Unit 5 Cruelty

Text A A Friend in Need

• Your Subtopics Go HereThe title may easily remind us of the

famous English proverb:

A friend in need is a friend indeed!

Warm-up exercise:

Without reading the text, let’s guess or predict what will be the story under such a title?

•People who help their friend in need?•Man who helped his friend in trouble without hesitation?….

But things may be different …

elements

Those who appear to be friendly may turn out to be so evil-minded as to be ready to strike a cruel blow at a friend in need. Appearances , however, can be deceptive.

Background information:

• Somerset Maugham(1874-1965): An English writer considered to be

one of the best writers of short stories in the English language. He also wrote plays and novels, including Of Human Bondage and Cakes and Ale. Many of his stories are about human weakness.

Background information

• Kobe & Yokohama• 1. Both of them are one of Japanese

leading ports.• 2. Both of them had been destroyed by

the earthquake and suffered bomb attack in WWII, but only Kobe was rebuilt.

• 3. Only Yokohama has some universities.• 4. Kobe is a major industrial center and

railway hub, but Yokohama also has excellent transportation.

II ■

Background information:

• Bridge: a kind of card game, derived from

whist. played with 52 cards by four players in two partnership.

originated in Middle East in 19th century. the cards in contract bridge rank from ace to two, in bidding, suits rank from Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.

Part Division:

Part I (Paras __ to ___):

Part II (Paras __ to ___):

Part III (Paras __ to ___):

Section One (Paras __ to __)

Section Two (Paras __ to __)

Section Three (Paras __ to __)

Questions and answers:

1.Who narrates Part I and Part II?

2.From these two parts, what kind of man Edward Hyde Burton is ?

--

3. Who took over the narration in Part III?

Vocabulary & Expressions

deceptive: likely Io deceive; misleading adj. 靠不住的；容易使人上当的

e.g. The newspapers promised not to run deceptive ads in the future.

The play is also an observation about the deceptive nature of appearances.

→deceive v. deceive sb. about sth.

deceive sb. Into doing sth.

他故意欺骗人们相信这个故事是真的。

definite: clear; that can't be doubted adj. 明确的；确切的

e.g. I was wandering round the shop with no very definite aim.

我们要求一个确切的答复。a definite success / definite period of time (all) of a piece: the same in all parts; the

same as sth. Else 浑然一体的；一致的e.g. The style of the book is all of a piece, in

both illustrations and text.

新措施与政府的新政策是完全一致的。

in accordance with: in agreement or harmony with 与…一致；按照，依据

e.g. Students will be criticized or punished if their behavior is not in accordance with school regulations.

Some young people are self － centered, _______( 这与中国传统价值观是不符合的 ).

evidently: obviously; it appears that adv. 明显地，显然

e.g. Evidently our living conditions are much better than before.

mild: (of people or their manner) gentle and kind; not severe or harsh adj. 温和的，不严厉的

e.g. Peter is a mild man, never getting angry easily.

他遗传了爸爸温和的本性 , I'm glad to say.

This winter is a mild one. something of: to some degree 在某种程度上，

有点儿e.g. It's something of a disadvantage nowadays if

you can't use a computer.

They haven‘t got a loan from the bank, which is ______ ( 有点让人失望） .

instinct: a tendency that one is born with to behave in a certain way without reasoning or training n. 本能，直觉

e.g. It is the mother's instinct to protect her children.

He always knew what time it was, as if by instinct.

It was very dark, but Mary seemed to_____. ( 本能地知道该走哪条路。 )

相信你的直觉，去做你认为对的事情。 by instinct 出于直觉 have an instinct about/for 天生就会

oddly enough: used to say that sth. seems strange or surprising 说来奇怪

e.g. Children's books, oddly enough, continued to have a big place in retail sales.

sip: drink (sth.). taking a very small amount each time (used in the patterns: sip sth. at/from (sth.)) v. 小口地喝，抿

e.g. Jessica sipped her coffee, listening to the music.

He lifted the water bottle to his lips and sipped.

in a way: to a certain extent but not entirely在某种程度上，从某一点上看

e.g. I agree with you in a way, but there are still some areas on which I can't see eye to eye with you.

It's easier for men to get work in a way. with (a) bad/good grace: unwillingly and

rudely/willingly and happily 勉强地 / 欣然地 e.g. After I talked to him for an hour, he

admitted his mistake with bad grace.

他欣然地接受了我的邀请。

stroke: pass the hand gently over (a surface), usu. several times vt. 轻抚，抚摩，捋

e.g. At the sight of her husband getting off the train, the woman embraced him and stroked his white hair.

I reached out and stroked the baby's cheek tenderly.

shave: cut (hair) off one's face. etc. with a razor; cut or scrape thin slices from the surface v. （用剃刀）刮（胡须等）；刨，削

e.g. In the Qing dynasty men shaved the front of the head and wore the hair at the back tied in a queue or pigtail.

go broke: have no money; go bankrupt 一文不名，破产

e.g. Many multinational companies went broke during the financial crisis, not to speak of small businesses.

He invested all his money in stocks; unfortunately he made one wrong choice after another and finally went broke.

hitherto: (fml) until now; until a particular time adv. 迄今，到目前为止

e.g. He has hitherto achieved great success in his career.

stick to: refuse to abandon or change (sth.)坚持

e.g. Mike, you just tell the cops what you saw; stick to your story.

______ ( 那个老人坚持每天早上散步） although he was eighty years old.

trim: defeat; make (sth.) neat or smooth by cutting away irregular parts vt. 击败；整修，修剪；调整

e.g. They were trimmed by 3 goals to 2.

My friend trimmed my hair last week.

down and out: having no money, home, etc. 穷困潦倒

e.g. When he was down and out, none of his friends gave him a helping hand.

commit: do (sth. illegal or wrong) vt. 犯（错误、罪行），干（坏事）

e.g. It is illegal to commit violations of the copyright.

The man was suspected of committing murder.

commit suicide

be / go (all) to pieces: (of a person) have a breakdown; lose control of oneself 身体（或精神）垮下来；失去自制能力

e.g. I was attracted by the story of a housewife who went to pieces as one disaster followed another.

She nearly went to pieces when she heard that her husband was among those buried in the ruins of the World Trade Center.

drive at: be trying to say 意指，要说e.g. I have no idea what you're driving at.

current: continuous flow of water or air in a particular direction n. （水、空气等的）流，潮流 (current events/fashion/price)

e.g. Swimming against the current is energy-consuming.

I felt a current of cool air blowing in my face.

Adj. of the present time; happening now

e.g. The current situation in this area is quite different from that in the 1990s.

He doesn't like the current job, and is planning to quit it.

be taken aback: be shocked or surprised 吃一惊

e.g. She was taken aback when a man answered the phone.

______ ( 当我发现我的电脑不见的时候，下了一跳） .

in bad / good condition: in bad/ good health身体状况不好

e.g. He is in good condition again after a long holiday.

In spite of the surgery he is still in bad condition.

turn up: arrive; make one's appearance 来到；出现

e.g. He didn't turn up until the end of the examination.

Some students always turn up late for class. funk: (infml) avoid because of fear v. 因畏惧

而避免e.g. They were given a chance of taking part

in the speech contest, but funked it.

He promised to climb the mountain with us, but 他在最后一刻因为害怕放弃了。

constitution: condition of a person's body with regard to health, strength, etc. n. 体格，体质；素质

e.g. A boxer must have a strong constitution. Having been ill for several years, he has a

particularly fragile constitution. trifle: a thing, a matter or an activity that has

little value or importance n. 小事；琐事e.g. My daughter always wastes her money

on trifles.a trifle: slightly e.g. He is a trifle breathless after the run.

candid: not hiding one's thoughts; frank and honest (followed by about, with) adj. 真诚坦率的；直言不讳的

e.g. Let me be absolutely candid with you: your work is not good enough.

Nancy is candid about the problems she is having with Steve.

rub: move one's hand. an object, etc. backwards and forwards repeatedly on a surface while pressing vt. 磨擦；柔擦

e.g. He looked tired and sat rubbing his eyes. rub one’s shoes with a soft cloth

vacancy: unfilled position or post n. 空缺e.g. He didn't want to fill the short-term

vacancy in the office.

The college has no vacancies for professors.

该公司财务部有个空缺。

Post-reading:

How to describe a person: 1. who is he? 2. his physical description 3. his clothing 4. his personality 5. conclusion

He’s tall / medium height / fairly short and heavy / well-built / thin / plump.

He’s got a square / broad / narrow / round / long / wrinkled face.

He’s got a pointed / double chin. She’s slim. She’s wearing a blue dress and white

sandals / a blouse and high-heel shoes / a turtle sweater and a pencil skirt / a blue summer dress / jeans and a jacket / a blue suit.

She’s got short curly / straight shoulder-length / wavy medium length / long wavy hair.

He’s got short blond straight hair and blue eyes.

She makes a lasting impression on everyone she meets.

He looks serious, but he’s very funny in class.

Appearance is deceptive. A fair face may hide a foul heart. A good face is a letter of

recommendation.