英語專業(yè)英語短篇小說及課后答案

1、Keys to Unit OneLangston Hughes: Early AutumnTeaching objectives: 1.To learn the elements of fiction/short story 2. Text for Reading 3. Interpretation and DiscussionDifficulties: 1. To find the meaning under the surface of the words 2. To write a short story after readingTime: 4 periodsTeaching proc

2、edures:1. the Introduction of the textbook as well as the teaching aims2. the elements of fiction/short storyFiction: the word fiction is a rather general term that can be defined as narrative told in prose. Therefore, fiction refers to different types of writing such as folktale, myth, legend, etc.

3、, but it is most often associated with the novel and the short story.Short story: the short story is necessarily limited in length and scope. Key words of short story: a single incident; a single character or a few characters; compact; creative and imaginative3. Exercises and analysis: 1) Opinions o

4、f Understanding:(1) What was probably untrue of Mary? A. She missed the days of the past. B. She still loved Bill. C. She worked to keep a family of three children. D. She was satisfied with her life and job in New York.(2) Which of the following adjectives can probably best describe Bills attitude?

5、 A. Emotional. B. Indifferent. C. Puzzled. D. Hopeful.(3) Mary didnt say anything when she got on the bus. Why? A. She had nothing more to say. B. She was disappointed in Bill. C. She was too emotional. D. She knew the situation was hopeless.(4) The last sentence of the story “she had forgotten to t

6、ell him that her youngest boy was named Bill, too” shows that _. A. Mary knew she would meet Bill again some day. B. “Bill” is a very common name. C. Mary had been thinking about Bill and still loved him. D. Mary was proud of her youngest son.(5) The title of the short story “Early Autumn” may sugge

7、st to the reader that _.A. the bitterness of an emotional long winter was ahead B. it was still the bright time of ones life, like early Autumn C. both Mary and Bill were now middle-aged people D. the love between them was not as “hot” as summer days2) Questions for Discussion (Suggested answers for

8、 reference):(1) Can you pick out words and sentences to show that Mary and Bill were now different in their attitudes toward each other? 1) Mary: she saw him for the first time in years. (line 5) Bill: At first he did not recognize her (line 8) 2) Mary: Unconsciously, she lifted her face as though w

9、anting a kiss (line 11) Bill: but he held out his hand. (line 12)3) Mary: “I live in New York now,” she said. (eagerly telling him her address) (line 14)Bill: “Oh” smiling politely, then a little frown came quickly between his eyes. (having no interested in her living place now.) (lines 15-16)4) Mar

10、y: “Married yet?” (concerning keenly about his marital status) (line 21)Bill: “Sure. Two kids.” (being satisfied with his present situation and showing pride in mentioning his family.) (line 22) 5) Bill: “And your husband?” he asked her. (not noticing her subtle emotional change.) (line 27)Mary: “We

11、 have three children. I work in the bursars office at Columbia” (avoiding mentioning her husband in her reply). (line 28)6) Bill: “Youre looking very ” (he wanted to say old) “ well,” he said. (not being sensitive to her condition.) (line 29)Mary: She understood. (being very sensitive to her own con

12、dition.) (line 30)7) Mary: “We live on Central Park West,” she said. “Come and see us sometime.” (offering a direct invitation.) (line 33)Bill: “Sure,” he replied. “You and your husband must have dinner with my family some night. Any night. Lucille and Id love to have you.” (giving a polite indirect

13、 rejection.) (lines 34-35) 8) Mary: “Theres my bus,” she said. (line 42)Bill: He held out his hand, “Good-by.” (ready to part with Mary.) (line 43)Mary: “When ” she wanted to say (not ready to part with Bill) (line 44)(2) Several times the author describes the scene on Washington Square: the dusk, t

14、he chilly weather, the falling leaves, the passing people. Does he only want to tell us where and when the story takes place? What other effects do such descriptions achieve?(The description of the setting gives the reader a feeling of sadness and depression. It was getting dark and getting cold wit

15、h leaves falling. The bright daytime was over and the unpleasant darkness was ahead, and the warm and comfortable summer and early autumn days were being replaced by the cold and long winter. The setting echoes and reinforces Marys feelings of regret and yearning and implies the emotional crisis tha

16、t she might have to face.) 3) Explanation and Interpretation:(Explain the implied meaning of the following sentences, and point out their significance in the context of the story.)1) Impulsively, she had married a man she thought she loved. (Notice the two key words: “impulsively” and “thought.” Thi

17、s has direct relation to her reactions at Washington Square, New York, years later. She made an impulsive decision and the man she “thought” she loved was not the man she wanted to be a life partner with.)2) Unconsciously, she lifted her face as though wanting a kiss, but he held out his hand.(Her u

18、nconscious reaction reveals that their sweet love in the past had been kept alive in Marys memory for all these years, but Bill had undergone a total change, treating her as an ordinary acquaintance of the past.)3) “And your husband?” he asked her.“We have three children. I work in the bursars offic

19、e at Columbia.”(This is the first time Bill initiated the conversation, but he had failed to notice the signs in Marys emotional reaction and asked a question he should have not asked. Mary avoided the question by talking about something else. Why did she avoid mentioning her husband? There is messa

20、ge in the avoidance.)4) The lights on the avenue blurred, twinkled, blurred.(The vision came from Marys eyes. Obviously, her eyes were now filled with tears.)5) The bus started. People came between them outside, people crossing the street, people they didnt know. Space and people.(A lot of people ha

21、d walked into their lives, Mary and Bills family members and their respective circle of friends and colleagues. It was no longer their world of two young lovers when they were in Ohio.)4) Suggested Homework: Suppose you were Bill Walker and you had a habit of writing down what happened to you in you

22、r diary. After the chance meeting with Mary at Washington Square, you went home and wrote a brief paragraph about the meeting. The paragraph may begin like this: Oct. 11, 2009I had never expected to see Mary, but I met her at Washington Square. She looked rather old to me I didnt even recognize her

23、immediatelyFor reference only:Oct. 11, 2009(I had never expected to see Mary, but I met her at Washington Square. She looked rather old to me I didnt even recognize her immediately. It was quite a surprise that she could pick me out among the hustling and bustling crowd in the street. After all, it

24、has been quite a few years since we parted - Eight, nine, or ten years? Time flies and we both changed a lot, no longer the heady, impulsive kind of youngsters that we once were. For some reason, she seemed rather emotional about this chance meeting, and was keen in knowing about what had happened t

25、o me in these years and in telling and inviting me to her place. Somehow, she avoided mentioning her husband, the man she quickly married after we ran into a little problem in our relationship. Ten years is a long time, enough to reshape a persons life. I wish her and her family all the happiness, s

26、incerely.)Keys to Unit Two(1) I. B. Singer: The Washwoman(2) Frank Sargeson: A Piece of Yellow Soap1) Questions for Discussion:(Suggested answers for reference)(1) Does the piece of washing soap have the “power” as the narrator tells us? What is the “power” that forces him to take off?(The piece of

27、yellow washing soap is, of course, an ordinary one. The narrator is a “naïve narrator” who believed that it had some sort of mysterious “power,” while the readers are expected to know better. This power comes from the narrators deep sympathy for the tragic fate of the washing woman. Seeing the

28、situation, he simply could not continue to demand the payment which he knew the woman was unable to produce.) (2) In this Unit, we have two stories about two washwomen. There are a lot of similar descriptions and common characteristics in the two stories. Find and list them. (They were both reduce t

29、o desperation, depending solely on washing for living. Both were hard-working and uncomplaining, quietly but almost heroically bore their burden and struggled for a hard existence. The author describes their common feature the white and shrunken fingers as symbol of suffering in the lives of the wor

30、king people. They both were both dead by the end of the stories.)(3) The two first-person narrators tell two stories of two washwomen who shared similar tragic fate. Discuss the differences in the narrators that result in the differences in the way the two short stories are told. (Singers narrator k

31、nows more and tells more about the washing woman, often making direct comments and revealing his own feelings about the life of the woman whose story he is telling. He frequently emphasizes that what he is telling is real, and hints that the story has significance. The narrators voice is very close

32、to the authors. Please see more in “Reading Tips” on page 11. On the other hand, Sargesons narrator is a naïve one, that is, the narrators understanding is purposely made shallow, and the reader need find by himself the real meaning in the situation. So the narrator stands at some distance from

33、 the author. Please see more in “Reading Tips” on page 15. Therefore, in Text I, we, as readers, are basically “given” or “received” the story, while in Text II, we need to participate imaginatively in the story to “dig out” the true meaning the naïve narrator has left unexplained.)2) Explanati

34、on and Interpretation:(Explain the implied meaning of the following sentences, and point out their significance in the context of the story.)From “The Washwoman”:(1) She had been so sick that someone called a doctor, and the doctor had sent for a priest.(According to the custom, a priest should be p

35、resent while one is dying. The implied message is the doctor thought that he could do nothing to save her, and the best thing to do was to prepare for her death.)(2) “With the help of God you will live to be a hundred and twenty,” said my mother, as a blessing.“God forbid!.”(“My Mother” extended a g

36、ood wish for long life to her, but the washing woman thought that a long life was a terrible thing, because it only meant suffering longer.)(3) Her soul passed into those spheres where all holy souls meet, regardless of the roles they played on this earth, in whatever tongue, of whatever religion.(A

37、 good person, like the old washwoman, would go to heaven because she had a noble soul. She would rise above all the earthly considerations of class, race, nation and religion. )From “A Piece of Yellow Soap”:(4) My eyes would get fixed on her fingers and the soap, and after a few minutes I would lose

38、 all power to look the woman in the face. I would mumble something to myself and take myself off . (The narrator could not bear to look at this washing-tub slave for too long. He would have to find some excuse and leave. He could not push her over the cliff while she was standing on the verge of tot

39、al desperation.)(5) She had a way too of feeling inside her handbag as she passed me, and I always had the queer feeling that she carried there a piece of soap. It was her talisman powerful to work wonders (Possibly in the bag there were a few pennies that the woman had earned from her washing, and

40、she was going to buy food or some necessities. Seeing the narrator, to whom she knew she owed money, she unconsciously or protectively put her hand in the bag. The narrator, being “naïve,” misunderstood her reaction while they met in the street.)Suggested Homework:Translate the following paragr

41、aphs from “The Washwoman” into Chinese:The bag was big, bigger than usual. When the woman placed it on her shoulders, it covered her completely. At first she stayed, as though she were about to fall under the load. But an inner stubbornness seemed to call out; no, you may not fall. A donkey may perm

42、it himself to fall under his burden, but not a human being, the best of creation.She disappeared, and mother sighed and prayed for her.More than two months passed. The frost had gone, and then a new frost had come, a new wave of cold. One evening, while mother was sitting near the oil lamp mending a

43、 shirt, the door opened and a small puff of steam, followed by a gigantic bag, entered the room. I ran toward the old woman and helped her unload her bag. She was even thinner now, more bent. Her head shook from side to side as though she were saying no. She could not utter a clear word, but mumbled

44、 something with her sunken mouth and pale lips.For reference only:衣服包很大，比平時更大。婦人將那一大包衣服駝在肩上，包袱把她的身子完全蓋住了。一開始，她穩(wěn)住腳，好像隨時都會在大包袱的重壓下倒下。但似乎有一種內(nèi)在的毅力在呼喚，讓她挺住，不能倒下。一頭驢可以允許自己被重壓壓垮，但人為萬物之靈，則不可趴下。她漸漸走遠(yuǎn)，母親嘆了口氣，默默為她祈禱。兩個多月過去了。冰雪消融后，冰雪又至，新一陣寒潮襲來。一天晚上，母親正坐在油燈旁補衣衫，門突然被推開，一團(tuán)小小的霧氣引領(lǐng)著一個巨大的包袱進(jìn)了屋子。我跑上前去幫老太太卸下包袱。她愈加消瘦，背更

45、駝了。她不停地晃著腦袋，像在說太過分了。她連話都說不清楚，從癟陷的嘴中透過蒼白的嘴唇嘟噥了幾聲。Keys to Unit ThreeRichard Selzer: The Discus Thrower1) Questions for discussion(Suggested answers for reference)(1) What impression do you get of the patient from the description given in the story?(In spite of his serious illness, the man never moans

46、or complains. He talks little and generally keeps the physical suffering to himself. He tries to maintain an image of a real man although he is in the grip of Death. He behaves in the manner of Hemingways “tough guy” acting by the principal that “A man can be destroyed but can not be defeated.”)(2)

47、In the short conversations, we hear the patients demand to know about exact time and his demand for shoes. Why is he still interested in time and what does he want shoes for since he cant walk anymore?(His interest in exact time and his demand for shoes seem to suggest that, deep in his heart, the m

48、an refuses to accept the fate. It might be the result of fierce psychological conflict within the patient, with reality and rationality on one side, and wish and will on the other side. Some abnormal behaviors indicate the mans unwillingness to reconcile with the fate in spite of his self-restrain.)

49、(3) Read carefully the paragraph about plate-throwing. Why does the writer give such detailed description of it? What is your interpretation of this rather abnormal behavior?(From the detailed descriptions of his “discus” throwing, we seem to learn that the man is rather skillful at that, and that h

50、e might have had some training in the sport of throwing discus. Then why dose he throw plates? Is it because it brings back the memory of the best moment in his life when his physical power wins the glory and cheers? By this impulsive “reliving” or “restaging” of the explosive energy he once had, th

51、e man gains some satisfaction he laughs after it and proves that he is still alive. This action reveals the complicated inner world of a man who is forced to face death.)(4) Why does the writer choose “The Discus Thrower” as the title? Is it coincidence that the short story has the same title as the

52、 famous Greek sculpture Discobolus (Discus Thrower)? (In the Greek sculpture, we see the frozen moment of beauty: male vitality, energy and muscle power. It is a celebration of life and physical capability. This patient might once be a discus thrower, professional athlete or amateur, and now forms s

53、uch a contrast to the sculptured image. This leaves a lot of room for readers own reflection on life and death.)2) Explanation and interpretation (Explain the implied meaning of the following sentences, and point out their significance in the context of the story.)(1) a. From the doorway of Room 542

54、 the man in the bed seems deeply tanned. Blue eyes and close-cropped white hair give him the appearance of vigor and good health.b. He lies solid and inert. In spite of everything, he remains impressive, as though he were a sailor standing athwart a slanting deck.(The patient is fatally ill, but he

55、looks, or keeps an image of a strong man. His life is threatened by disease, but the spirit of a strong man is still there. He does not collapse, but does what he can, though rather vainly, to struggle to maintain the dignity of a man.)(2) “Yes,” he says at last and without the least irony. “You can

56、 bring me a pair of shoes.”(see suggested answer to Question 2.)(3) Its a blessing, she (the head nurse) says. (Though the head nurse is the one who has complained a lot about the patients unreasonable behaviors and upon his death she says “Its a blessing,” it does not mean that she is cold blooded,

57、 and thus feels relieved of her troubles. She means that God has allowed him to go, so he no longer needs to suffer and to struggle in this world. It is thus a blessing from God.)(4) He is still there in his bed. His face is relaxed, grave, dignified.(He is dead, possibly dying with relaxed feeling as he has kept his final image of being a tr