大学英语 精读 （第三版）第一册

Unit 8 A Magician at Stretching a Dollar

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Lead In

Background

Text

Reading Skills

Writing1. Questions to the Text2. Discourse Analysis3. Language Points4. Classroom Activity

1. Questions to the Text2. Discourse Analysis3. Language Points4. Classroom Activity

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Fun Time

Wish You a Merry Christmas

Discussion: Christmas is coming. How do you plan to spend it ? Have you ever received any unforgettable present from others?

Lead InHOME

Father Christmas

Christmas tree

Christmas cards

Background InformationHOME

More information of Christmas, please see: http://www.history.com/minisites/christmas/

Back Father Christmas

“Father Christmas” (or “Santa Claus”) has become the human face of Christmas. Pictures will be seen everywhere of the old man with long white beard, red coat, and bag of toys. Children are taught that he brings them presents the night before Christmas (or in some countries on December 6th - St. Nicholas’ Day), and many children up to the age of 7 or 8 really believe this is true. In most countries, it is said that he lives near the North Pole, and arrives through the sky on a sledge (snow-cart) pulled by reindeer. He comes into houses down the chimney at midnight and places presents for the children in socks or bags by their beds or in front of the family Christmas tree.

Back In shops or at children’s parties, someone will dress up as Father Christmas and give small presents to children, or ask them what gifts they want for Christmas. Christmas can be a time of magic and excitement for children. Father Christmas is based on a real person, St. Nicholas, which explains his other name “Santa Claus” which comes from the Dutch “Sinterklaas”. Nicholas was a Christian leader from Myra (in modern-day Turkey) in the 4th century AD. He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings.

Back

The custom of sending Christmas cards started in Britain in 1840 when the first “Penny Post” public postal deliveries began. (Helped by the new railway system, the public postal service was the 19th century's communication revolution, just as email is for us today.) As printing methods improved, Christmas cards were produced in large numbers from about 1860. They became even more popular in Britain when a card could be posted in an unsealed envelope for one half-penny — half the price of an ordinary letter. Traditionally, Christmas cards showed religious pictures — Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, or other parts of the Christmas story. Today, pictures are often jokes, winter pictures, Father Christmas, or romantic scenes of life in past times.

Christmas cards

Back Christmas tree

The Christmas tree has become one of the most beloved and well known holiday symbols. The tradition of a holiday tree has been around since ancient times and has played an important part in winter celebrations for many centuries. The use of a Christmas tree indoors appears to have begun in Germany. One of the first public displays of a Christmas tree was set up by German Settlers in Pennsylvania. Early Christmas trees were often decorated with apples, nuts, cookies, colored popcorn and candles. The invention of electricity in the early 20th century and use of electrical Christmas lights helped spread the use of the Christmas tree.    

Back

    It is now common in most communities through out the US to feature public displays of Christmas trees. Every year the President of the United States lights the National Christmas Tree in Washington and in New York skaters spin beneath the lighted tree of Rockefeller Center. Through Europe and the rest of the world the Christmas tree has also become readily accepted and adored.

True or false (turn false statements into a true one)

(1) Doris is a family member. ( ) T

(2) Bicycles at ＄ 15 were cheap. ( )F(Mother had to scrape together money for a down payment, i.e., a portion of ＄ 15 required)(3) I was determined not to let Mother know that I knew her secret. ( ) T

(4) I was a movie fan. ( ) T

(5) I decided on my best reaction on Christmas upon receiving the gift. ( )T

(I tried many ways, but none was satisfactory. So I decided to wait until that morning and see if anything came naturally.)

1. Questions to the TextHOME

6. Mother put the bicycle under the Christmas tree. ( )F

7. Mother noticed my disappointment. ( )T

(She just put a few parcels there.)

8. Mother had given the bicycle to someone else. ( )F

(She had kept it in her bedroom.)

9. I didn’t have to pretend anything upon receiving the bicycle. ( )T

10. Mother didn’t appreciate my warm response. ( )F

(She enjoyed it very much.)

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Main Idea

The little boy found the Christmas present his mother bought for him—a second-hand bicycle.

Then he tried hard to conceal his pleasure until after Christmas, so that his mother could be happy to see his amazement on Christmas day.

At last, he didn’t have to pretend, but he hugged his mother and kissed her, which startled him and his mother.

Theme: Love between mother and son

2. Discourse AnalysisHOME

The boy was at first delighted to discover the present his mother had hidden away as his Christmas gift. But then he began to worry that his mother would now no longer have the pleasure of giving him a surprise. What was he to do?

3. Language points3. Language points(Read the text in detail.)

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A Magician at Stretching a Dollar

That December, with Christmas approaching, she was out at work and Doris was in the kitchen when I let myself into her bedroom one afternoon in search of a safety pin. Since her bedroom opened onto a community hallway, she kept the door locked, but needing the pin, I took the key from its hiding place, unlocked the door and stepped in. Standing against the wall was a big, black bicycle with balloon tires. I recognized it instantly. It was the same second-hand bike I’d been admiring in a Baltimore Street shop window. I’d even asked about the price. It was a shock. Something like $15. Somehow my mother had scraped together enough for a down payment and meant to surprise me with the bicycle on Christmas morning.

HOME

I was deeply moved by the discovery and yet sickened by the knowledge that, bursting into her room like this, I had robbed her of the pleasure of seeing me astonished and delighted on Christmas day. I hadn’t wanted to know her lovely secret; still coming upon it like this made me feel as though I’d struck a blow against her happiness. I backed out, put the key back in its hiding place, and thought over what to do. I decided that between now and Christmas I must do nothing, absolutely nothing, to reveal the slightest hint of my terrible knowledge. I must avoid the least word that might reveal my possession of her secret. Nothing must deny her the happiness of seeing me completely amazed on Christmas day.

HOME

In the privacy of my bedroom I began composing and testing exclamations of delight: “Wow!” “A bike with balloon tires! I don’t believe it!” “I’m the luckiest boy alive!” And so on. They all owed a lot to movies in which boys like Mickey Rooney had seen their wildest dreams come true. I soon realized that, with my lack of acting talent, all of them were going to sound false at the critical moment when I wanted to cry out my love spontaneously from the heart. Maybe it would be better to say nothing but appear to be shocked into such deep pleasure that speech had escaped me. I wasn’t sure, though. I’d seen speechless gratitude in the movies too, and it never really worked until the actors managed to cry a few quiet tears. I doubted I could cry on cue, so I began thinking about other expressions of speechless amazement. In front of a hand-held mirror in my bedroom I tried the whole range of expressions; mouth open and eyes wide; hands slapped firmly against both cheeks to keep the jaw from falling off; ear-to-ear grin with all teeth fully exposed while hugging myself with both arms. These and more I practiced for several days without acquiring confidence in any of them. I decided to wait until Christmas morning and see if anything came naturally…

HOME

That Christmas morning she woke us early, “to see what Santa Claus brought,” she said with just the right tone of voice to indicate we were all old enough to know who Santa Claus was. I came out of my bedroom with my present for her and Doris, and Doris came with hers. My mother’s has been placed under the tree during the night. There were a few small brightly wrapped packages, a big doll for Doris, but no bicycle. I must have looked disappointed. “It looks like Santa Claus didn’t do too well by you this year, Buddy,” she said, as I opened packages. A shirt. A necktie. I said something halfhearted like, “It’s the thought that counts,” but what I felt was bitter disappointment. I supposed she’d found the bike just too expensive and sent it back.

HOME

“Wait a minute!” she cried, snapping her fingers. “There’s something in my bedroom I forgot all about.” She went out, and a moment later came back wheeling the big black two-wheeler with balloon tires. I didn’t have to pretend, after all. The three of us — Doris, my mother, and I — were people bred to hold back emotional expressions of love, but I did something that startled both my mother and me. I threw my arms around her spontaneously and kissed her. “All right now, don’t carry on about it. It’s only a bicycle,” she said. Still, I knew that she was as happy as I was to see her so happy.

HOME

Backstretch v.

Eg: My wool coat stretched when I washed it. You are stretching my patience to the limit.

(1) make or become wider or longer

(2) extend

Eg: The sea stretched as far as I could see. The enemy camps stretched for ten miles.

extend, lengthen & stretch 这几个词都是动词，都有“伸展”、“延伸”之意。extend 表示时空的延长，一般指延伸到某一预想的位置。还可表示某一范 围，如种类、影响、适用度等的增加。 Eg: Can you extend your visit a few days longer?

lengthen 表示时空长度的增加、伸长。 Eg: Ask the tailor to lengthen this skirt.

stretch 表示在长宽上增加，意思是“延伸”、“伸长”。 Eg: I stretched out my arm to try and reach the ball.

Back approach

v. (1) come nearer to Eg: We approached the birds quietly and watched them. The time for examination is approach. His work is approaching perfect. (2) go to sb. with a request or offer Eg: I approached him about filling the manager’s job. Did he approach you about lending him some money?

n. (1) road; path Eg: All the approaches to the airport were blocked by the police. (2) means of attaining a goal or purpose Eg: We will be exploring different approaches to gathering information. We are working hard to find a new approach to teaching English.

Back

in search of: look for; seek

Eg: He immigrated to Canada in search of a better life. We set out in search of somewhere to eat.

Back

scrape together: manage to gather money, etc. despite difficulties

Eg: She had scraped together enough money for college. This past July, I scraped together enough air miles to get myself a free return trip to LA.

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payment n.

(1) paying or being paidEg: Hackers threaten the security of online payment. payment in advance / payment in full (part) / the payment of the bi

ll(2) sum of money paidEg: How much can you borrow at 6% annual interest if you can afford

an annual payment of $6000?

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come upon: find or meet by chance

Eg: I came upon the novel yet again in another bookstore and felt compelled to buy it. He came upon a student’s comment on him while surfing the Internet.

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think over: consider further; reflect upon

Eg: I’ve thought it over, and I’ve come to a decision. Having thought over your suggestion, I sure would like to talk to you again.

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hint

n. slight or indirect indication or suggestion Eg: It’s good to see a hint of progress. If you want him to buy you a new car, why don’t you drop a hint?

v. suggest indirectlyEg: The politician has hinted that he might once again become the leader of his party. The big news that I hinted at has become public!

Back deny v.

(1) refuse to give Eg: Poverty has denied the right to life to millions of children. It’s inhuman to deny medical care to prisoners.

(2) say that sth. Is not true Eg: She denied knowing anything. He denied (that) he had told me the story.

补充： There’s no denying that… 为固定结构，表示“事情很清楚”，如： There’s no denying that this will be a serious blow to the government.

Back

privacy n. state of being away from others, alone and undisturbed

Eg: We must educate both kids and parents about the privacy rights of children. The company is recognized for his excellence in privacy and data protection.

Back compose v.

(1) make up sth.Eg: The committee is composed of fifteen members. England, Scotland and Wales compose Great Britain.

(2) write music, poetry, etc.Eg: He sometimes compose poems. When did Mozart begin to compose?

Back

gratitude n. thankfulness; being grateful

Eg: I’d like to express my gratitude to you for your advice. In Chinese there is a term “Bao En” for “paying back out of gratitude.”

Back

naturally adv.

(1)without artificeEg: Speak naturally when talking on the telephone. We’ll make a film about a man who’s sad and lonely and all I gotta do is act naturally.

(2) of course; as might be expectedEg: Naturally he was delighted to hold his son for the first time. Naturally one avoids painful memories.

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after all

(1)NeverthelessEg: After all, he was only a child. Why are we working on such an impossible mission, after all?

(2) in spite of allEg: I’m so sorry. I can’t come after all. So you see I was right after all.

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breed v.

(1) train; educate; bring up

Eg: A television announcer with a well-bred voice was reading the news.

He told us that we were bred to be leaders on the football field.(2) (of animals) produce young ones

Eg: Rats and rabbits breed quickly.(3) keep animals or fish for the purpose of producing young in controlled conditions

Eg: They breed racehorses.(4) cause or be the beginning of

Eg: Poverty often breeds crime.

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hold back(1)keep secret or to oneself

Eg: It is really hard to hold back tears. You must be holding something back from me.(2) hinder the progress of

Eg: They must do something to hold back rushing fans. Trees are planted to hold back desert.

4. Classroom Activity

Role-play

Step 1 Divide the whole students into four groups.

Step 2 Give each group a scene: (1) at the bicycle store

before Christmas; (2) at home discovering the

bicycle; (3) practicing telling a white lie; (4) on

Christmas morning.

Step 3 Give students 10-20minutes to prepare.

Step 4 Invite several groups to perform in class.

HOME

Reading SkillsRecognizing Important Facts or Details

Here are some ways to help you recognize important facts or details:

1. Read for the main idea.

2. Keep it in mind that not all facts or details are equally important.

3. To check on your understanding of the material you have read, review

the facts or details which you have decided are the most important.

HOME

Direction: Read the following paragraph and answer the

questions after it.

It was the use of the telescope, of course, that opened the modern age of astronomy and made possible the growth of all our current theories. Johanners Kepler and Tycho Brahe tried to answer some question about the solar system, but it was Galileo added the first use of the telescope to observe the heavens close up. Born in 1564, Galileo added greatly to our knowledge of the stars before he died in 1642. By means of his telescope he discovered moons in orbit around Jupiter. Although he saw only four, scientists after him discovered eight more moons. Galileo also discovered the planet Venus did not always appear the same size. It was his wise use of the telescope that helped him understand this important fact: that the sun, and not the earth, is the center of the planets.

HOME

1. What is the main idea of this paragraph?

It was Galileo’s wise use of the telescope that helped him understand the sun is

the center of the planets.

2. In this paragraph we may find the following facts or details , of which some are important and some are not very important. Please choose those you think important.

a. Kepler and Brahe answered questions about the solar system.b. Galileo was born in 1564 and died in 1642.c. He discovered moons around Jupiter.d. Galileo observed the planet Venus.e. He came to understand that the earth is not the center of the stars’ system.

Answer: c, d, e

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3. How did Galileo learn about the stars? By means of his telescope.

4. How many moons does Jupiter have?Twelve.

5. Galileo’s major contribution to our knowledge of the planets was

a. his invention of the telescope

b. his study of Brahe and Kepler

c. His observations about Jupiter and Venus

d. His understanding that planets go round the sun

d

HOME

Culture TipsChristmas Shopping Finding a gift for your girlfriend/wife/fiancee:

Christmas gift for your lady partner is not easy to select. Most of the m

en know how to woo women and how top present themselves well. But the

y do not know how to select a Christmas gift for their lady. Look at some

men who go for shopping. They think of buying any and everything and ge

t very confused at the end.

HOME

• What should men do to select gifts for their lady partners? • Here are some tips.• 1. Find out what she likes most.

2. Do not make assumptions. Find out precisely what she likes.3. Make a list of what you can gift and decide what would be best.4. A tentative list may be- jewelry, perfumes, dresses, gift cards, trinket

• boChristmas, etc.5. Before you prepare your list decide about your budget.6. Will you be buying online or offline?7. If you are buying online find out from your lady friends about the sites

• they shop.8. Visit the online shops and select what you think is best.

HOME

Writing

Contraction: Expressing It More Briefly

Compare the following pairs of sentences:

a. Now suddenly she began to cry with short, quick breaths.b. Now suddenly she began to sob.

a. The Mexican woman bent her body forward and downward to pick up the torn envelope, and tried to smooth it out.b. The Mexican woman stooped to pick up the torn envelop, and tried to smooth it out.

In the second sentence of each pair, a single direct word is used to replaceseveral words in the first. This is a way to make your sentences more brief.

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Direction: Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the italicized part with one proper word from the list below:

grow miss personally eatable boring import

1. Most plants increase in size more quickly in warmer areas.

2. I doubt whether these fish are really fit to be eaten.

3. Exports ( 出口商品 ) provide the funds to pay for goods coming into the country.

Most plants grow more quickly in warmer areas.

I doubt whether these fish are eatable.

Exports provide the funds to pay for imports.

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4. Speaking for myself, I don’t approve of ( 赞成 ) the idea.

5. The lecture was so uninteresting and tiresome that we couldn’t help yawning.

6. The house is at the next corner; you can’t fail to find it.

Personally, I don’t approve of the idea.

The lecture was so boring that we couldn’t help yawning.

The house is at the next corner; you can’t miss it.

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Paragraph Writing Retell the story of Russell Baker in 120 words or so from the point of view of the mother.

1. What Christmas present did the mother buy for her son?

2. Why did she choose a bicycle as a present for her son?

3. How did she get enough money for the expensive present?

4. What did she do when she found her son looking disappointed that Christmas morning?

5. How did she feel when she saw her son so happy?

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Fun Time狗也知道这个谚语吗

The little boy did not like the look of the barking dog. The little boy did not like the look of the barking dog. 　　 "It's all right," said a gentleman, "don't be afraid. Don't you know the pr

overb: Barking dogs don't bite?" 　　 "Ah, yes," answered the little boy. "I know the proverb, but does the dog know the proverb, too?"　　　　　一个小男孩非常不喜欢狗狂叫的样子。　　　“没有关系，”一位先生说，“不用害怕，你知道这条谚语吗：

‘吠狗不咬人。’”　　　“啊，我是知道，可是狗也知道吗？”