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Unit 1
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Global Reading
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Structural Analysis of the Text
This text is a piece of narrative
writing, in which the author tells about her
experience during
the first year at
university, which at first seems to be very
awkward but turns out to be on the right
track at last.
In the text,
three incidents
are narrated
by the author: 1) the first is about her going
into the
wrong classroom; 2) the second
is about her falling down in the cafeteria; 3) the
last is about her
witnessing the same
embarrassing fall happening to someone admired by
her.
Despite
the differences between these three incidents,
they actually revolve around
one
theme
:
The growth of the
author, who is able to draw lessons from the
mistakes she has made and finally
succeeds in adjusting herself to the
college life.
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Rhetorical Features of the Text
Detailed descriptions of events are
everywhere to be seen in this text, which is a
dominant
feature of narrative writing.
Since the description of an event will involve a
lot of movements or
actions, compound
sentences and compound-complex sentences have been
used frequently in the
text.
For examples:
I
first began to wonder what I was doing on a
college campus anyway when my parents drove off,
leaving me standing pitifully in a
parking lot, wanting nothing more than to find my
way safely to
my dorm room. (Paragraph
1)
I settled into my chair
and tried to assume the scientific pose of a
biology major, bending slightly
forward,
tensing
my
arms
in
preparation
for
furious
note-taking,
and
cursing
under
my
breath.
(Paragraph 5)
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Detailed
Reading
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Questions
1.
Why
did
the
author
have
the
impression
that
“everyone
on
campus
was
watching
me”?
(Paragraph 1)
→
The author, being over-sensitive, was
uneasy with her identity as a freshman. She
thought a
new student would attract
others
’
attention, as what
she did or said was liable to be too
na?
ve to be
right. That
feeling is a typical symptom of lacking in self-
confidence.
2.
Why did the author exclaim “What
confidence, what reserve, what muscles!”
when she saw the
football
player? (Paragraph 2)
→
College life was a new experience to
the author. That she marveled at the real football
player
showed
her
excitement
about
her
new
life.
And
more
importantly,
her
response
revealed
her
admiration
of
an
image
which
was
almost
exactly
the
opposite
of
her
own.
This
admiration
would later
become the motivation of her change.
3.
How
many
questions
are
used
in
Paragraphs
3,
4
and
5?
Why
does
the
author
raise
these
questions?
→
Four elliptical questions are used in
these paragraphs. Being a freshman, the author was
not
well acquainted with campus life.
She was at a loss as to what to do when something
unexpected
happened. These questions
are used to show her bewilderment.
4. Why did she dine on junk food for
the next three days? (Paragraphs 6-8)
→
Because she
thought she had become the laughing-stock on
campus. She couldn
’
t stand
being
laughed at by all the students
when she turned up in the cafeteria.
5.
What
was
the
key
lesson
Evelyn
Herald
learned
during
her
first
few
weeks
in
college?
(Paragraphs 10-14)
→
The
key
lesson
she
learned
during
her
first
few
weeks
in
college
was
that
she
realized
she
didn
’
t
have
to
pay
too
much
attention
to
what
other
people
were
thinking
about
her.
The
fresh
campus life was her big chance to do
her own things and be her own person. She might
well relax
herself and stop worrying
about making mistakes because people all grow by
trial and error.
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Group
discussion:
What lessons have you
learned from Evelyn
’
s
experiences after reading
the article
“Fresh Start”? Share
the experiences
when you first came to college.
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Words and
Expressions
Paragraph 1
distinct
a.
clearly seen,
heard, felt, understood, etc.; noticeable
e.g. Now that the boss was no longer
present, there was a distinct change in her
attitude.
The children have distinct
memories of their grandfather in his last days.
Comparison: distinct &
distinctive
distinct:
Something that is distinct can clearly be seen,
heard, smelled, etc.
e.g. There is a
distinct smell of beer in this room.
distinctive:
It means having
a special quality, character, or appearance that
is different and easy to
recognize.
e.g. Beer has a very distinctive smell;
it
’
s quite distinct from the
smell of wine.
Practice:
One of the _________ features of this
book is its __________ illustrations.
本书特点之一就是具有清楚明了的图解。
(Keys: distinctive, distinct)
Paragraphs 2-9
clutch
vt
.
hold or grasp
tightly;
vi
.
try
to grasp or seize
e.g. The
frightened woman clutched her bags to her breast.
He clutched at the rope we had thrown
to him but could not reach it.
Synonyms:
seize, grasp
e.g. She seized my arm as she fell.
grasp the essence / main points
glimpse
n.
①
a quick look at sb. or sth.
e.g. I caught a glimpse of our new
neighbor.
②
a short
experience of sth. that helps you begin to
understand it
e.g. Her worried face
gave me a glimpse of her true feelings.
她的忧伤表情使我感受到她内心的真实感情。
reserve
n.
a quality in
sb.’s character that make them not like expressing
their emotions or talking about their
problems
e.g. Being a man of
reserve, Mr. York was never popular with his
colleagues.
Judy has tried every means
to break through the reserve of her stepson.
Derivation
：
reserved
a.
e.g.
T
he English have
a reputation for being reserved.
whereabouts
n.
approximate
location;
ad.
used to ask in what general area sth.
or sb. is
e.g.
T
he
orphan
’
s whereabouts is /
are still unknown.
The police have
appealed for information concerning the
whereabouts of the stolen car used
in
the robbery.
Whereabouts did you grow
up?
demeanor
n.
the way sb. behaves, dresses, speaks,
etc. that shows what their character is like
Practice
:
①他的举止沉着、稳健。
His
demeanor was clam and steady.
②这个女孩子的态度娴静而谦逊。
The girl has a quiet, modest demeanor.
scribble
(down)
v.
write sth. quickly and untidily
e.g. I scribbled his phone number in my
address book.
He scribbled
down our names.
grope
v.
①
try to find sth. that you
cannot see by feeling with your hands
Collocations:
grope for
e.g. Ginny groped for her glasses on
the bedside table.
grope around