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Unit 8 The Discus Thrower
Key to the Exercises
Text comprehension
I .
Decide which of the
following best states the author's purpose of
writing.
II.
Judge, according to the
text, whether the following statements are true or
false.
1.
F
(Refer to Paragraph 1.)
2.
F (Refer to Paragraph 2. Here it is
stated that the patient's skin is not brown from
the
sun,
though
it
looks
deeply
tanned
from
a
distance.
Rather,
his
skin
becomes
reddish
because he was in
his last stage of life, that is, he was
approaching death.)
3.
F
(Refer
to
Paragraph
7.
When
the
doctor
offered
his
help,
the
patient
remained
silent for a long
time, and then in real earnest he asked for a pair
of shoes, hoping against
hope that the
doctor would make him a whole being again.)
4.
T
(Refer to Paragraph 7.)
III.
A
nswer the following
questions.
1.
Refer to Paragraph 1. No, he doesn't.
Instead, he finds the activity justifiable. For
one
thing,
he
thinks
the
activity
is
well-
meant,
i.e.
he
wants
to
collect
more
pathological
evidence in order to give the patients
more effective treatment. For another, his
activity is
not spying in the true
sense, for the act is far from furtive.
2.
Refer
to
Paragraph
2.
The
fact
that
there
are
no
get-well
cards,
no
small,
private
caches of food and day-old flowers
shows that he has been abandoned by his family and
friends.
3.
Refer to Paragraph 7. As a
blind man, he is restrained in activity. Now
without legs
he is completely confined
to bed. Like a caged bird, he longs for freedom
and dreams of
going back to his career.
Thus it is understandable why he repeatedly asks
for shoes.
4.
Refer to Paragraphs 9?0. This is the
way he expresses his wrath with the unfair fate.
He is deprived of sight and now his
legs. Deserted by society, he is left with very
little.
Indignant as he is, he can
avenge himself upon nobody. What he can do is only
to crash
his plate against the wall to
vent his anger and despair. Moreover, he would
rather die in
a stroke like the plate
than linger in agony.
5.
Refer
to
Paragraph
11.
The
laughter
is
unique
as
is
indicated
in
Paragraph
11.
It
comes
both
from
the
pleasure
after
revenge
by
crashing
the
plate
and
the
hope
to
extricate
himself
from
his
agony
by
means
of
an
abrupt
death
like
the
plate.
Since
freedom
in
this
material
world
is
impossible
to
him,
he
wishes
to
have
it
in
the
other
world.
C
IV.
Explain in
your own words the following sentences.
1.
but metaphorically that his
physical condition is going from bad to worse.
2.
The wild,
relaxed laughter is a totally new sound in the
world that nobody has ever
heard. The
joyful laughter could even give a promising future
to cancer patients.
3.
The aide looks across at me, shaking
her head to express her frustration and pursing
her lips to signal her annoyance.
Structural analysis of the
text
This text can be divided into
three parts. Part 1, i.e. Paragraph 1, serves as
an introduction
to
the
background
of
the
story.
Part
2,
i.e.
Paragraphs
2?3,
describes
the
strange
behaviour
of
a
particular patient
dubbed
discus
thrower
and
his
conflict
with the
health workers. Part 3, i.e. Paragraphs
14?5, tells the reader about the death of the
patient.
Here are the suggested
headlines for the three parts: Part 1: Spying on
Patients: a Habit
of Mine; Part 2:
Encounters with a Particular Patient; Part 3: The
Death of the Patient.
Rhetorical features of the text
1.
The questions
he asks himself:
Ought not a doctor to observe his
patients by any means and from any stance, that he
Is he mute as well as blind?
What is he thinking behind
those lids that do not blink? Is he remembering a
time
These questions call for no answer
but they reveal the inner thoughts of the
narrator.
might the more fully assemble
evidence?
when he was
whole? Does he dream of feet? Or when his body was
not a rotting log?
He
seems
to
be
trying
to
place
himself
in
the
position
of
the
patient
for
a
better
understanding of the
patient's psychology.
2.
The questions he asks in his dialogue
with the patient:
Vocabulary exercises
I.
Explain the underlined part in each
sentence in your own words.
1.
reddish brown
2.
low-growing
3.
almost
unbearable degree
These questions help to show that the
narrator is very patient with and responsible
for his patient.
4.
brings the spoon into light contact
with
5.
visit
the patients
II.
Fill in the blank in each sentence with
a word from the box in its appropriate form.
1.
accomplice
2.
probing
3.
furtive
4.
solid
5.
pruned
6.
acknowledging
7.
hefted
8.
unwrapped
III.
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate
forms of the given words.
1.
peculiar
2.
impression
delivery
assembly
awkwardly
3.
dwellings
4.
5.
disinfectants
6.
7.
probings
IV.
Choose
the
word
or
phrase
that
can
replace
the
underlined
part
in
each
sentence
without changing its original meaning.
1. B
2. A
3. A
4. C
5. D
6. C
7. A
8. A
V.
Give a
synonym or an antonym of the word underlined in
each sentence in the sense
it is used.
1.
Synonym:
stare (watch, look)
2.
Synonym: live (reside, inhabit, lodge,
stay)
3.
Synonym: sway
4.
Synonym: satire (sarcasm,
derision, ridicule)
5.
Antonym: tense (nervous, stressed,
anxious)
6.
Synonym:
remarkable (extraordinary, notable, striking)
7.
Antonym: desirable
(pleasant, agreeable)
8.
Synonym: stretch (extend)
VI.
Explain the meaning of
the underlined part in each sentence.
1. location
5. usually
Grammar exercises
I.
1.
Make
comments on the following situations, using the
words and structures given.
you have
enjoyed it
2. praises
3. much
4. Supporting
6. bring together
8.