves

• circumstance: condition [idioms] under the circumstances under no circumstances

• trouble-maker: someone who makes trouble trouble:Did you have any trouble finding your way here?

• You do not say that someone has trouble to do something.

• leave ... to I'll leave it to you.  

• The boys straggled … left the room. • [paraphrase] • To show respect for the teacher, the students usually

stand up when the teacher comes in or leaves. Here, boys rose to their feet very reluctantly, which shows their hostility to Martin.

• straggle: v. to spread in an irregular manner The crowd straggled along. A wisp of hair straggled across her ear. Weeds straggled over the garden.

• behind: n. (colloq.) buttocks He kicked the boy's behind.

• agony: n. great pain He lay in agony until the doctor arrived.He suffered agonies from his broken arm.The driver was in an agony of sorrow because he knocked down the girl.

• My eyes .. my first battered child. • [paraphrase] • Miss Slade was very horrified by Martin's brutality to be able to conceal her

anger at him and her sympathies for Riccio.• amount to: to add up to , to be equal to

His debts amounted to $400.What he said amounted to very little.

• batter: v. to strike hard, beat very severely, often with something heavy He battered his wife almost to death.[synonyms]beat: n. regular repeated stroke or sound of this; v. to strike the bodyHer heart beat were getting weaker.I heard the beat of a drum.blow: n. a hard stroke which hurts The blow to his head must have been made from behind.

• be exposed to: The baby was left exposed to the wind and rain. 

• My feelings … capturing the hearts of 3B. • [paraphrase] • My feelings toward Martin went through very great

changes. At the beginning of the story, she respected him as Martin looked like a warm-hearted, caring and experienced teacher. But now, his brutality to his students made her think otherwise. The hostility now spreading all over the class destroyed all Slade's hopes to make friends with the students of 3B.

• sympathy: n. pity sympathetic: a.You say that someone is being sympathetic when they are kind to someone who has problems, and show that they understand their feelings.My boyfriend was very sympathetic and it did make me feel better.

• ...and some even threatening colorful fates for Martin.[paraphrase]

• ... some students even threatening to retaliate by making Martin suffer.

• fate: n. end, especially death go to one's fate: to be dead decide a person's fate  

• sea-change: great change• ripple: v. to move in small waves

I was excited at the sight of the corn rippling in the breeze.

• bugger: a slang expression, meaning 'destroy'. The word carries an intense feeling of dislike.

• chance: You talk about someone's chances of doing something . For example, if someone will probably achieve something. You can say that their chances of achieving it are good.What are your chances of becoming a doctor?Single women have relatively equal chances of achieving white-collar work.

• "I shall knock a few of their heads together, Miss," added the boy next to him. 

• [paraphrase] • I shall punish them by knocking their heads

together. The speaker is showing sympathy toward the teacher.

• knock together: to make sth. to strike togetherHe was so frightened that his knees knocked together.

• rapport: close relation be in rapport with: to be in close relation with Father and son have a great rapport.He is in a rapport with his pupils. 

• take names: roll-call While both of the terms mean the same thing, the former 'take name' is more colloquial than the latter 'roll-call'.  

• reach for: to stretch out one's hand and get sth.He reached for his gun.

• legend: n. words accompanying and explaining a map, picture, etc.

• inscribe: v. to write inscription: n.The famous singer inscribed his name in a book.

• pipe down: (colloq.) to be quiet cf. pipe up: (colloq.) to begin to play, sing or speak

• shriek: v. n. to scream She shrieked out a warning.

• "All right, you at the back with the sweet stuck to your collar, what's your name?"  

• [paraphrase] • Miss Slade was trying to amuse the students by

deliberately mentioning the fact that someone had stuck a sweet onto the boy's collar without his knowing it.She was being friendly and humorous so as to ease the tension in class.

• feel for: to search about with the handsHe felt in his pocket for a penny.He felt along the wall for the door.I had to feel about in the dark for the light switch.

• disgruntled: a. discontented be disgruntled at / about somethingbe disgruntled with somebodyShe's still disgruntled about missing the party.

• surname: that part of a person's name that is common to all members of his family

• amuse: v. to make laugh, to make time pass pleasantly amusing: a. making laugh or smileamusement: n. state of being amused, sth. that makes time pass pleasantly Everyone was amused by the story about the dog.To my great amusement his false beard fell off.

• accompany: to go with, happen or do at the same time, to support by using music If you accompany someone somewhere, you go there with them. In conversation, you say 'go with' or 'come with'.

• She asked me to accompany her to the church.I went with my friends to see what it looked like.

• However, there is no passive form of 'go with' and 'come with'. If you want to use a passive form, you must use 'accompany'.He was accompanied by Clare Boothe Luce, his second wife.She came out of the house accompanied by Mrs Jones.

• cf. continuous     continual'Continual' and 'continuous' can both be used to describe things which continue to happen or exist without stopping.... a continual movement of air.... the necessity for continual change.... a continuous loving relationship.

• 'Continual' can only be used in front of a noun. You do not use it after a verb.'Continuous' can be used either in front of a noun or after a verb.It is dangerous to circle the head round in one continuous movement.The change was gradual and by no means steady and continuous.

• If you are describing something undesirable which continues to happen or exist without stopping, it is better to use 'continual' rather than 'continuous'.Life is a continual struggle.It was sad to see her the victim of continual pain.

• 'Continual' can also be used to describe things which happen repeatedly.He still smoked despite the continual warnings of his nurse.Darcy's face was handsome though bloated by continual drinking.

• It is usually regarded as incorrect to use 'continuous' to describe things which happen repeatedly.

• Surely I did not have to teach them as well?  • [paraphrase] • Probably the previous teachers did not do much

teaching with the class. They either spent time punishing those trouble-makers or playing with the students. Miss Slade was exhausted trying to undo the harm Martin had done. She worked so hard to establish a friendly relationship with her students that she felt she had no more energy left to cope with her teaching. This sentence is something of a cry of self-pity as if she was saying to herself, "Oh, I've done so much already. How could I have any more energy to teach them as well?" 

• find out: If you find out that something is the case, you learn that it is the case.

• We found out that she was wrong.• In clauses beginning with 'when', 'before', or 'as soon as',

you can omit the object after 'find out'.When mother finds out, she'll divorce you.You want it to end before anyone finds out.As soon as I found out, I jumped into the car.

• If you find out some information that is difficult to obtain, you succeed in obtaining it.Have you found out who killed my husband?

• imagery: n. the use of images or figures of speech in writing

• In my opinion, Martin is not a good teacher. • 1.    He believed in corporal punishment, rather than a

humanistic method. He said “Punishment is swift and painful.” • 2.    Stand up, you bastard. (using an insulting term) • 3.    Do you throw books at home ... you’re not likely to

apprehend the contents any other way. (sarcastic remarks to hurt the boy)

• 4.    If I catch anyone else treating a book like that, that boy will carry the scars for the rest of his life. Is that understood? (threatening the class with corporal punishment)

• 5.    I will be taking a special interest in seeing how well, or how badly, you behave under the circumstances. I’ve told Miss Slade to send any trouble-makers direct to me (threatening the class by telling them that he would always be there to punish them if they dare misbehave).

• 6.    He beat Riccio in the corridor with the text book.

• In my opinion, Miss Slade is a good teacher. • 1.    Miss Slade disliked Martin’s attitude toward Riccio. She

was frightened by his harshness, and his sarcastic remarks. (As she said, she was “quivering with fright”.)

• 2.    When she heard Martin’s threatening remark “carrying scars for ... life”, she “felt eager to assure him that it would not be me”.

• 3.    She was a sympathetic teacher. She noticed the unhealthy look on Riccio’s face and the ill-fitting clothes he wore.  Her eyes betrayed her horror at the sight of what amounted to her first battered child. She felt outraged at having been exposed to such brutality.

• 4.    My feelings towards Martin had suffered a sea-change. • 5.    She tried to capture the hearts of the students by treating

them as human beings, rather than by subduing them by authority or force. E.g. She didn’t make any fuss when she heard what students said in secret.

• 6.    She was friendly to the students. E.g. She tried to amuse them with her sense of humour. She was grateful to any response shown by her students ... …

• 2. Language work    • A. Get the right word• 1. remote     2. dramatic    3. co-operation  • 4.  betrayed     5. suggested  6.amused     7. assure • B.• 1.  The child kept his head down in front of his

mother since he had broken her favourite vase.• 2. They wanted me to take over  the job of editing

the magazine when Mr. Smith left for holidays.• 3. He went to the office, leaving all the housework

to me.

• 4. The woman almost fainted at the sight of the wound on her son’s shoulder.

• 5. The annual output of the steel plant amounts to ten million tons.

• 6. My sister-in –law has established a good rapport with my mother.

• 7. The old woman was left stranded in the countryside after her husband died.

• 8. I wish you’d take a greater interest in your work.       

• In ___ , children in ___ societies are much loved, and when their ___ is not ___ by disease or ___ , they grow up free and lively. Their ___ is based on an imitation of adult life, and on the ___ of their elders. Children learn about their own family and its ___ within a group of other ___ . Primitive children are a good deal ___ in everyday life than are children in the " ___ " world. Their relations with others in their ___ are controlled less by rules and ___ than by their own ___ of what is proper and ___ that will be important to them ___ their lives.

• Read more • 1.T 2. F 3. F 4.NM 5. F 6. T• 1. T   2. T   3. F   4. NM

• Grammar work • 1. give somebody encouragement 　　 encourage sb• 2. give a kick 　　　　　　　　　　　 kick• 3. give an explanation 　　　　　　　 explain• 4. go for a drive 　　　　　　　　　 drive• 5. go for a walk 　　　　　　　　　 walk• 6. have an argument 　　　　　　　 argue• 7. have a fight with somebody 　 fight with sb• 8. have a desire for something 　　　 desire sth• 9. have a talk with somebody 　 talk with sb• 10. make an accusation against sb 　 accuse sb• 11. make an appearance 　　　　　　　 appear• 12. make a complaint 　　　　　　　　 complain

• Translation• 1. At the sight of the general walking towards him, he

got to his feet at once and saluted.• 2.   “What’s this money for?” “It’s for helping those

children who have lost the chance for schooling to return to school again.

• 3. The knock at my door night sent me quivering with fright.

• 4.   I can assure you that he is a most reliable person.• 5.   Everybody hopes that he will take over as dean of

the department when Mr.Martin retires.• 6.   She tried  her best to hide her feelings, but eyes

betrayed her longing for the prize.• 7. It is said that people increase their risk of skin

cancer if they are exposed to the sun too much.

• Raise questions • 1. What happened when the teachers came into the

classroom?• 2. How did the boy look?• 3. How did Miss Slade feel when Martin was dressing

down the students? • 4. How did Miss Slade feel at Martin's treatment of

the boy?• 5. What was the response of most of the class at the

sight of Riccio returning to class after being punished?

• School Life ── Grange Hill    　　• School life has been a topic in teenager literature for

many years. Many stories have even become classics of English literature. And Grange Hill is just one of them. Until recently, however, most of the school life stories were set in public or boarding schools, and although they can be (and are) still read today with enjoyment, they do not relate directly to the experience of the average child. In 1978 a group of writers set out to create a fictional comprehensive school in which modern attitudes and events could be portrayed. The result was a BBC TV series called Grange Hill stories. The programmes were shown on BBC1. These stories give a realistic picture of schools and pupils today and are very popular with young people. Books of short stories about Grange Hill are also published.

•       One of the writers, Phil Redmond, described Grange Hill like this: “Grange Hill is a big comprehensive school with old and new buildings on one site. Everyone spends a lot of time rushing round between classes and there are corridors which seem endless and alive with people scurrying along them. Going to and from school you see a mass of kids in uniform, most of whom are complete strangers. It’s a bit bewildering to newcomers, and the sheer size can be daunting. But personalities soon emerge out of this background...”