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About Pearl S. Buck(1892-1973)

A friend of Chinese people

A Literature Nobel Prize Laureate(1938)

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I should not be truly myself if I did not, in my own wholly unofficial way, speak also of the people of China, whose life has for so many years been my life also, whose life, indeed, must always be a part of my life. The minds of my own country and of China, my foster country, are alike in many ways, but above all, alike in our common love of freedom.

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And today more than ever, this is true, now when China's whole being is

engaged in the greatest of all struggles, the struggle for freedom. I have never admired China more than I do now,

when I see her uniting as she has never before, against the enemy who

threatens her freedom. With this determination for freedom, which is in

so profound a sense the essential quality in her nature, I know that she is unconquerable. Freedom - it is today

more than ever the most precious human possession. …

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Birthday: June 26, 1892

Parents: Absalom & Caroline

Sydenstricker

Came to China: 3 months old

Period of stay in China: 40 years

Residential area: Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province

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Pearl and her family

1st husband: John Lossing Buck, a Cornell graduate Carol (first child): Profoundly retarded Janice: adopted child 1st Marriage: unhappy but last 18 years

2nd husband: Richard Walsh, a publisher

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Pearl’s life in 1920s

In 1921, her mother died. In 1927, Nanking incident

broke out which made her suffer a lot. She spent a terrified day in hiding, and was rescued by the American gunboat.The Bucks sailed to Japan for a year.

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Pearl’s works:

East wind, West Wind The Good Earth Dragon Seed The Big Wave Satan Never Sleeps Etc.

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Pearl and Her Prizes

Pulitzer Prize and Howells Medal for The Good Earth

Nobel Prize in Literature 1938 for The Good Earth

“----for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces"

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Pearl’s Special Contributions In 1942, Pearl and Richard founded the East and West Association,

dedicated to cultural exchange and understanding between Asia and the West.

In 1949, outraged that existing adoption services considered Asian and mixed-race children unadoptable, Pearl established Welcome House, the first international, inter-racial adoption agency; in the nearly five decades of its work, Welcome House has assisted in the placement of over five thousand children.

In 1964, to provide support for Amerasian children who were not eligible for adoption, Pearl also established the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, which provides sponsorship funding for thousands of children in half-a-dozen Asian countries.

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In 1973, Pearl died at Green Hills Farm, at the age of eighty.

Tell us a Bible story!

Next Time!

Do you know how to decorate for Christmas?

Tell us next time!

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Now you have 10 minutes to read “Christmas Day in the Morning”. After reading, briefly retell the story.

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a direct comparison between two unlike elements

“as, as…..so, like”

•As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

•as cunning as a fox, as poor as a church’s mouse

•The world is like a stage.

An indirect comparison. It implies the likeness between things without the use of like or as.

Life is a highway. The world is a stage.

Figurative Speeches

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Alliteration

the same consonant sound is repeated at intervals in the initial position

She sells sea-shells on the seashore.

Wild Mushrooms: Mysterious-Menacing-Magnificent

Predictably the winter will be snowy, sleety and slushy.

Weak and weary

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Euphemism

The substitution of a mild or indirect word or phrase for a blunter or harsher one

ugly: plain-looking; homely-looking

die: to pass away, to depart, to go to sleep(heaven)

fat: plump, stout, chubby, weight catcher

toilet habits, etc.:

to go to the bathroom

to do one’s business

to answer nature’s call

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Discussion

1. What is the writing technique here?

2. What is the theme of this text?

“Love alone could awaken love.”

3. How do you understand these?

Love and cough cannot be hid.

Love at first sight.

Love cannot be forced.

Love is blind.

Love is neither bought nor sold.

No herb will cure love.  

Love me, love my dog.

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4. Do you agree that only love can awaken love? What is the essence of true love? Give your reasons.

5. Is love the solution to all the problems in the world today? Comment.

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Sentence understanding

1. Strange how the habits of his youth clung to him still!

It was strange how up to that moment he had continued doing things the way he had always done them from boyhood.

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Sentence understanding

2. He slipped back in time, as he did so easily nowadays.

He had recently got into the habit of recalling things in the past /of reminiscing/ of letting his thoughts go back to the old days.

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Sentence understanding

3. He had never thought of it before, taking for granted the tie of their blood.

He had never thought of the fact that his father loved him because he took the relationship of father and son as a matter of course. He had never given this another thought.

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Sentence understanding

4. …there would be no more loitering in the mornings and having to be called again.

…he would never loiter in the morning and need no longer to be called again and again.

to loiter: to move or go about business slowly and with many stops

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Sentence understanding

5. … stumbling blind with sleep and pulled on his clothes.

When he got up, it was still very dark and he was still very sleepy. He could hardly open his eyes and could not see or think clearly, so he walked or moved unsteadily and blindly.

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Sentence understanding

6. Then Jesus had been born in a barn,… bring their Christmas gifts.

Bible: …And when they had come into the house, they

saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him; and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold and frankincense, and myrrh…

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7. …he got up and crept downstairs, careful of the creaky boards…

He had to be careful so that the boards would not make any noise and wake up his father, thus spoiling his plan.

Sentence understanding

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Bar: [often passive] v. 1.   to close with a barto bar the door2.   to make … safe by putting metal bats across it.The windows are barred.3.   to stop going in a certain directionHe stood in the door and barred my way.n. barrister, the profession of lawyer behind the bar; go to the bar

bolt v. to close the door with a bolt

Word Study

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burst:

His heart was bursting with love. (to be filled ) to the breaking point (with a substance or

usually pleasant things)The bag is bursting with potatoes.He is bursting with health.The hall was bursting with people.The barns were bursting with grain.

cling to sth/an idea/the hope His mother’s last words clung to his memory. The wet clothes clung to his body. The child clung onto its mother.

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contain v.    

1.   hold, have within… The bottle contains 2 glasses of beer.

这个讲演包括一些有趣的思想。 The speech contained some interesting ideas.

2.   to hold back , keep under control to contain one’s anger / check, curb, control

见此残暴情形， 他无法克制自己的愤怒。 At the sight of this cruelty , he could hardly contain his

anger.

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creep: to move slowly and quietly with the body close to the ground (usu.

stealthily)The hours crept by.

孩子们感到累了，所以他们扑灭营火之后就爬进帐蓬了。 The boys felt tired,so they put out the fire and crept into their tent.

crawl: to move slowly with the body close to the ground/floor, or on the hands and knees时间慢慢地过去。

The hours crawled by. 那个苹果爬满了虫子。 That apple is crawled with worms.

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 grant

1.   to give what is wanted/requestedThey were granting a holiday for their achievement2.   to admit to the truth of sth.I had to grant him the reasonableness of his argument. Loiter: to move on /about with frequent stops

他在街上闲逛。 He was loitering around the street. You should not loiter your time away.

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Reckon: (infml)

你还认为他是你的朋友吗 ? Do you still reckon him among your friends ? 

Seal: a statement officially signed and sealed条约经两国政府签字盖印。

The treaty was signed and sealed by both governments. 我们把信封的背面封上。 We seal the back of envelopes.

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 stumble: vi.

  我在石头上绊了一下跌倒了。 I stumbled over a stone and fell. 偶然发现一本少见的书 stumble upon a rare book 结结巴巴地说话 stumble over one's words ( to stop or make a mistake when you are reading to people or

speaking ~over/at/through<stutter, stammer>)

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Shimmer: to shine with a soft trembling light The water shimmered in the moonlight.Beam: 1.of the sun or other shining objects to send out light 2.     to smile brightly and

happilyThe sun beamed through the cloud.他对着客人们微笑。

He beamed on his visitors.Glimmer: to give a very fait unsteady light

走廊的尽头闪着一星微光。 A faint light glimmered at the end of the corridor.gleam: 1.  to give out a bright light

2. to be expressed with a sudden light in the eyes 家具擦后闪闪发亮。 The furniture gleamed after being polished. 他眼睛流露出愉快的神情。 Amusement gleamed in his eyes.

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 Hurt 1.   to cause a person/creature to feel pain of any kind 2.   to cause someone to suffer in the mind

Does your arm still hurt you? What he said hurt her very much.

Ache 1.   vi. to have /suffer a continuous pain, esp. in the body2.    vi. To ache for / to see sb.

I ache all over. 他渴望和她交朋友。 He ached for her friendship.pain [usu. Formal or old use]

1.   to cause to feel pain My foot isn’t paining me any more. It pains me to have to disobey you, but I must. 2.   vi. To give a sensation of pain My arm isn’t paining now.

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get by: 1.    to continue one’s way of life

You can’t get by on such a small income.2.    be good enough but not very good, be accepted 你的工作尚能过得去。

Your work will just get by.

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。

Get off: 1.   to leave work 2.   to stop riding a horse or bicycle

3.   to start a journey, leave 4.   [vt, vi, (with)] (to cause to) escape punishment

The man went to prison but the two boys get off with a warning

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Get on: to become late/olderTime is getting on.Grandfather is getting on for 80.

Get over: 1.    to return to one’s usual state of health, happiness, (after a bad experience) 我的感冒过了很久才好。

It took me a long time to get over my cold. 2.    to find a way to deal with, overcome

我们能克服这个困难吗？ Can we get over this difficulty? 3.    reach the end of (usually sth unpleasant) 手术做完了你一定会高兴的。 You'll be glad to get your operation over.

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get through1.   to reach sb. by telephone I called you but could not get through.2.   (with) to finish3.   to cause to pass, come successfully to the end of …

to get through an exam/the winter to get sb through an exam

take to: 1.   to like2.   to begin as a practice, habit, etc

He took to drugs after losing his eyesight in a boxing game.

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Slip v.1) to slide unintentionally2)to go somewhere or carry out an action quickly so that you are not noticed  

Time is slipping away.她滑倒在发亮的地板上了。 She slipped on the shiny floor and fell. 她悄悄溜走未被人看见。 She slipped away without being seen. Never let a good chance slip by!狗挣脱项圈。 The dog slipped his collar.

n. a slip of paper a slip of the tongue/pen