Unit 5 A Wagner Matinee （课堂PPT）

1、1A Wagner MatineeWilla Cather2Willa Cather Born in Virginia (Shenandoah Valley) Raised in Red Cloud, Nebraska An editor first in Pittsburgh, then New York, To visit Europe, return to Nebraska annually, love the Southwestern United States To vacation in Maine and New Brunswick3456Willa Cather A young

2、 girl “bound up in the woods and hills and meadow around it” “thrown out into the country as bare as a piece of sheet iron” (Woodress, Willa Cather: Her Life and Art 31)7Nebraska “I was little and homesick and lonely. . . . So the country and I had it out together and by the end of the first autumn

3、the shaggy grass country had gripped me with a passion that I have never been able to shake. It has been the happiness and curse of my life.” 8910Willa Cather One of the turn of the centurys “New Women” “single, highly-educated, economically autonomous” (historian Carroll Smith- Rosenberg)11She writ

4、es about the history of the American West, the harsh realities of pioneer life uprooting and exile immigrant/American; city/country between old values of simple faith, individuality and integrity associated with early pioneer life, and the new gods of money and conformity in modern society strong an

5、d heroic womanhood1213Her style Her fiction is unique in its powerful representation of setting and character and rich in its language and imagery. Her style of writing is condensed and subtle, but nonetheless tremendously expressive.14Historical setting Westward expansion The 1862 Homestead Act O P

6、ioneers!15A Wagner Matinee- Characters Whose story is it? “I” Aunt Georgiana Uncle Howard “My” landlady Mrs. Springer16Aunt GeorgianasLost Pleasures A pleasure given up deliberately A pleasure taken away A pleasure appreciated too late17Paragraph 1- Introduction What does the letter say about Uncle

7、Howard? How does the letter introduce the story?18None too The service in the restaurant is none too fast. You have come none too early. 高英考试不太难高英考试不太难 这个冬天这个冬天/杀手不太冷杀手不太冷 这个虎妈不太凶这个虎妈不太凶 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother19Obsessive parenting “There are all these new books out there portraying Asian mo

8、thers as scheming, callous, overdriven people indifferent to their kids true interests” Amy Chua 20The not-to-do list attend a sleepover have a playdate be in a school play complain about not being in a school play watch TV or play computer games choose their own extracurricular activities get any g

9、rade less than an A not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama play any instrument other than the piano or violin not play the piano or violin 21Paragraphs 2-4- Memory (flashback) Paragraph 2: all alone with my memory Paragraph 3: burnt out ends of smokey days Paragraph 4: I can

10、smile at the old days22To behold Behold, I have told you beforehand. The babe was a wonder to behold. Lo and behold, everything they needed was there. “My heart leaps up when I behold/A rainbow in the sky” (William Wordsworth). 这人长得惨不忍睹。这人长得惨不忍睹。 23Franz-Joseph Land24The Upper Congo25To kindle kindl

11、e this faith Kindle not a fire that you cannot extinguish. A careless word may kindle strife；a cruel word may wreck a life；a timely word may level stress；a loving word may heal and bless. 星星之火可以燎原。星星之火可以燎原。 空袭点燃利比亚民众反西方情绪空袭点燃利比亚民众反西方情绪 26To elude What these people are trying to elude is their own so

12、uls, or, as we say today, the Unconscious. During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. (The Cop and the Anthem) 哈利波特躲过了伏地魔哈利波特躲过了伏地魔 (Voldemort) 的致命攻击。的致命攻击。 但是这位百万富翁相信这是他创新记录的最好机会，但是这位百万富翁相信这是他创新记录的最好机会，在此之前，他已经失败了在此之前，他已经失败了5次。次。(M

13、illionaire American adventurer Steve Fossett, ambition: to complete a solo balloon navigation of the earth ) 27At the mercy of The barbecue was at the mercy of the weather. To be chess at the mercy of others is the biggest catastrophe to most of us. 日本是个脆弱的国家，在自然面前毫无办法。日本是个脆弱的国家，在自然面前毫无办法。 人在江湖身不由己人

14、在江湖身不由己(人在江湖飘啊，哪有不挨人在江湖飘啊，哪有不挨刀啊刀啊)。 28The Green MountainsThe Appalachian Mountains29The Trail of TearsThe Cherokee30No so much as He did not so much as thank me. He had not so much as his fare home. How is it possible to expect mankind to take advice when they will not so much as take warning? 他连头也

15、不回。他连头也不回。 我连题目都没读懂我连题目都没读懂 。 这些关于英语的秘密很多美国人连听都没听说过。这些关于英语的秘密很多美国人连听都没听说过。31SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING? Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand and lollipop with your right. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple. Dreamt is the only

16、English word that ends in the letters mt. The sentence: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog uses every letter of the alphabet. The words racecar, kayak and level are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).32 I owed to this woman most of the good that ever

17、 came my way in my boyhood, and a reverential affection for her.33 Dont love it so well, Clark, or it may be taken from you. Oh, dear boy, pray that whatever your sacrifice may be, it be not that. 34Paragraphs 5-7- “My” well-meant plan V “my” regret Paragraphs 5-6: “My” plan Paragraph 7: “my” regret

18、35To all intents and purposes For all practical purposes; virtually; as a matter of fact in all important respects The book was, to all intents and purposes, a mere duplication of her earlier efforts. We still need to check your references, but for all intents and purposes, the job is yours.3637Wagn

19、er the most German of men the German spirit 13 operas, numerous other compositions books and articles music dramas Libretto(libretti): the text and lyrics Leitmotifs Harmonies and orchestration 38Wagner Der Fliegende Hollnder (The Flying Dutchman) Tannhuser Lohengrin Tristan und Isolde Die Meistersi

20、ngervon Nrnberg Der Ring des Nibelungen Parsifal39Walkure/Ride of the Valkyries40“Old Maggies calf, you know, Clark” I began to think it would be best to get her back to Red Willow County without waking her, and regretted having suggested the concert.41Paragraphs 8-10- Right before the matinee Parag

21、raphs 8-9: “My” aunt vs. the other attendees Paragraph 10: slight revival of “my” aunt42Inert Rocks are inert objects. Relate: George Berkeley-esse est percipi (to be is to be perceived) Master Shifu lay there inert, Po thought he must be dead. 43Lest She had to learn and practice day and night with

22、out any breathing space, lest she should disappoint her mother. He covered his face with his hand lest he shall be photographed. 提醒我以防我忘记。提醒我以防我忘记。(提醒我提醒你。提醒我提醒你。) 济南部分市民抢购济南部分市民抢购“活人墓活人墓”以防涨价以防涨价 44Lest I have felt some trepidation lest she might become aware of her queer country clothes, or might

23、experience some painful embarrassment at stepping suddenly into the world to which she had been dead for a quarter of a century.45Ebb and flow the ebb and flow of the sea/relations Setbacks, roadblocks and disappointments are just part of the natural ebb and flow of life. 罗马帝国的盛衰罗马帝国的盛衰 变幻莫测的政治风云变幻莫

24、测的政治风云 黑暗与光明的消长黑暗与光明的消长 正邪势力的消长正邪势力的消长 她情绪一时高涨一时低落。她情绪一时高涨一时低落。46Rameses47OZYMANDIAS Percy ShelleyI met a traveller from an antique landWho said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frownAnd wrinkled lip, and sneer

25、 of cold commandTell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.And on the pedestal these words appear:My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!“Nothing beside rem

26、ains. Round the decayOf that colossal wreck, boundless and bareThe lone and level sands stretch far away. “My” aunt She sat looking about her with eyes as impersonal, almost as stony, as those with which the granite Rameses in a museum watches the froth and fret that ebbs and flows about his pedesta

27、l.49Impressionism“just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star” 50Claud Monet51Starry, Starry Night Starry, starry night.Flaming flowers that brightly blaze, Swirling clouds in violet haze,Reflect in Vincents eyes of china blue.Colors changing hue, morning fie

28、ld of amber grain,Weathered faces lined in pain,Are soothed beneath the artists loving hand. 52Starry, Starry Night For they could not love you,But still your love was true.And when no hope was left in sightOn that starry, starry night,You took your life, as lovers often do.But I could have told you

29、, Vincent,This world was never meant for oneAs beautiful as you. 53“My” aunt vs. other attendees One lost the contour of faces and figures, indeed any effect of line whatever, and there was only the color of bodies past counting, the shimmer of fabrics soft and fine, silky and sheer here and there t

30、he dead shadow of a frock coat so many daubs of tube-paint on a palette5455A little stir of anticipation I could feel how all those details sank into her soul (vs. plowing forever and forever in a treadmill from daybreak to dusk without perceiving a shadow of change) The restless, wind-tossed forest

31、 draw the heart out of me56Paragraphs 11-18- The matinee Paragraphs 11-13: What, I wondered, did she get from it? Paragraph 14-16: her weeping & question Paragraph 17-18: world of death vaster yet57Frenzy In a frenzy of hate/fright Zeal without prudence is frenzy. so that it was like being insid

32、e an enclosure, always inside. Life always a dream or a frenzy, inside an enclosure. (Lady Chatterleys Lover) His game-winning goal sent the crowd into a frenzy. 别人笑我太疯癫，我笑他人看不穿。别人笑我太疯癫，我笑他人看不穿。58To overwhelm To vanquish/crush, inundate/flood, astonish/amaze To overcome (sb.) with power/burdens an o

33、verwhelming majority/victory Former president George Bush notoriously said American families should be “closer to the Waltons than the Simpsons”, but Homer was overwhelming favorite in a Radio Times magazine poll on which U.S. TV character should take over at the White House. 59To overwhelm an overw

34、helming sense of duty He was overwhelmed with gratitude. I was overwhelmed by his generosity. 同情心泛滥同情心泛滥 物质极大丰富物质极大丰富 受不鸟啦受不鸟啦完全受不鸟受不鸟啦受不鸟啦完全受不鸟 骂得狗血喷头骂得狗血喷头 我对你的仰慕之情犹如滔滔江水，绵绵不绝我对你的仰慕之情犹如滔滔江水，绵绵不绝 。60 With the battle between the two motives, with the frenzy of the Venusberg theme and its ripping (c.

35、f. Para 13: seething turmoil, pelting) of strings, there came to me an overwhelming sense of the waste and wear we are so powerless to combat.The flat world of the ancients A corral that reached to sunset A cornfield that stretched to daybreakThe conquests of peace, dearer-bought than those of war62

36、To conjecture I looked intently at them and tried to conjecture from their faces and movements what sort of men they were, and what were their characters. 猜测迈克尔杰克逊的死因猜测迈克尔杰克逊的死因 Goldbach conjecture Before he could entertain a conjecture, to imagine how these fatal accidents had fallen out, Juliet aw

37、oke out of her trance. (Romeo and Juliet)63Seething seething with hatred 怒火中烧怒火中烧 Lovers and madmen have such seething brains- Shakespeare. 首都充满了节日的欢腾气氛。首都充满了节日的欢腾气氛。 U.S. capital seething with grand Independence Day celebration. 64What did she get from it? A good pianist in her day, musical educati

38、on Had she enough left to at all comprehend this power which had kindled the world since she had left it? Utter immobility vs groping hands (para 13)65In so far as On the contrary, we have seen that most children are ill-prepared for employment in so far as they know little about what to expect when

39、 they start work. Having a good self-image might make someone more likable insofar as people prefer to associate with confident, positive individuals and generally avoid those who suffer from self-doubts and insecurities. Looking back helps insofar as it helps you learn from your mistakes. 66In so f

40、ar as Brainstorming: Forgetfulness/Insanity is a good thing in so far as 国学教育热是件好事，这是中国文化自我国学教育热是件好事，这是中国文化自我身份意识的觉醒身份意识的觉醒 就业机会多就业机会多 “民工荒民工荒”是件好事是件好事 You will learn you lessons only in so far as (insofar as) you are willing to keep studying them. 只有老师说的才是正确的。只有老师说的才是正确的。(只要只要是老师说是老师说的，就是正确的的，就是正确的

41、) 67It never really dies Her tears (para 14) the soul which can suffer so excruciatingly and so interminably; it withers to the outward eye only The tramp cow-puncher & the “Prize Song” “And you have been hearing this ever since you left me, Clark?”68To renounce renounce ones nationality/faith t

42、o renounce a son/right/claim Judge your level of success from what you have had to renounce to achieve it. 背义求全背义求全 绝圣弃智，民利百倍；绝仁弃义，民复孝慈；绝绝圣弃智，民利百倍；绝仁弃义，民复孝慈；绝巧弃利，盗贼无有。巧弃利，盗贼无有。 (道德经道德经 )69The deluge of sound The shining current The myriad graves Nameless burying grounds World of death vaster yet70The de