College English

Unit 4Unit 4

Lady Hermits Who Are Down But Not OutLady Hermits Who Are Down But Not Out

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Pre-reading While-reading Post-reading

BackgroundInformation

&Introduction

Language pointsText Exercises

Background

This article first appeared in The Observer (April 9, 1978)—a newspaper published in Britain. The present text is slightly abridged.

Lady Hermits:

here refer to the shopping-bag women of New York City. In so calling them, the author indicates that although they live in a large crowded city, these homeless women live in a solitary world of their own, detached from the real world around them.

INTRDUCTIONINTRDUCTION

1 Warm-up Exercise1 Warm-up Exercise—Scanning for specific details—Scanning for specific details

The text is a description of a type of people—the shopping-bag ladies. Before the teacher goes into a detailed explanation of the text , the students may be asked to go over it again rapidly, looking for places where the characteristics of the shopping-bag ladies are given.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), English novelist and essayist. In his later works he expressed concern that the pursuit of material possessions was taking place at the expense of individual freedom and a respect for nature. He satirized such trends in Brave New World (1932), a novel set in a future world where individuality is deliberately stifled. In Island (1962), on the other hand, he presents his utopia, a libertarian community living in close harmony with its natural environment.

After the students have finished reading, the teacher may list on the blackboard the characteristics they have found and the list may also be useful for other activities.

The following list is for the teacher’s The following list is for the teacher’s reference:reference:

__They are lonely. __They are homeless. __They don’t drink. __They don’t gather together. __They don’t like one another.

__They don’t like conventional people. __They avoid meeting people (are

unsociable). __They don’t like to talk with others. __They don’t actually beg (show some

amount of self respect). __They are between the ages of 40 and 65.

__They wear thick clothes even in summer. __They always carry a bag containing all their

belongings with them. __They are mistrustful (“you can’t trust

people”). __They are fanciful. __They are usually mentally unstable.

2. Introductory Remarks2. Introductory Remarks

Although termed “lady hermits”, the shopping-bag ladies of New York City are, in a sense, neither “ladies” nor “hermits”. They live in the open, often on the stairways of bus and train stations, in the doorways of apartment buildings, or in the passages of subway stations.

Homeless and lonely, these shopping-bag ladies live a poor and miserable life. They suffer from delusions and fantasies and often have been inmates in mental institutions. They live in a world of their own creation apart from the real world around them. Most New Yorkers pass them each day and grow indifferent to their presence.

However, they are not totally forgotten. Efforts have been made by various kinds of people, such as priests, nuns, researchers and social workers, to improve their lot.

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Language PointsLanguage Points

Language points

A hermit is a person who goes away form other from other people and lives alone in a solitary place, usually from religious motives. A “lady hermit” means a woman hermit. By calling them “lady hermits”, the author means that although they live in a large crowded city like New York, these homeless women live alone in a solitary, mistrustful world of their own. That’s also why one sociologist has called them “urban hermits”.

1 lady hermits :

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Language points

2 Down But Not Out :

It is an adaptation of “down and out”, an informal expression meaning “without money, friends or other resources; wretched”. “Down and out” is originally a boxing term. When a boxer is knocked DOWN, the referee counts to ten. If the boxer is unable to rise to his feet by then, he is OUT, which means he is no longer in the game. What the title indicates here is that those lady hermits are suffering from misfortune and are low in social position, but

they refuse to accept defeat and persist in their clinging to life.

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In every large city there are a number of people who are leading a wandering life and who may come and go at any time.

3 Every large city has its shifting population of vagrants.:

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4 … usually with an unhealthy appetite for alcohol :… usually addicted to drinks (alcohol).unhealthy: not good for the mind or body

Examples:__When he was young, he worked for years in the unhealthy environment of a coal mine.— Scott has developed an unhealthy interest in violence.

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appetite: desire for food; desire, wish or longing Examples:

— The long walk gave him a good appetite. — At the moment I have no appetite for work.

5 attract: draw towards oneself Examples: — My attention was attracted by his peculiar clothes. — The new development zone of the city has been attracting an increasing amount of foreign investment.

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6 peculiar: unusual; strange; special Examples: — Shopping-bag ladies have a peculiar way of life — isolated ， unconventional and

ready to accept what is offered though they do not overtly beg. — The shopping-bag lady looked at the priest with a very peculiar expression.

7 populace, population: "Populace" quite often refers to the common people of a community, as distinguished from those of higher classes while "population" means the (number of) people living in one place, country, etc.

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8 … who live in an isolated , mistrustful word of their own:

… who, having been rejected by the world, live apart from and have no trust in others

9 keen on: interested in, fond of Examples: — keen on classical music, modern art, detective stories, fishing, football, etc. — Alex, a student of Chinese literature from Australia, is very keen on Beijing opera. — Many people are keen on going abroad. What's your comment on that?

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10 conventional people:

people who act or according to commonly accepted or approved ways, customs or standards

11 on end: continuously (used with plural nouns of time) Examples: — Last summer we had no rain for weeks on end, so there was a serious drought. — It was the first time that Xiao Li had to write a letter in English, so she spent hours

on end writing and rewriting it. — The play was such a success as to run 200 nights on end.

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13 pass by: go past; ignore Examples:— I passed by your house yesterday evening, and might have dropped in if I had not been in a hurry. — This is the sort of mistake that you should not pass by.— Tom felt miserable because most of his friends had been passing him by since he divorced Mary.

12 Once a shopping-bag lady becomes a figure of your neighborhood …:

If a shopping-bag lady ever becomes a frequent visitor in your neighborhood …

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14 the collection box in church:

a box used to collect money during a church service, which is not to be ignored by really religious people

15 … it is as morally hard to turn her away as it is a dog: People in the West have had a long tradition of keeping pets. To them, domestic animals such as dogs, cats and rabbits are dear and valued companions. Therefore, it is considered immoral and cruel to turn away a lost dog.

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16 category: class, group

Examples: — In Britain, there are two main categories of lawyer, namely solicitors and barristers. — He wrote many books, most of which fall into the category of biography.

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17 … claiming that they enjoy freedom from constraints of society …:

Here "constraints of society" might refer to such things as social rules or customs. What these bag ladies claim is that by living on the street, they do not have to follow the same rules that everyone else does have chosen to live outside the mainstream of society.

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claim: declare to be true; maintainExamples: — Although he has never published anything, he claims to be a writer. — He claimed that his gold watch was stolen, not lost.

18 keep up: continue, prevent from ending Examples: — He has kept up a correspondence with his friend in New York for over a year now. — We a paying for the car by monthly installments, if we don't keep up the payment, the company will take it away. — The two boys have kept up their friendship by writing to each other. — Be sure to keep up the good habit of reading aloud every morning.

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19 rent: money paid regularly for the use of a room, building, etc.

Examples: — How much rent do you pay for this two-room apartment? — Mary lives in a house with three other girls so that they can share the rent.

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"Relief" refers to aid given to needy persons through government agencies or private organizations. It may be in the form of money, food, clothing, or other necessities. Here it means welfare money given to poor people by the government. In the United States, there are many private and government organizations that give help to the poor and homeless. .

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20 … they didn't know where to go or how to apply for relief …:

However, quite often one has to go through a lot of paper work before one can actually obtain such help. The complexity of the process of applying for relief often discourages the needy from trying to get the aid. Another discouragement is that people who receive money this way are usually looked down upon and viewed as lazy or inferior.

Examples:- Relief was quickly sent to the disaster area.- This organization is responsible for collecting funds for the relief of the poor and needy in emergencies.

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21 anchor point: Originally it refers to a place where to secure a ship with an anchor. Here the expression is used figuratively and its meaning is explained in the appositive that follows.

22 better organized: better equipped, better prepared materially

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23 cope with: deal effectively with Examples:

Self-confidence is what we need in coping with this crisis (these problems, the difficulties).Computers have proved a great help in coping with the heavy workload.

24… volunteered over lunch … :… said voluntarily while having lunch …over: in the course of; while engaged inExamples:The auto repairman was so tired that he fell asleep over his work.They sat around a table and had a pleasant chat over a cup of coffee.

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25 Right?:This is a tag question to elicit some kind of indication of agreement from the listener.

26 I go out a lot because of my teeth.:I go out very often because I have to pay visits to my dentist.

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27 You pick up something in a restaurant.:You pick up something to eat in a restaurant.

28 considerate: kind and thoughtful about other peopleExamples:--It was very considerate of Tom to tune down the radio while I was taking a nap.--We should try and be considerate of other people’s feeling.

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29 … before you know where you are you have caught it:

… before you are aware of it you have caught this tooth disease.“Before you know where you are” is a colloquial expression meaning “before you have time to consider the course of events”; “very quickly or suddenly”; “very soon”. It is used when the situation changes suddenly and is no longer under your control.

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Example: --Before you know where you are, the children have grown into young men and women with characters of their own.

30 …until I have this dental work done: … until I have my tooth disease cured.

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31 even after long interviews: Here an “interview” refers to the meeting of a patient with a psychiatrist, during which the patient lies comfortably on a couch and the psychiatrist tries to find out his problems and treat him by talking with him.

32 at a loss: uncertain what to do or say; confused Examples:

She was so touched by his generosity that for a moment she was at a loss for words (what to say).When he missed the last bus, he was at a loss what to do.He was at a loss how to cope with the situation.

What he had said at the meeting left me completely at a loss.

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33 be entitled to: have the right to enjoy or have (sth.); have the right to do sth.

Examples:All the employees of the company are entitled to a ten-day holiday with pay every year.Every participant of the game is entitled to try three times.The winner of the competition is entitled to choose one of these TV sets as a prize.

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FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

1 Interviewing a shopping-bag lady1 Interviewing a shopping-bag ladyProcedure:Procedure:

Break the class into groups of 4-5;

Assign one student (whether a boy or a girl) in each group the role of a shopping-bag lady, and “she” should determine for “herself” what kind of a shopping-bag lady “she” is;

The interviewers may ask the “shopping-bag lady” questions about “her” name, age, marital status, where “she” lives, family background, working experience, educational background, attitudes toward “her” present way of life, present living conditions, feelings or personal comments, etc.;

Representatives from a couple of groups will describe to the whole class what kind of a shopping-bag lady they have interviewed.

2 Writing2 Writing

Ask the students to write a description of a bag lady on the basis of the group discussion. Encourage them to use their own ideas and bring into full play their imagination.

While reading activity: Text

Text

Structure

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Translation

Structure

13

1. Few people are aware of the ways in which the environment can be protected. Neither have the governments made serious efforts to educate them.

2. The husband was not hospitable to the visitor. Neither did the wife say a word of welcome.

3. He has never experimented with the new method. Neither does he intend to.

4. He never received approval of his reforms from his superiors. Neither did he get any encouragement from his colleagues.

5. He was not very intelligent. Neither did he work very hard.

Structure

14

1. Electromagnetic waves travel as fast as light.

2. She cared for the homeless child as tenderly as she did her own son.

3. It is as hard for Mary to speak Chinese as it is for Wang Hai to speak English.

4. The book I am reading is as interesting as the one I read last week.

5. It is by no means as easy to learn a second language well as it is to learn your native tongue.

Structure

15

1. With all his savings gone, he started to look for a job.

2. In the corner there is a table with one leg shorter than the others.

3. With the job finished, we went to the seaside for a holiday.

4. With the pace of change quickening, more and more scientists find it hard to keep up with the latest developments even in their own disciplines.

5. She looked in my face with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Translation

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1. Among those university students who will graduate soon, some prefer to return to their hometown to work, others volunteer to work in the underdeveloped areas.

2. Nowadays, students are keen on learning to use the computer, because they are well aware that this is an indispensable skill in the information age.

3. He had traveled around the world for three years, but wherever he went, he missed his country.

4. At first, he wrote to me once in a while, and then I did not hear from him any more.

Translation

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5. In general, people tend to get married and have a family rather than remain single for life.

6. No matter how hard he tried, he just could not understand higher mathematics.

7. After working for six months on end, employees are entitled to paid holidays and sick leaves.

8. I am unable to keep up my monthly payments on the car and I am at a complete loss as to what to do.