unit8_擲鐵餅者

1、Richard SelzerTHE DISCUS THROWERABOUT THE AUTHOR Richard Selzer 1928: born in Troy, New York 1948: graduated from Union collegeSurgeonWriterAS A SURGEON 1953: received M.D from Albany Medical College 1960: completed a surgical internship and residency at Yale University Until 1985: remained as Assis

2、tant Clinical Professor of Surgery backAS A WRITER 1973: Rituals of Surgery 1973: Rituals of Surgery ( first collection of ( first collection of short storiesshort stories) ) 1976: Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery 1976: Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery 1979: Confessions of a Kn

3、ife 1979: Confessions of a Knife ( a collection of 24 ( a collection of 24 essaysessays, roughly half of which are , roughly half of which are surgical memoriessurgical memories) ) 1982: Letters to a Young Doctor 1982: Letters to a Young Doctor 1986: Taking the World in for Repairs 1986: Taking the

4、World in for Repairs 1990: Imagine a Woman 1990: Imagine a Woman 1990: A Mile and a Half of Ink (a 1990: A Mile and a Half of Ink (a diarydiary) )AWARDS National Magazine Award National Magazine Award American Medical Writers Award American Medical Writers Award Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fell

5、owship His articles have appeared in many magazines His articles have appeared in many magazinesABOUT HIS WRITING In 1991, he In 1991, he contractedcontracted Legionnaires Legionnaires diseasedisease but went on to document his recovery in but went on to document his recovery in Raising the Dead: A

6、Doctors Encounter with Raising the Dead: A Doctors Encounter with His Own MortalityHis Own Mortality In his writing, he draws upon his experience as In his writing, he draws upon his experience as a surgeon, and as one critic points out, he a surgeon, and as one critic points out, he “force physicia

7、ns to think about the morality of “force physicians to think about the morality of medicine.”medicine.” This text is a piece of narration. The narrator, as a doctor, had a unique habit of “spying on” his patients for the sake of better medical treatment. He met with a particular patient who is blind

8、 and has amputations（截肢）（截肢） of both legs. Though the patient is legless, he requires a pair of shoes everyday. He refuses his food and has a strange habit of throwing his china plate against the wall of his room. This caused a conflict between the man and the head nurse. Finally the patient died, a

9、nd the doctor discovered that the man starved himself to death when he paid attention to the repeatedly washed place where the scrambled eggs dropped to the floor.About the TextWhat to think of this man, how to understand him, and how to treat him?WORDS AND EXPRESSIONSNounsVerbsAdjectivesAdverbPrepo

10、sitionStanceReposeBonsaiFacsimileCacheKickshawStumpScabForcepsShardDisinfectantDomeAccompliceOatmealAssembleTanPruneAcknowledgeScrambleProbeHeftFurtiveClose-croppedVileSnowboundInertDeceasedDignifiedAwkwardlyAthwartSTANCE NOUN 1、the opinions that sb has about sth and expresses publiclye.g. What is t

11、he newspapers stance on the war? 2、the way in which sb stands, especially when playing a sportREPOSE Noun U a state of rest, sleep or feeling calmNoun U a state of rest, sleep or feeling calme.g. 1e.g. 1、She went outside seeking a few moments of She went outside seeking a few moments of repose.repos

12、e. 2 2、In reposeIn repose, his face was sad., his face was sad. Verb Verb 1 1、（、（of an objectof an object）to be or be kept in a particular to be or be kept in a particular placeplace 2 2、（、（of a personof a person）to lie or rest in a particular placeto lie or rest in a particular placeBONSAI Noun (pl

13、. bonsai)Noun (pl. bonsai) C a small tree that is grown in a pot and prevented C a small tree that is grown in a pot and prevented from reaching its normal sizefrom reaching its normal size Uthe Japanese art of growing bonsaiUthe Japanese art of growing bonsaiFACSIMILE NOUN C an exact copy of sthC a

14、n exact copy of sth a facsimile edition a facsimile edition 摹本版摹本版 C,U (formal) =FAX : a facsimile machineC,U (formal) =FAX : a facsimile machineCACHE NOUN a hidden store of things such as weaponsa hidden store of things such as weapons an arms weapons ( an arms weapons (隱藏的武器隱藏的武器) )KICKSHAW NOUN a

15、 fancy but insubstantial cooked dish, especially one a fancy but insubstantial cooked dish, especially one of foreign originof foreign origin e.g. Many restaurants put out pictures of their kickshaw e.g. Many restaurants put out pictures of their kickshaw to attract customers.to attract customers.ST

16、UMP NOUN & VERB Noun C the short part of sbs leg or arm that is left Noun C the short part of sbs leg or arm that is left after the rest has been cut offafter the rest has been cut off Verb Verb 1 (informal) to ask question that is too difficult for them 1 (informal) to ask question that is too diff

17、icult for them to answer or give them a problem that they cannot to answer or give them a problem that they cannot solvesolve e.g. Kate was stumped for words. e.g. Kate was stumped for words. 凱特張口結(jié)舌。凱特張口結(jié)舌。 2 to walk in a noisy, heavy way, especially because you 2 to walk in a noisy, heavy way, espe

18、cially because you are angry or upsetare angry or upset e.g. He stumped off, muttering under his breath. e.g. He stumped off, muttering under his breath.他嘴里嘟他嘴里嘟噥著，腳步重重的走了。噥著，腳步重重的走了。 3 3 to travel around making political speeches, especially to travel around making political speeches, especially be

19、fore an electionbefore an election e.g. He stumped around the country trying to build up e.g. He stumped around the country trying to build up support. support. 他在全國各地巡回演講，爭取更多的支持。他在全國各地巡回演講，爭取更多的支持。SCAB NOUN C a hard dry covering that forms over a wound as it C a hard dry covering that forms over a

20、 wound as it healshealsForceps noun pl. an instrument used by doctors, with two long thin parts an instrument used by doctors, with two long thin parts for picking up and holding thingsfor picking up and holding things a pair of forceps a pair of forceps 一把鑷子一把鑷子SHARD NOUN (ALSO SHERD) A piece of br

21、oken glass, metal, etc.A piece of broken glass, metal, etc. shards of glass shards of glass 玻璃碎片玻璃碎片Disinfectant noun C,U A substance that disinfectsA substance that disinfects a strong smell of disinfectant a strong smell of disinfectant 嗆人的消毒劑氣味嗆人的消毒劑氣味DOME NOUN A round roof with a circular baseA

22、round roof with a circular base the dome of St Pauls Cathedral the dome of St Pauls Cathedral 圣保羅大教堂的穹頂圣保羅大教堂的穹頂ACCOMPLICE NOUN A person who helps another to commit a crime or to A person who helps another to commit a crime or to do sth wrongdo sth wrong e.g. One of the officers is charged with murd

23、er. The e.g. One of the officers is charged with murder. The other is charged as an accomplice.other is charged as an accomplice.OATMEAL NOUNU flour made from crushes oats, used to make cookiesASSEMBLE VERB to come together as a group, to bring people or things together as a group e.g. All the stude

24、nts were asked to assemble in the main hall. to fit together all the separate parts of sth 裝配，組裝 e.g. The shelves are easy to assemble. 擱架很容易裝配。TAN VERB if a person or their skin tans or is tanned, they become brown as a result of spending time in the sun e.g. My skin tans really easily.PRUNE VERB t

25、o cut off some branches from a tree, bush, etc. so that it will grow better and strongere.g. When should you prune apple trees? to make sth smaller by removing parts, to cut off parts of sth e.g. Staff numbers have been pruned back to175.ACKNOWLEDGE VERB to show that you have noticed sb or sth by sm

26、iling, to show that you have noticed sb or sth by smiling, waving, etc waving, etc e.g. I was standing next to her, but she didnt even e.g. I was standing next to her, but she didnt even acknowledge me.acknowledge me. to accept that sth is trueto accept that sth is true e.g. she refuses to acknowled

27、ge the need for reform. e.g. she refuses to acknowledge the need for reform.SCRAMBLE VERB To move quickly, especially with difficulty, using your To move quickly, especially with difficulty, using your hands to help you hands to help you e.g. she managed to scramble over the wall. e.g. she managed t

28、o scramble over the wall. To push, fight or compete with others in order to get or To push, fight or compete with others in order to get or to reach sthto reach sth To manage to achieve sth with difficulty, or in a hurry, To manage to achieve sth with difficulty, or in a hurry, without much controlw

29、ithout much control To cook an egg by mixing the white and yellow parts To cook an egg by mixing the white and yellow parts together and heating them, sometimes with milk and together and heating them, sometimes with milk and butterbutter scrambled eggs scrambled eggsPROBE VERB To ask questions in o

30、rder to find out secret or hidden To ask questions in order to find out secret or hidden information about sb/sthinformation about sb/sth e.g. he didnt like the media probing into his past. e.g. he didnt like the media probing into his past. To touch, examine or look for sth, especially with a To to

31、uch, examine or look for sth, especially with a long thin instrumentlong thin instrumente.g. the doctor probed the wound for signs of infection.e.g. the doctor probed the wound for signs of infection.HEFT VERBLift or hold (something) in order to test its weighte.g. Anne hefted the gun in her hand.FU

32、RTIVE ADJECTIVEattempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive e.g. He stole a furtive glance at her.suggestive of guilty nervousness the look in his eyes became furtiveDerivatives furtively adverb furtiveness nounCLOSE-

33、CROPPED ADJ.(of hair or grass) cut very shortVILE ADJ. (informal) extremely unpleasant(informal) extremely unpleasant e.g. he was in a vile mood. e.g. he was in a vile mood. (formal) wicked, completely unacceptable(formal) wicked, completely unacceptable e.g. the vile practice of taking hostages e.g

34、. the vile practice of taking hostages 扣押人質(zhì)的卑劣扣押人質(zhì)的卑劣行徑行徑 DerivativesDerivatives vilely adv. Vileness n.SNOWBOUND ADJ. prevented from travelling or going out by snow or prevented from travelling or going out by snow or snowy weathersnowy weather e.g. he was snowbound in the nearby mountains e.g. he

35、was snowbound in the nearby mountains covered in snow or inaccessible because of itcovered in snow or inaccessible because of it a snowbound Alpine village a snowbound Alpine villageINERT ADJ. lacking the ability or strength to movelacking the ability or strength to move e.g. e.g. she lay inert in h

36、er bed.she lay inert in her bed. lacking vigourlacking vigour an inert political system an inert political system DerivativesDerivatives inertly adv. Inertness n. inertly adv. Inertness n.DECEASED Adj.: recently dead the deceased mans family (the deceasedthe deceased) noun a person who has died, esp

37、ecially recentlyDIGNIFIED ADJ. having or showing a composed or serious manner that having or showing a composed or serious manner that is worthy of respectis worthy of respect e.g. she maintained a dignified silence. e.g. she maintained a dignified silence. a dignified old lady a dignified old lady

38、DerivativesDerivatives dignifiedly adv. dignifiedly adv.AWKWARDLY ADV.Not smoothly or gracefully, ungainly e.g. “Im sorry,” he said awkwardly. she fell awkwardly and broke her ankle.DerivativesDerivatives awkward adj. awkwardness n.ATHWART prepositionpreposition1 from side to side of; across a count

39、er was placed athwart the entrance2 in opposition to; counter to these statistics runrun sharply athwartathwart conventional presumptionsadverbadverb1 across from side to side; transversely one table running athwart was all the room would hold2 so as to be perverse or contradictory our words ran athwartran athwart and we ended up at cross purposes The image of the old man gives readers a strong contrast. On one hand, the old man is seriously ill: blind and legless. According to the common sense, he is supposed to be weak, pitiful and hopeless.