高级英语上册-Blackmail-背景介绍

1、Blackmail Lesson 6 Arthur Hailey A British/Canadian/American/Bahamian （巴哈马人）（巴哈马人） novelist. Born in Luton（卢顿）（卢顿）, England and was educated in English schools until age 14 Served in the Royal Air Force from the start of World War II in 1939 Went to live in Canada in 1947 and then became a Canadian

2、citizen Became a full-time writer in1956， encouraged by the success of the CBC television dramaFlight into Danger (, Runway Zero Eight) About the Author (1-4) Arthur Hailey (April 5, 1920 November 24, 2004) Arthur Hailey holds The Moneychangers Following the success of Hotel in 1965, he moved to Cal

3、ifornia and his children live in Canada and California In 1969, he moved to Bahamas with and lived there until 2005 because theres no income tax there,and In 1979，Arthur Hailey was discovered very ill and had a heart operation. The surgery was a tremendous success, leaving Mr. Hailey bursting with c

4、reative energy. About the Author (2-4) and most of his books have been made into films or TV series and brought him tens of millions of dollars. An estimated 160 million copies are printed in worldwide About the Author (3-4) Last Days Arthur Hailey died in his sleep at Lyford Cay on 24th November at

5、 the age of 84 and had been suffering from dementia for about three years. His wife Sheila pronounced herself satisfied with the way he lived his life. He married his wife Shelia for over 50 years. Mrs. Hailey told that her husband was not a religious man and that there would be no funeral. About th

6、e Author (4-4) Hotel (1965) The Final Diagnosis (1959) In High Place (1960) Airport (1968) Wheel (1971) The moneychangers (1975) Strong medicine (1975) The Evening news (1990) Detective (1997) www.fantasticfiction.co.uk a hotel named St. Gregory in New Orleans,Louisiana Monday evening to Friday a su

7、ccession of dramatic events the owner,Trent decides to sell his hotel the manager,Peter McDermott, must deal with several other knotty problems The largest city , in southeastern Louisiana, also the largest in the South of U.S. Situated between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain(庞恰特雷庞恰特雷 恩

8、湖恩湖 ), it is a major deepwater U.S. port of entry. A notable tourist centre, its attractions include Mardi Gras (carnival)狂欢节 and the French Quarter, a popular tourist area noted for its nightclubs and Creole architecture（克里奥尔语的架构） and cuisine. It is also a medical, industrial, and educational centr

9、e. About the Story Character Analysis Character I: The Description of Ogilvie Appearance : fat, piggy eyes, gross jowled face, obese body, incongruous falsetto voice, moving with surprising speed Character: at first rude, sardonic, self-assured, shameless greedy, but finally subservient. E.g., The w

10、ay he deals with the cigar, sardonically; bite off the end of a fresh cigar; words spat forth with sudden savagery; blandness gone; When mentioning the lady friend, he glanced, grinning, at the Duchess; falsetto voice took on a musing note;Whatever names you call things. I got to live too; This ciga

11、r botherin you? Language: uneducated, full of slang, colloquial, not grammatical. Character Analysis Character II: The Description of the Duchess Appearance: pale cheek with two high points, gray-green eyes Character: imperious, three centuries and a half of inbred arrogance, decisive, vigilant, ver

12、y quick in response. E.g., used “please” only once (para 61); look pointedly at the cigar; shot a swift warning glance; Would you kindly put that out! Language: formal, highly educated. E.g., I imagine you did not come here to discuss dcor. Character Analysis Character III: The Description of the Du

13、ke Appearance: attempt to square his shoulders but failed Character: uncertain, ready to compromise, passive, despairingly. E.g.,“Thats interesting, I didnt know that.” The duke spoke as if he was speaking of sth. unrelated to the whole thing. Language: upper class slang. E.g., Its no go, old girl.

14、European Aristocratic Hierarchy Duchess Marchioness Countess Viscountess Baroness Duke (Duchess) 公爵公爵 Duke is second only to the king or prince of the highest nobility. Usually they are the most closest relative of king. 公爵穿深红色的丝绒公爵穿深红色的丝绒 外套，帽子上镶四条外套，帽子上镶四条 貂皮。其冠冕上有一貂皮。其冠冕上有一 个金环，上饰个金环，上饰8枚红枚红 色金叶片

15、。色金叶片。 Marquis (Marchioness) 侯爵侯爵 Earl (Countess )伯爵伯爵 在重大正式场合，伯爵穿着在重大正式场合，伯爵穿着 镶有白色毛皮边的深红色丝镶有白色毛皮边的深红色丝 绒外套，软帽上缝镶着三条绒外套，软帽上缝镶着三条 貂皮以表明爵位级别，冠冕貂皮以表明爵位级别，冠冕 上有一镀金银圈，上沿饰有上有一镀金银圈，上沿饰有 8个银球；个银球； Viscount (Viscount)子爵子爵 Baron (Baroness) 男爵男爵 About the Story Surrender, collapsed (grow gradually weak) Both

16、parties stop confronting and begin to discuss more friendly how to hide the fact Take the complete control of the situation Powerful, demanding submissive, obedient The End of the Story (Blackmail) At one oclock Thursday morning, Ogilvie drove the car north. But he was seen leaving the hotel by McDe

17、rmott. Later in the afternoon, McDermott witnessed the funeral of the two victims of the accident. He suddenly realized the relation between these two events and contacted police. Ogilvie was caught in Tennessee and sent back to New Orleans. The Duke decided to go to the police to confess his crime

18、(to surrender himself / to give himself up). But he was hurled out the elevator due to the breakdown of it. He hit the cement ground and died instantly. The End of the Novel (Hotel) Anyway, the novel had a pleasant ending. One of the guests, who looked old and sick, turned out to be a millionaire. E

19、arlier he was seriously ill and was saved by McDermott and his girl friend. To show his gratitude and to repay the hotel staffs kindness, he bought the hotel and appointed McDermott executive vice president of the hotel. Appreciation and Writing Features Type of Writing and Language This kind of novels are called thrillers. Generally defining, a thriller is a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by the use of a high degree of intrigue, adventure or suspense. They can also be ca