Unit 2 Maheegun My Brother

Warming-up: Discussion;

theme

Structure of the text

Language and Style

Detailed discussion of the text

Teaching Procedures

Warming-up: Discussion Divide the class into several groups and

make them have a discussion about their stories with animals like dogs, cats and so on.

Theme  

As the title suggests, the story depicts the ideal relationship between humans and wild animals –they are fellow creatures on earth ,and therefore should treat each other like brothers.

Structure of the Text   

Paragraph 1-3 introduction .Paragraph 4-17 describes the happy days the boy and Maheegun

had together in the short period of less than ayear , and how Maheegun returned to the wild where he belonged .

Paragraph 8-40 the reunion of the two when the boy’s life was endangered by two hungry wolves .

Paragraph 41-44 the brothers returned to the place where they each belonged –the boy to his warm home and his loved ones, the wolf to his kind in the wild .The story begins in spring and ends in early spring , in the normal sequence of Nature.

Language and StyleSuccessful description of natural scenes

the snowstorm the wolf –his appearance ,action and mood .

Rich in verbs, phrases and idioms denoting action .Here are some describing Maheegun’s actions; upset, sc

atter, poke his head around the corner, lay his head between his front paws , turning his head this way and that , lick at the dried blood.

Another feature is the frequent use of inversion . Gone was the puppy-wool coat.In its place was ahandsome black mantle .In sailed Mrs.Yesno, wild anger , who demanded… There stood agiant black wolf .

Action expressions The writer is successful in his description of natura

l scenes, the snowstorm, for example, and the wolf – his appearance, action and mood. The text is rich in verbs, phrases and idioms denoting action. Here are some describing Maheegun’s actions: upset, scatter, poke his head around the corner, lay his head between his front paws, turning his head this way and that, lick at the dried blood.

Detailed Discussion of the Text

1.The year I found Maheegun ,spring was late in comingThe year /day /first time /last time : noun phrases of t

his type , followed by arelative clause ,is used as an adverbial of time , e. g. The year I was born, my father was working towards aPhD degree .

spring was late in coming : that spring it was unusually cold

2.I pick him up and put him inside my jacketNote the difference between “pick ” and “pick up”:Pick (cotton , tomatoes ,apples ,strawberries ,etc. ): to take fl

oewrs , fruit ,etc. from the plant ortje tree where they are growing

Pick up :1)To lift ,take up by hand ,e. g. Would you pick up the bo

ok from the floor ?2)To allow sb. To get into your car and take them somew

here ,e. g. Mnay people no longer pick up hitchhikers 3)To return to an earlier subject or situation in order to co

ntinue it ,e. g. Let’s pick up the conversation after lunch .

3.Little Maheegun gained strength after I got the first few drops of warm milk in him. This means that the baby wolf was very small and

could not eat or drink or suck from adish ,so the boy had to feed him by getting the milk into his mouth (probably with aspoon or an eyedropper ) .

4.He wiggled and soon he was full and warm .

Full :well fed ,often to the point of discomfort ,e. g.

----Would you like any more of he fish ?

---No .thanks ,I’m full

Never exercise on afull stomach

5.Not that we didn’t have our troubles .When I say the year I got Maheegun was the happiest

(year ) of my life , I don’t mean that Maheegun never caused troubles .

What does “our ” refer to ? The boy and his family ?Or the boy and wolf cub ?

Not that :although it is not true that , e. g. She loved music but seldom went to concerts—not that she couldn’t afford to.

6.Maheegun was the most mischievous wolf cub ev

er . Maheegun was the most mischievous cub I had ever kn

own of.

7.He was curious .Like looking into grandma’s sewing basket—which he upset ,scattering thread and buttons all over the floor .

He was curious ,too. For example ,he was eager to know what was in Grandma’s sewing basket. He knocked it over ,sending everything inside flying all over the floor

8.We hunted the grasshoppers that leaped about like little rockets. Like little rockets :asimile in which the grasshoppers

are compared to little rockets because the way the former jump is like little rockets shooting upward .

9.By then ,Maheegun was half grown. At that time, Maheegun had not yet grown i

nto adult wolf but he was on the way of becoming one

10.The warmth of the stove soon brought sleep tome The warmth of the stove made me sleepy

and soon I fell asleep

11.It was not long after that I found the answer Soon I found that Maheegun still remembered me .

12. But something caused me to wake up with a start. I sat up ,and in the moon-flooded cabin was my grandfather standing beside me .

Start: an act of moving your body quickly and suddenly because you are surprised ,afraid, etc.

Flood: to fill or enter a place in large numbers or amounts, e.g.

Most of the morning his body is flooded with sunlight .

13. Then after a while ,from the distance came a softer call in reply .Maheegun stirred, with the deep rumble of pleasure in his throat .He slipped down the rock and headed out across the ice.After a while ,a lesson passionate cry came from the distance an

swering Maheegun’s call. Maheegun moved, he seemed pleased, for I heard a deep rolling sound of pleasure in his throat .Then he got down from the rock and moved away across the ice .

14 . I tried to travel west but only to hit the creek again .

Only to do sth: used to mention sth. That happens immediately afterwards ,esp. sth. that causes surprise , disappointment, etc. ,e.g.

Ausable returned home only to find Max, his enemy ,standing halfway across his room .

Hit :arrive at ,reach ,e.g.You’ll hit the main road in five minutes’ drive.

15 .I knew l had gone in a great circle and I was lost .I realized that I had been moving this way and that

around the same area and that I had lost my way .

Be/get lost : to be unable to find your way ,not knowing where you are, e.g.Don’t panic when you are lost in the forest .

16. There was only one thing to do .Camp for the night and hope that by morning the storm would have blown itself out. I knew that it was dangerous to move on in the blinding snow ,

and that the only thing to do was to stay where I was and get some sleep during the night and hope that I would find the snowstorm had stopped the next morning .

blow itself out : (of a storm ) to lose force or cease entirely , e.g.

The weather forest says that the storm will soon blow itself out and move out to sea.

17. …I was in deep trouble .…I was in a very dangerous situation.( I might be

frozen to death here if I couldn’t find my way.)

in trouble : in a situation that is difficult or dangerous ; in a situation in which you can be criticized or punished.

18. A great white stillness had taken over and with it ,biting cold .The storm had blown itself out. Now nothing in this

world moved. It was quiet and terribly cold ./ what smothered this world of whiteness was stillness plus biting cold.

take over: to gain control

19. My supply of wood was almost gone. There must be more.I had little wood left. I needed more to keep warm in

the biting cold .

20. slashing off green branches with my knife, I cut my hand and blooded spurted freely from my wound .While cutting twigs (= small branches ) from green

branches with my knife , I cut my hand and blood started pouring out from the wound .

21.The howl seemed to freeze the world with fear.The long loud cry seemed to have struck

terror into every living creature, and they suddenly became still.

22. Suddenly the world explored in snarls . I was thrown against the branches of the shelter.Suddenly with terrible snarls , the wolf began to

attack . I was sent flying and landed against the shelter.

23. The cold and loss of blood were taking their toll.As I had lost a lot of blood , and it was extremely cold ,

I was sick and weak.

Take its/their/a heavy toll on sb./ sth. : to have a bad effect on sb./ sth.e.g.

The destruction of the World Trade Center in New York id taking its toll on US airlines.