-
Lesson Three
Message of the Land
Teaching
Objectives:
A.
To
know
the
background
information
about
the
author,
and
the
style
of
this text.
B.
To
acquire
the
key
words,
important
and
difficult
sentences
and
language points
C.
To understand
and master the usage of the basic rhetorical
devices:
simile and metaphor
D.
To understand
the
connotation of
the
title and main
idea of the text.
Teaching Procedure:
I.
Pre-
task
1. Warm up
Individual questions:
The
title
“
Message
of
the
Land
’
means
that
land
can
convey
something
to people. Then
what does land convey to people, or what role does
land play in
people
’
s daily life in your
mind?
What is
people
’
s attitude to land
nowadays?
2. Background
information:
The author:
Pira Sudham(1942~)is an
English writer in Thailand . He was born in
a
poor
family
in
rural
Esarn,
in
the
northeast
of
the
country.
At
the
age
of 14, he traveled to Bangkok to become
a temple boy, a servant to the
monks.
He
continued
to
study
and
won
entrance
to
Thailand
’
s
top
University,
Chulalongkorn.
He
later
won
a
New
Zealand
government
scholarship which
allowed him to travel from New Zealand to
Australia,
China
’
s
Hong
Kong
and
Europe.
Pira
Sudham
never
forgets
Esarn,
where
he
experienced poverty and injustices in
his early years, and which became
the
background
for
many
of
his
short
stories
and
novels.
His
novel
Monsoon
Country
made him a nominee for the 1990 Nobel Prize for
the literature.
This text is adapted
from the farmer and his wife in guidebook to
better
reading series published in
1982.
The city:
Bangkok
Bangkok,
population
8,538,610
(1990),
is
the
capital
and
largest
city
of
Thailand.
The
city
is
located
on
the
east
bank
of
the
Chao
Phraya
River,
near the Gulf of
Thailand. Bangkok is one of the fastest-growing,
most
economically dynamic and socially
progressive cities in Southeast Asia.
Local people like to think that it is
emerging as a regional centre to
rival
Singapore and Hong Kong, but it suffers from
major
infrastructure
and
social
problems
as
a
result
of
its
rapid
growth.
It is also one of
the world's most popular tourist
destinations.
Bangkok is the
economic center of Thailand. The Chao Phraya River
allows Bangkok to function as a port.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand is
located
in
Bangkok.
Tourism
is
a
major
source
of
revenue.
The
city
contains
many
Buddhist
temples
(known
in
Thai
as
Wats),
among
the
best
known
being
Wat Pho and Wat
Arun.
Thailand
Buddhism
Buddhism
is
Thailand's
main
religion.
94%
of
Thai
people
are
Buddhist. The other are Muslim,
Catholic or Chinese. Buddhism was born
2,546 years ago (the official year in
Thailand is the year 2003 and the
traditional
year
is
the
year
2546).
Buddhism
is
linked
with
the
historical
Indian prince,
Siddharta
Gautama
, who became the Buddha and
reached the
enlightenment. Now his
teachings are still followed. His teachings say
that
people
suffer
because
they
are
attached
to
material
things,
to
women
or
men
by
heart
links.
These
links
cause
suffer,
jealousy
so
pain.
People
are never satisfied, . they want more
money, more power. The aim of
Buddhism
is
to
get
rid
of
these
pains
and
of
these
links.
There
are
several
kinds of Buddhism. Thai Buddhism is
called
Theravada
Buddhism
.
Quote from the author:
The following is a part of the
author
’
s remarks, based on
which we
can have a glimpse of the poor
of Tailand.
“
If
I
had
not
left
my
village
then,
I
would
have
been
subject
like
most
villagers,
to
the
mercy
of
nature:
floods,
drought,
disease,
ignorance
and
scarcity.
With
endurance, I would have
accepted them as my own fate, as something I can
not
go against in this
life.
”
II. Task cycle:
Theme of the text:
The text tells about the deep regret of
the old people over the loss of
traditional values and the way of
life.
Structure of the
text:
The text can be
divided into two parts:
Part
I (paras 1-7): about the interview of
wife.
Part II: (paras.
8
—
11) about the
farmer’s speech
In-class discussion:
Question
: What kind of
writing does this text belong to?
Answer
:
This
text
is
an
essay
in
a
very
broad
sense
of
the
word,
or
rather
an
interview. It is written down by the writer who
interviewed
a farmer and his
wife.
(Since the World War
II it has become
popular
for
writers
to
interview
people,
record
what
they
say
and,
after
some,
not
too
much,
editing,
publish
these
people’s
stories in book
form.)
Question
:
What are stylistic features of
essay
?
Answer
:
Generally
speaking,
the
style
of
essay
is
colloquial.
The
language
is
straightforward. The sentences are short and words
are small
and easy, which help readers
to understand what
’
s going
on.
Questions in
mind:
What
do
we
learn
from
the
old
couple
in
the
interview?
What
are
their
characteristics?
What problems does the old couple meet
with?
What is
the root of the problem?
Are there any effective ways to solve
the problem?
Detailed study of the Text:
1)
.
They belonged
to my parents and forefathers. (para1)
to belong to sb:
to be owned
by sb.
“
Yes,
these
are
our
rice
fields.
They
belonged
to
my
parents
and
forefathers. The land is more than
three centuries old.
”
Question
:
In
the
first
paragraph,
why
does
the
wife
start
her
conversation
with the talk
about the land?
Answer
:
The wife
has
already regarded the land as part
of her life. This
is
the
land
where
her
parents
and
forefathers
lived
and
it
is
bound
with
family
history
and
tradition.
It
represents
the
root
of
her
family.
2).
…
it was I who stayed with my
parents till they died. (para1)
Sentence structure
: the
emphatic structure.
Pattern
: it is was
…
thatwho
…
Function
: to emphasize some
parts in a sentence,
.
the subject.
It
was
the
policeman
that/who
caught
a
pickpocket
on
No.
933
bus
yesterday.
.
the object.
It
was a pickpocket that the policeman caught on No.
933 bus yesterday.
.
the adverbial
It
was on bus that the policeman caught a pickpocket
yesterday. (the
adverbial of
place)
It was yesterday that
the policeman caught a pickpocket on No. 933 bus.
(the adverbial of time)
Task:
Make sentence
according to each pattern
3). My husband moved into my house as
is the way with us in Esarn. (para
1)
“As”
introduces
a
defining
relative
clause,
and
functions
as
its
subject,
representing what
is stated in the main clauses.
More examples:
As is known to all, Taiwan belongs to
China. (as-----subject of
the
clause)
As
is
often
the
case,
the
boy
was
late
for
class.
(as-----subject
of the clause)
Question
: What is the
cultural connotation in this sentence?
Answer
:
When
we
got
married)
my
husband
came
to
live
in
our
house.
It
was
the tradition here in
Esarn that the
bridegroom
should come
to live with
the
bride’s family.
4).
The
rest,
two
boys
and
two
girls,
went
away
as
soon
as
we
could
afford
to buy jeans for them. ( para
1)
the rest (of
sth)
: the remaining people or things;
the others
.
其中一本书比较难，其他的简单。
One of the books is quite difficult;
the rest are easy.
to afford
do sth.:
to have enough money to buy or
to do sth.
.
目前，我负担不起去欧洲旅行。
At
the moment, I can
’
t afford a
trip to Europe.
two boys and
two girls:
used as the
appositive of “the rest”
More examples
:
Your father, a proud and
unbending man, refused all help that was
offered him.
Playing
football,
his
only
interest
in
life,
brought
him
many
friends.
A
dry
lightning
storm,
that
is,
a
thunderstorm
without
rain,
started
a fire in a remote
part of the forest in August.
The whole sentence:
Our
other children
—
two boys and
two girls
—
left as
soon as we
had
the money to buy them jeans.
5). They come to see us now and then,
stay a few days, and then they are
off
again. (para 2)
(every) now
and then:
from time to time; now and
again; occasionally
stay a
few days:
Here the phrase
“
a few
days
”
is used
adverbially
.
be
off:
be away from a place,
6).
…
and
tell
us
that
they
are
doing
well.
I
know
this
is
not
always
true.
(para 2)
The
whole
sentence
:
…
although
they
always
tell
us
that
everything
is
fine
with
them,
I know they also have
difficulties and problems. They just do not tell
us because they
do not want us to worry.
7)
…
it is like a
knife piercing my heart. (para 2)
The whole sentence
: When I
hear about their hardships, I feel very
bad.
8)
It
’
s easier for my husband.
He has ears which don
’
t
hear, a mouth
which
doesn
’
t speak, and eyes that
don
’
t see.
(para2)
Sentence
structure
: These three clauses are all
restrictive relative
clause and they
are the parallel structure.
The whole sentence:
News
about my children’s problems doesn’t make my
husband
as sad as
me. He doesn’t bother about what
is
happening around us and
to
our
children. He never says
anything about them.
9) He
has always been patient and silent, minding his
own life. (para2)
mind:
take care of; attend to
“
minding his own
life
”
:
this
present participle phrase functioning as
adverbial of accompanying
circumstances
The whole
sentence
He’s always
been
patient and talks little. He just
does his duty
and
carries on his life.
Cf.
“
mind
one
’
s own
business
”
----------
< br>＞“
don
’
t
interfere
”
10)
Our
piece
of
land
is
small,
and
it
is
no
longer
fertile,
bleeding
year
after year and, like
us, getting old and exhausted. (para 3)
year after year:
every year
for many years
The whole
sentence
: Our land is getting poorer
with each passing year,
like us who are
getting old, weak and tired.
“
bleeding year
after
year
”:
this
present participle
phrases
functions
here as a
cause.
More
example
:
They sent us their statement, hoping to
get our support.
They went on with their struggle,
thinking theirs was a just cause.
Not having received an
answer, he decided to write another letter to
them.
The doctor, not wishing to make her
nervous, did not fully explain
the
seriousness of her condition.
“
getting old and
exhausted
”
: (rhetorical
device)
personification
Personification
:
Definition
:
Referring
to
inanimate
things
or
abstractions
as
if
they
were
human. It is a kind of
metaphor.
More
examples:
As
London
increased,
however,
rank
and
fashion
rolled
off
to
the
west,
and
trade,
creeping
on
at
their
heels
took
possession
of
their
deserted
abodes.
The youth were singing, laughing and
playing the music instruments.
The
trees and flowers around them danced heartily as
if touched by
merry mood.
How soon hath Time, the
subtle thief of youth, stolen on his wing my
three and twentieth year!
11)
… but in a bad year,
it’s not only
the ploughs that break
but our
hearts too. (para 3)
it’s not only
:
a
kind of emphatic structure.
break:
“break”
in
this
sentence
governs
both
“ploughs”
and
“hearts”
,
therefore we call this kind of
rhetorical device as
syllipsis.
Syllipsis
(
一语双叙
)
Definition
: a single word is
made to modify or govern two or more words
in the same sentence.
More examples:
The senator picked up his hat as well
as his courage.
COATTAILS: Clothes that fit the man and
the times. (Advert. In New
York
Times
Magazine,
1980)
Ten
minutes
later,
the
coffee
and
Commander
Dana
of
Naval
Intelligence
arrived simultaneously.
蜜蜂是在酿蜜，又是在酿造生活，……
----
杨朔《荔枝蜜》
水调数声持酒听，午醉醒来愁未醒。送春出去几时回？临晚镜，伤流景，往
事后期空记省。
----
张先《天仙子》
第二位汪太太过了门没生孩子，只生病。在家养病反倒把这病养家了，不肯
离开她，所以她终年娇弱得很……
----
钱钟书《围城》
The whole sentence:
… but
when there is a drought, the land is so hard
that the ploughs break. And we become
very, very sad.
Question
: Summarize these
three paragraphs:
Answer
:
The
wife
tells
us
briefly
about
her
family
and
how
all
her
children
left.
12) Only
ten years ago, you could barter for things, but
now it
’
s all
cash. (para 4)
The whole sentence
: Just ten
years ago, we cold exchange one thing for
another, but
today we have to use money to get
everything we need. (In the past, we
were more or
less
self-sufficient.
But
now,
we
have
to
buy
everything
in
the
market.)
13)
Men
used
to
make
things
with
fine
bamboo
pieces,
but
no
longer.
(para
4)
used to do
sth
…
.but no
longer
…
:
it is
often used to show a change
. They used to come and see their
parents every week, but no longer.
他们过去每周常来看他们父母，但现在不再了。
The whole sentence
: In the
past men made fine bamboo crafts but they no
longer do that.
14) Shops have sprung up, filled with
colorful plastic things and goods
we
have no use for. (para 4)
to
spring up:
appear suddenly or develop
quickly
to be filled with
sth:
to be made full of sth.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
上一篇：港校推荐信
下一篇：新编英语教材5翻译答案(英语专业)