Book II Unit 6. Contents Text One Pre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background information While-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions

ContentsContents

Text OnePre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background informationWhile-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions III. Language points IV. Difficult sentencesPost-reading I. Grammatical items II. Translation exercises III. Oral activities IV. Writing practice

Text Two I. Questions for comprehension II. Language points

海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

Text I--- The Diary of The Unknown Text I--- The Diary of The Unknown Soldiers Soldiers

Pre-readingI. Warm-up question

1. Do you keep a diary? If you do, what do you usually write in your diary? Would you like to relate to your classmates the contents of an entry from your diary, on condition, of course, that it does not infringe on your privacy?

2. Countless wars have been fought in human history. You must have learned about some of them, at least the major ones, from books or film. Can you describe the cruelties of war from the eyes of a soldier? Can you guess what question a soldier might ask about war when he is threatened by death?


II. Background information II. Background information

1. World War II

World War II, was a global military conflict, the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts. The first began in Asia in 1937 as the Second Sino-Japanese War; the other began in Europe in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland.

This global conflict split the majority

of the world's nations into two oppos-

ing military alliances: the Allies and

the Axis powers.


It involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, and placed the participants in a state of "total war", erasing the distinction between civil and military

resources. This resulted in the complete

activation of a nation's economic, indus-

trial, and scientific capabilities for the

purposes of the war effort. Over 60 mil-

lion people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.


The financial cost of the war is estimated at about a trillion 1944 U.S. dollars worldwide, making it the most costly war in capital as well as lives.

The Allies were victorious, and, as a

result, the Soviet Union and the

United States emerged as the world's

leading superpowers. This set the

stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 45 years.


The United Nations was formed in hopes of

preventing another such conflict. The self

determination spawned by the war acce-

lerated decolonization movements in Asia

and Africa, while Europe itself began

moving toward integration.

2. Military Rations: K-Rations

The K ration was the Subsistance R&D Laboratory's answer to the demand for an individual, easy-to-carry ration that could be used in assault and combat operations. It was noted for compactness and superior packaging and was acknowledged as the ration that provided the greatest variety of nutritionally balanced components within the smallest space. The 2700 calorie K ration, fielded in 1942, was designed for a maximum of fifteen meals.


I. Structural analysis

This passage contains three pieces of dairy.

Diary is a unique type of writing in that it is not structured in a pre-planned way as is a piece of argumentation or a piece of narration. In a diary, the writer's pen simply follows the flow of his thoughts. In other words, a piece of diary is usually "structured" by the author's free association between the present, the past, and the future, interwoven with his relevant remarks.

While-reading


The three entries of the diary were written by an American soldier who was sent to Europe in the hardest time of the Second World War—1943. All of them show tow elements in common: the cruelty of war and the writer’s longing for his family.

First entry

The horrible scene of the war;

His wish to be alive;

His longing for his family


Second entry Grim situation in Europe and views on war Specific description of situation with facts Disgust at war as he realized “Even one war is too many” Reflections on war, interwoven with descriptions of situation in small European town Facts Reflections


Third entry

The imminent danger and, possibly, death, Nazi troops coming

Realization of being closer to death

Thinking of his family

Last question before death


II. Comprehension questionsII. Comprehension questions

1.Why did the unknown soldier call his fellow soldiers and himself fools?

---The unknown soldier called himself and his fellow soldiers fools, because they were totally unprepared for the cruelty and death of the war, and “ came here with an air of confidence and eagerness, ready to win”, but what awaited them was “ a one-way ticket to death”.


2.What were his situations in the war in which the unknown soldier wrote his diary?

---The unknown soldier wrote the first entry when his regiment was in London to protect the city from Nazi’s air bombing. He wrote the next two entries when he was in Europe before an anticipated battle and during a face-to-face fight.


3.What was it, as mentioned in all the three entries, that encouraged the unknown soldier to live on?

---What encouraged the unknown soldier to live on was his wish to go home alive to see his family.

4.What did he determine to tell the families of those soldiers who died in the war?

---He would tell their families that those soldiers died bravely in an effort to save their countries from turmoil and make the children feel that their fathers made a difference.


5. How did the unknown soldier view the on-going war?

---He felt disgusted at the cruelty of the war, questioned the sensibility of human beings who started the war and felt enraged at killing innocent lives and destroying whole countries.


III. Language pointsIII. Language points

rubble:the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up

Synonym:

debris; ruin

---Many people were entombed in the rubble of the bombed buildings.


soil n. (literary): a country

--- It was the first time we had set foot on foreign soil.

Synonym:

land


assign vt.: give sb. a task to do

---The authorities assigned him an important task.

Comparison: appoint, assign

appoint to choose someone officially for a job or responsibility

assign to give a particular job or piece of work to someone .


with an air of : seeming to have/be

---Lily came out into the yard with an air of arrogance.

---She set about her task with an air of quiet confidence.


out of the blue: all of a sudden ---It was pure coincidence; Harvard informed me out of the

blue of my admission the day I returned from my vacation. ---The job had been offered to her out of the blue. A bolt from out of the blue: news that is sudden and

unexpected

Aftermath: the result following a bad event ---The new government is appealing for aid to provide

emergency supplies in the aftermath of the earthquake.


scoop up: to lift something or someone with your hands or arms in a quick movement

--- I scooped up my belongings into my handbag. have it that: say; express

---Legend has it that they were couples 100 years ago.

odds n. : the probability that something will or will not happen

--- The odds are five to one on that horse. 那匹马的赔率是五比一。


shed blood: cause wounding or esp. killing

---They wanted to bring down the government, but without shedding blood.

Collocation:

shed tears / blood / light to produce tears, light, blood


vow vi. make a solemn promise

--- He had vowed never to let it happen again.

Comparison: promise, pledge, vow

promise to tell someone that you will certainly do something

pledge to make a serious or formal promise to give or do something

vow to make a solemn promise


Ragtag: a. looking untidy, unkempt

---a ragtag bunch of birds

---the ragtag and bobtail: n. 乌合之众

strike a … note: express the stated feeling or message

---I find it really difficult to strike the right note when I’m writing job applications.


tattered: shattered; ruined or disrupted---The flag was tattered by a gale.

err :to do something wrong

---The magazine erred in reporting that the old man slept with all his money tucked under his pillow.

---To err is human.

---She erred in failing to meet him in person.


strew vt. : scatter

---They strewed seeds over the earth. 他们把种子撒在地里。

doom vt.: cause to suffer sth. unavoidable, such as destruction or death

---Everyone is doomed to die. 人必有一死。


pound: v. thump; hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument; strike or drive against with a heavy impact

---He pounded the table angrily.

shell: ammunition

---Shells were bursting all around. 炮弹在四处爆炸。 ---Shell shock


"... I might have taken it lighter"

---I might have felt less sad.

take something light: not treat to it as a serious matter.

They all came here with an air of confidence and eagerness, ready to win.

---Full of confidence and eagerness, the soldiers came here and were ready to win the battle.


IV. Difficult sentences

Today was rainy and cold, just like any other, when, out of the blue, German fighter planes bombarded our small, makeshift camp.

---That day, it was rainy and chilly as usual, when suddenly German fighter planes attacked our small, makeshift camp.


That day, it was rainy and chilly as usual, when suddenly German fighter planes attacked our small, makeshift camp.

---Suddenly, I was hit and thrown into a trench; the situation enabled me to escape the detecting of the planes which were flying around my head.


I was suddenly knocked into a trench and able to be undetected by the planes circling overhead.

---Suddenly, I was hit and thrown into a trench; the situation enabled me to escape the detecting of the planes which were flying around my head.

My thoughts drift to my wife now.

---I begin to think of my wife.


I fell apart inside and broke into tears, wondering yet again if I would ever see my family.

---My heart broke and I cried; I was wondering yet again if I would ever see my family.

Humans do err, but that is no excuse for ending innocent lives and destroying whole countries.

---This is an allusion to the first part of a much quoted line from a poem by Alexander Pope: “To err is human; to forgive, divine.”


I. Grammatical Items• Questions• Object clause

Post-readingPost-reading


In terms of syntactic structure and communicative function, questions (also interrogative sentences) fall into four major types: general question (yes-no question), special question, alternative question and tag question.

Special questions, also known as wh-questions, are generally introduced by wh-words such as what, when, where, which, who, whom, whose, why, etc. The wh-word marks the focus of information to be asked about.

Special questions may be in normal order or in inverted order. When the wh-word functions as subject or part of the subject, the question is in normal order. If, on the other hand, the wh-word is not used as subject, the question is in inverted order.


Object clause is mostly used in reported speech after certain verbs to report people’s words, thoughts, questions and statements.

When reporting a statement, if the sentence starts in the present, there is no backshift of tenses in reported speech; if the sentence starts in the past, there is often backshift of tenses in reported speech and if the sentence contains an expression of time, it must be changed as well.


When reporting a yes-no question, either if or whether is used to introduce the clause; when reporting a wh-question, the same wh-word is used to introduce the clause. Note that the usual word order when reporting a question is the one that is used in a statement (the subject-verb order). And if the sentence starts in the past, don’t forget the backshift of tenses and the change of the expression of time.


II. Translation exercises 他抱起小男孩，逃离了大火。（ scoop up) ---He scooped up the little boy and ran from the fire.

老板派我去检查全部出厂货物的质量（ assign) ---The boss assigned me to check the quality of all the goods

leaving the factory.


我们已经采取了一切措施防止那幅油画被盗。（ take precautions)

---We have taken all the precautions we can against painting being stolen.

那家公司正在出售他们的一些大楼以积攒资金。（ in an effort to)

---The company is selling off some of its buildings in an effort to accumulate capital.


学驾驶时，如有一位好教员指导，效果大不相同。（ make a difference)

When you are learning to drive, having a good teacher makes a big difference.

谣传他在当地的一次袭击中被人杀害。（ rumor has it that)

Rumor has it that he was killed in a raid in the local area.


亚当拒绝加班，这使他的老板极为恼火。（ enrage) ---Adam’s refusal to work overtime enraged his boss.

在那次晚会上一位老朋友突然出现，令我惊喜不已。（ out of the blue)

---I was pleasantly surprised to see an old friend who appeared at the party out of the blue.


II. Oral activitiesII. Oral activities

Discuss with one of your classmates on the following topics.

Discuss in groups of 4 to 6 what happened to the Chinese people during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Describe some of the war crimes committed by the Japanese troops and the struggle of the Chinese people against them, and discuss what we — both the Chinese people and the Japanese people — should do to prevent another war.


Ideas/suggestions on preventing wars (for reference):

— We must inculcate the consciousness of peaceful coexistence of nations into the young minds.

— The two governments should create more opportunities to have reasonable dialogues on the basis of the five principles for peaceful coexistence.

— We should increase cultural exchanges and develop the understanding and cooperation instead of disagreement or misunderstanding.


III. Writing practiceIII. Writing practice

Most countries spend a large amount of money on weapons to defend themselves though they are not at war. These countries should spend the money to help their poor and other disadvantaged citizens.

Question: To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

海南大学外国语学院基础英语研室海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

Text II---Text II---Life Goes OnLife Goes On

Lead-in questions

1. Have you ever visited any places in memorial of soldiers or citizens who died in war?

2. What impressed you most while being there? How do you feel about the place?


II. Questions for comprehension1. The article is a brief account of the author’s visit to Ypres,

which is chronologically organized. She was taken to a number of places by the local tourist guide. Now try to pick out the spots she visited, and then tell what historic significance each of them has.

2. How does the passage impress the reader with the cruelty of war?

3. How do you think the author felt when she was taken to the German cemetery?

4. In what way is the title “Life Goes On” illustrated by the author?


II. Language points

… stand tall and defiant above Ypres, Belgium.: : Ypres is a town of West Flanders, Belgium. Here the word ‘defiant’, which means ‘disobedient’, point to the heroic spirit of the people of the small town which had been invaded so many times.

if anything: a phrase you use to introduce something that strengthens or changes the meaning of what you have just said

---It certainly wasn’t an improvement. We were, if anything, worse off than before


Commonwealth : a free association of Britain and certain sovereign independent states, formerly the colonies of the British Empire and their dependencies

sets the scene : prepares the way or creates the conditions in

which an event is likely to happen

---The unjust agreement set the scene for another war.

---The scene is set for a tragedy.


We already are.: We are already imagining what it was like.

He died that we might live …: He died so that we might live …


My knowledge of history is put to shame.: I feel ashamed of my poor knowledge of history.

Downing Street: the street in Westminster in London, where the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have their official residences


Good Bye!


Documents

Book II Unit 6. Contents Text One Pre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background information While-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions