-
Unit 3
Message of the Land
I.
Introduction
1.
Background
1)
Genre
(type of writing)
This text is different from the
previous two, which are both stories. In teaching
stories, we must
first
help
students
to
follow
the
plot
and
find
out
what
the
author
intends
to
get
across
to
the
reader
—
the
thesis, which
is
often
implied,
and
not
directly
stated.
Readers
often
have
different
ideas about the
thesis of a story
.
The
present
text
is
an
essay
in
a
very
broad
sense
of
the
word, for
it was written
down
by
the
writer
who
interviewed
a
farmer
and
his
wife.
Since
the
end
of
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.
2)
Style
The style of such writing
is
colloquial, the language straightforward, and the
sentences generally
short. When we read
the text, we feel as if we were sitting face to
face with the couple, listening to
their stories and experiences, sharing
their joys and sorrows.
Note the
figures of speech the farmer and his wife use.
They are vivid, expressive and appropriate,
here are few examples:
…
and it is
like
a knife piercing my heart
. (para.2)
…
and it is no longer
fertile, bleeding year after year, and
like us getting old and
exhausted
.
(para.3)
When each of them has a pair of jeans,
they are
off like birds on the
wing
. (para.9)
3)
Urbanization
Urbanization is
the process by which more and more people leave
the countryside to live and work
in
cities.
We
find
in
the
farmer
and
his
wife
qualities
that
are
shared
by
many
who
till
the
lad
—
love of the
land, love of physical labor, and above all, lone
of family. We are also impressed
by
their honesty and kindness and by their simple
life. Their children, however, are quite
different.
The
way
they
leave
the
land
is
typical
of
many
young
people
born
and
brought
up
in
the
countryside. They
don
’
t see any attraction in
farming and, as soon as possible, leave for the
city to
seek their fortune.
As a result, farming is left
to the old people. This is true not
only in Thailand
but also in may other
developing countries.
2.
Structure
The text can be
roughly divided into two parts; both can be
further divided into several sections.
I.
What the
farmer
’
s wife says
(paras.1-7)
A.
A.
Her family and their land (paras.1-3)
1.
How she
inherited the land.
2.
How her four children live and work in
cities.
3.
How she and
her husband persisted in working on their land.
B.
Changes in the
village the farmers wife does not like (paras4-7)
1.
People have to
pay their neighbors for services.
2.
Plastic things
have replaced village crafts.
3.
Y
oung people copy fashions
of city people.
4.
She
thinks
certain
things,
such
as
religious
beliefs
and
traditions
should
not
change.
5.
She
wouldn
’
t change and
doesn
’
t complain about their
hardships.
II.
What the farmer says (paras.8-11)
A.
The reason for
his silence
—
he knows the
root of all evils (paras.8-9)
B.
His
worry
—
who he will give his
land to when he dies (para.10)
C.
His love of
the land (paras.10-11)
1.
He finds joy in farming.
2.
he
never wants
to
leave
his
land
and
hopes
he can
pass
on
the
land
’
s
secret
message to his
grandchildren.
3.
Teaching Tips
1)
Rice Cultivation
To help
students, mostly born in the 1900s, understand the
hardships of paddy rice farming, we
could give them a brief account of how
rice is cultivated with the help of pictures.
Rice is cultivated basically in two
ways. Rice farmers in developing countries usually
sow seeds in
small seedbeds, then hand-
transplant the seedling
into flooded
fields that have been plowed and
leveled (=made flat and smooth) by
water buffalo-drawn plows. One advantage of
transplanting
seedlings instead of
planting seed is that the young plants help limit
weed by shading them from
needed sun.
in industrialized countries, seed is sown with a
machine or cast from
an airplane into
machine-level fields that are then
flooded. Herbicides are the primary method of weed
control.
Transplanting rice seedlings
by had is a hard job, for the farmers have to
stand in muddy water,
barefoot, and
push the seedlings into the mud with their
fingers, a few at a time.
2)
Discussion
·
What kind of people do you
think the farmer and his wife are? What fin
qualities do you find
in them?
·
Compare
the
farmer with
his wife.
What
do
they
have
in common?
In what ways
are
they
different?
·
Do
you think the farmer and his wife are conservative
in some way? Explain.
·
What
do you think is the land
’
s
secret message the farmer wants to pass to his
grandchildren?
·
Do you agree
with all that the farmer and his wife say?
·
Do you think
it
’
s reasonable for young
people in the countryside to leave for the city to
seek
better opportunities for
themselves?
II.
Language Focus
1.
Key words
To
get, to put
2.
Word formation
1)
prefixes:
un-, re-, fore-
2)
suffixes:
-able, -en
3)
compound
words:
n
+
v
+
-
er
→
n
,
eg hairdresser;
adj
+
n
+
ed
→
adj
, eg old-
fashioned
3.
Verb
patterns
1)
link
v
+
adj
(as predicatiove)
2)
verbs
frequently used with this pattern: be, become,
feel, get, go, grow, keep, look, remain,
seem, smell, sound, taste, turn
4.
Idioms and
expressions
a
pair of
a strip of land
as for
as soon as
be able to
hundreds of
in a certain way
in infancy
in one
’
s day
in rags
in spite of
no longer
not only
…
but
…
, too
now and
then
only if
used to
year after year
be at peace
with
be filled with
be good for
be
the way with sb
be willing to
even if
from morning till
dusk
5.
Verb phrases
barter for
belong to
complain of
feel a pity for
6.
Verb + noun
collocations)
attract people
build a house
bully people
catch crabs
condemn a person
dig a well
gather flowers
lisult people
litter the
place
7.
Grammar
1)
ought todo sth
2)
shouldn
’
t have
done sth
3)
unreal conditional clasuses (present)
4)
III.
Detailed
Discussion of the T
ext
occur
to
passon
put on
spring up
mind
one
’
s own life
paint lips or nails
pierce one
’
s
heart
plan rice
plough the
field
reap the rice
replace sth
smell the scent
till the soil
8.
They belonged to my parents and
forefathers.
(para.1)
belong to sb:
to be owned by
sb
eg
This computer belongs to my roommate,
Wang Lin.
Who does the bag on the seat
belong to?
9.
…
it was I who stayed with
my parents till they dies.
(para.1)
Learn how to use
the emphatic form
“
it is/was
…
that/who
…”
More examples:
It was my sister who went to teach in a
village school upon graduation.
It was
in Shanghai that I first met Professor Li.
10.
My husband
moved into our house as is the way with us in
Esarn.
(para.1)
Paraphrase
：
(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.
“
As
”
here introduces a defining relative clause, and
functions as its subject, representing what
is stated in the main clause.
More examples:
As is often the case, the boy was late
for class. (as
—
subject of
the clause)
As was only to
be expected, the election was very close.
(as
—
subject of the clause)
11.
The rest, two
boys and two girls,
went away as soon
as we could afford to buy jeans for
them.
(para.1)
Paraphrase:
Our other
children
—
two boys and two
girls left as soon as we had the money to
buy them jeans.
two boys and
two girls
：
appositive of the
“
rest
”
the rest (of sth):
the
remaining people or things; the others
eg
Three tall boys were asked
to clean the windows;
the rest of the
class were to sweep
the floor and clean
the desks.
One of the books
is quite difficult; the rest are easy.
afford sth/to
do sth:
to have enough money to buy or
to do sth
eg
Quite a lot of Chinese families can
afford cars.
At
the moment I can
’
t afford a
trip to Europe.
12.
They come home to see us now and then,
stay
a few days, and then they are off
again.
(para.2)
They come
home
to
see
us
from
time
to
time,
stay with
us for
a few
days,
and
then
leave
again.
(every) now and then:
from
time to time; now and again; occasionally
stay a few days:
Here the
noun phrase
“
a few
days
”
is used adverbially
be off:
be away from a place
eg
My
father is off to Russia next week.
13.
…
and tell us that they are doing well. I know this
is not always true.
(para.2)
…
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
.
14.
…
it is like a knife
piercing my heart.
(para.2)
(When I hear about their hardships) I
feel very bad/sad.
15.
It
’
s easier fro
my husband.
He has ears which
don
’
t hear
, a
mouth which doesn
’
t speak,
and eyes that
don
’
t see.
(para.2)
Paraphrase:
News about my
children
’
s problems
doesn
’
t make my husband as
sad as me. He
doesn
’
t bother
about what
’
s happening
around us and to our children. Our
children
’
s hardships
don
’
t seem to
bother him.
which
don
’
t hear
and
which doesn
’
t
speak:
restrictive relative clauses
ears, mouth,
and
eyes:
parallel structure
16.
He has always
been patient and silent, minding his own
life.
(para.2)
Paraphrase:
He
’
s always been patient and
talks little. He just does his duty and carries on
his
life.
minding
his
own
life:
present
participle
phrase
functioning
as
adverbial
of
accompanying
circumstance
Note
: The usual phrase is
“
mind
one
’
s own
business
”
which means
“
do not
interfere
”
.
17.
All of them
remain my children in spite of their long
absence.
(para.3)
Although they are often away for a long
time,
I love and care about them as
always because
they are my children.
in spite of sth:
although
sth is true
eg
The children
went out to play in spite of the cold.
In spite of his
age, my grandpa lives an active life.
18.
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)
Paraphrase:
Our land is getting poorer with each
passing year, like us who are getting old,
weak and tired.
bleeding
and
getting old:
personification; present participle
phrases functioning as a cause.
year
after year:
every year for many years
Similar expressions: day after day,
week after week, etc.
19.
…
but in a bad year,
it
’
s not only the ploughs
that break, but our hearts, too.
(para.3)
…
but
when there is a drought, the soil is so hard that
the ploughs break. And we become very
,
very sad.
…
but
our hearts:
the verb in the clause
introduced by
“
but
”
is omitted to avoid repetition.
Note:
The verb
“<
/p>
break
”
, used twice
in the sentence, has different meanings.
(ploughs) break:
to separate
into two or more pieces
(heart) break:
(people) to become very sad
Two adjectives derived from the
collocation:
heartbreaking:
causing extreme sadness, as in a
heartbreaking story
heartbroken:
extremely sad
20.
Only ten
years ago, you could barter for things, but now
it
’
s all cash.
(para.4)
Just ten years ago,
we could exchange one thing for another, but today
we have to pay (use
money) to get
everything we need. (In the past we were more or
less self-sufficient. But now
we have
to buy everything from/in/on the market.
21.
Men used to
make things with fine bamboo pierces, but no
longer.
(para.4)
In the past men made fine bamboo crafts
but they no longer do that.
used to do
sth
…
but no longer
…
:
this
expression is often used to show a change
eg
They used to come and see their parents
every week, but no longer.
22.
Shops have
sprung up, filled with colorful plastic things and
goods we have no use for.
(para.4)
Paraphrase:
Shops
have
suddenly
appeared
in
the
village.
They
are
filled
with
attractive
plastic things
and with things we don
’
t
need. / Many shops appeared in a short time.
In these
shops there arelots
of plastic things and things that are useless for
us.
filled with:
past
participle phrase functioning as post-modifier to
modify
“
shops
”
we have no use for:
relative clause
spring up:
to appear or develop quickly and
suddenly
fill:
to make or
become full
be filled with sth:
to be full of sth