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Unit 11
TEXT 1
CULTIVATING A HOBBY
Winston
Churchill
Objectives:
to take notes as completely
as possible in class.
to present
their interpretations of each paragraph.
Section one
Pre-
reading questions:
(15 mins.)
1.
What does ‘hobby’
mean
?
(refer to
Lib. work)
2.
Do
you have any hobbies?
What
are they?
3.
Do
your hobbies do you any good?
In what ways?
4.
Who is W. Churchill?
What’s his hobby you know from
what
you have
learned or from this text?
(refer to Lib. work)
In-reading interpretation:
The
teacher explains every sentence to the students
while the latter try to
take notes as
quickly and completely as possible.
After the text interpretation,
the students are required to explain
some sentences by their own.
Para.1
(15
mins.)
1.
Worry is a spasm of emotion;
the mind catches hold of
something and will
not let it
go.
spasm:
an involuntary muscular contraction;
here, a sudden violent spell
(of); a
sudden convulsive movement
Worry
is
a
kind
of
feeling
which
catches
y
ou
suddenly
so
that
you
can’t
have
any peace of mind.
This
feeling arises when you think about something
without being able to discontinue
thinking about it.
Thus
worry results.
2
.
It is useless to argue with
the mind in this condition
.
in
this condition = when
the
mind
catches hold of
something and will not
let it go
It is of no use trying to stop the
troubled mind / the worry when it
catches
1
hold of something and will not let it
go
.
i.e., when
worry comes.
3.
The stronger the will, the more futile
the task.
(LW6-1)
The stronger
your will (to
argue with the
mind,
or to stop the worry) is, the
more ineffective/unsuccessful/useless
it will be for you to
achieve this task
of
stopping the worry.
The
more you attempt to shake off your worry, the
harder it will be for you
to get rid of
it / have it off your mind.
Then what can we do to stop the worry?
4.
One can
gently insinuate something else into its
convulsive grasp.
insinuate =
introduce indirectly and subtly
convulsive grasp = the worry
The
only
way
is
to
have
something
else
in
mind
so
that
it
will
not
be
grasped by worry / so as
to replace the worry.
What does
‘something else’ imply?
Something else
implies the
hobby.
5.
And if
this
something else is
rightly chosen, if it is
really attended by the
illumination of another field of
interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the
old undue grip relaxes and the process
of recuperation and repair begins.
attend
= accompanied
(comp.3-2)
illumination
=
enlightenment, edification
another field
of interest
= hobby
the
old undue grip
= worry
recuperation and repair
=
not becoming worried any longer
If
you
choose
the
right
thing
to
conquer
your
mind,
if
you
have
another
field
of
interest
to
enlighten
you,
your
worry,
gradually
or
swiftly,
will
be
relieved. / you will be released from
the worry.
6.
This
para.
is
about
worry,
which
is
repeatedly
talked
about.
Instead
of
mentioning ‘worry’ again
and again whenever it is talked about, Churchill
uses
some
other
phrases
to
refer
to
this
annoying
state
of
mind
so
as
to
avoid
the
monotony
of
expressions.
Identify
these
phrases
in
the
1st
paragraph.
(comp.3-1)
a spasm of
emotion, its convulsive grasp, the old undue grip
2
Para.2
(10 mins.)
1.
The cultivation of a hobby
and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of
first importance to a public man.
It is the most important for a public
man to cultivate a hobby, because he is
likely to have more worries in his work
concerned with interrelationships with
various kinds of people.
2.
But
this
is
not
a
business
that
can
be
undertaken
in
a
day
or
swiftly
improvised by a mere
command of the will.
The growth of alternative mental
interests is a long process.
improvise = make or do without
preparation, practice, sufficient material,
etc.
But a hobby
cannot be cultivated and developed so quickly as
you expect in
your
business.
No
matter
how
strong
your
will
is,
hobby
cultivation
has
to
undergo a long process.
3.
The seeds
must be carefully chosen;
they must fall on good ground;
they
must be
sedulously tended, if the vivifying fruits are to
be at hand when needed.
(comp.3-3)
This
is
a
metaphor
to
describe
the
cultivation
of
a
hobby.
Explain
it.
The
author
compares
‘hobby’
to
‘seed’,
‘fitness
(of
a
hobby)
to
an
individual’
to
‘good
ground’,
and
‘the
effect
(in
lessening
one’s
worry)’
to
‘fruit’
so
that
the
reader
can
have
something
concrete
to
look
at.
This
is
certainly a more
effective way to explain an idea, esp. an abstract
or complex
idea.
(Analysis)
sedulously =
diligently, carefully, assiduously
vivifying fruits = results that give
one relaxation / refreshment
The
cultivation of a hobby is compared to that of a
plant.
First of all, the
right
hobby (the seed of a
plant)
must
be
carefully
chosen
for
a
person
(good
ground);
then the process of cultivating a
hobby, like that of growing a plant,
requires care and effort.
Only in this way can one reap in due
time the fruit of
one’s labor
-
the relaxing effect of
one’s h
obby.
4.
There
are
some
other
expressions
used
in
this
para.
to
refer
to
‘hobby’.
3
Identify them.
new forms of interest, alternative
mental interests, another field of interest
(Para.1)
Para.3
(15 mins.)
1.
To be really happy and
really safe, one ought to have at least two or
three
hobbies, and they must all be
real.
Hobby
is
an
entertainment
that
gives
you
joy
and
makes
you
free
from
worries.
Hobbies
should be what you are really interested in.
2.
It is no use
starting late in life to say: ‘I
will take an interest in this or that’
(LW6-2)
It
is not a good idea to begin thinking of pursuing a
hobby when you have
already grown old.
3.
Such an attempt only
aggravates the strain of mental effort.
aggravate =
make
worse
or more
serious
the strain of
mental effort
= worry
To
begin pursuing a hobby at an old age will not do
you any good but make
your worries more
serious. / involve you into more worries.
4.
A man may
acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with
his
daily
work, and yet
hardly get any benefit or relief.
A
saying
goes
that
it
is
never
too
late
to
learn.
Yes,
a
man
can
learn
anything throughout
his life, ( may acquire this knowledge or that
concerned or
not concerned with his
work,) but not everything he learns benefits him,
or gives
him
relief,
joy,
or
makes
him
‘happy
and
safe’
as
in
the
1st
sentence.
Therefore,
if
he
starts
a
hobby
too
late,
he
involves
himself
into
worry
and
trouble.
5.
It is no use doing what you like; you
have got to like what you do.
(LW6-3)
(It
is
no
good
believing
that
you
are
in
a
position
to
enjoy
at
a
moment’s
notice any pastime
which happens
to
catch your
fancy;
pleasure comes from
exerting one’s talents in a hobby
suited to one’s circumstances.)
It is good to enforce yourself to enjoy
whatever you are doing.
It
is not a
wise way to do what you are
interested in. / do whatever you will, or wish, or
4
like.
6.
Broadly
speaking, human beings may be divided into three
classes:
those
who
are
toiled
to
death,
those
who
are
worried
to
death,
and
those
who
are
bored to death.
What
kind
of
people
do
you
think
Churchill
had
in
mind
when
he
made
such
a
classification?
(comp.3-4)
or,
what
do
these
three
classes
of
people
refer to according to
Churchill?
Those
who
are
toiled
to
death
refers
to
manual
laborers,
blue-color
workers.
Those
who
are
worried
to
death
refers
to
people
who
work
with
their
brains,
e.g.,
professionals,
public
men.
(We’ll
be
worried
to
death
about
the
teaching, the research
work, the TEM8.)
Those who are
bored to death
refers to people who are
not doing anything
seriously, perhaps
the leisured class.
They
are the class of non-industrious and
useless creatures.
7.
It is no use offering the
manual laborer, tired out with a hard week’s sweat
and
effort,
the
chance
of
playing
a
game
of
football
or
baseball
on
Saturday
afternoon.
It is
no use
inviting the politician
or
the professional
or business
man, who has been working or
worrying about
serious
things for
six days, to
work
or worry about trifling things at the week-end.
It
is
no
use
offering
the
exhausted
laborers
the
chance
of
playing
these
effort-consuming sports
no
matter how
exciting
they
are;
it
is
no
use
asking
those
who
have
been
troubled
greatly
on
weekdays
to
worry
about
trifles
at
weekend since they have been tired of
using their brains, or they have been fed
up with all the troubles.
(These are two
illustrations to support the viewpoint that
it is no use doing
what you
like; you have got to like what you
do
.)
8.
Have
you
no
ticed
that
in
this
para.
‘it
is
no
use’
is
repeated
four
times.
What’s the function of this stylish use
of synonymous expression?
(Analysis)
to
aid
in
the
vividness
and
effectiveness
of
the
passage
and
to
gain
emphasis.
5
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