Unit 1 Hit the Nail on the Head

1、Unit OneTEXT Hit the Nail on the Head Alan WarnerAims: After learning this unit, we will be able to Understand the various aspects related to the usage of words. Cultivate a sense of appropriateness in style Learn to use analogy as an expository means. Pre-reading Questions:1. Have you ever heard of

2、 the English proverb “Hit the nail on the head”? What does it mean?2. Whose job involves hitting nails? Is the text concerned about the carpenter? Then, whats the major concern of the author?3. What similarities does the author recognize in the job of a carpenter and the work of a writer? 1. Hit the

3、 nail on the head: It means exactly right in words or action. (The author advises that the English students should try to get the words, phrases and sentences completely right for their purposes in their writing.) 2. Major concern stylistic matter, how to choose the right word from the extensive voc

4、abulary of the English language 3. Similaritiesa. The process the writer chooses the right word is similar to the way a carpenter hammers a nail. b. Like the carpenter who needs to drive home every nail if he wants his work properly done, a writer needs to put efforts in choosing the right word if h

5、e wants to be accurate and concise. Learn more about English proverbs and idioms: hit the nail on the head: exactly right in words or actions. to play by ear: to play a tune which one has heard, remembered, or invented but not seen written in notes.见机行事 in hot water: into trouble related to anger or

6、 punishment. water off a ducks back: have no effect. to keep an ear to the ground : listen to what will happen attentively.注意舆论动向 to bark up the wrong tree : attack to the wrong target.找错对象 to fly off handle : lose ones temper , fly into a rage.暴跳如雷 to twist someones arm: force someone to do somethi

7、ng. taking candy from a baby: be insatiably avaricious 贪得无厌 to laugh up ones sleeve ：laugh secretly a black sheep : en evil member of the herd a dark horse: unknown competitor who may win a white lie: harmless lieComprehension of the Text: Main Idea: To facilitate ones own process of cognition and o

8、nes communication with others, one must be able to choose the right word from the extensive vocabulary of the English language.Purpose of writing and Tone: To inform learners of English as foreign language the way of mastering English, thus presenting in a serious manner. Directions: Read through th

9、e whole text very quickly, find out the main idea of each paragraph, decide whether some paragraphs can be grouped together to form a section and how each section is related to the other. Organization Introduction(P1): Using an analogy to dramatize the importance of choosing right words for ones pur

10、pose in writing; Body (P2-10): (P2-3) Addressing double functions of the correct choice of words / significance of finding the right words; (P4-7) Semantic differences between words having the same root; (P8) Wrong choice of words caused by failure to recognize their connotations; (P9) Stylistic dif

11、ferences between synonyms; (P10) The abundance of specific words in English for general notions; Conclusion (P11): Emphasizing quality over quantity in the mastery of English words; Comparison A clumsy man a skilful carpenter A good writer a skilful carpenter Analogy A writer choosing the right word

12、 A carpenter hammering a nail Analogy is a special kind of comparison and a more concrete way to explain things. The purpose of analogy is to explain something abstract and remote. With analogy, of the two things being compared, one is usually a familiar subject, which helps to explain the other, wh

13、ich is usually a difficult and abstract subject, something hard to define.II. Dictionary work1. drive something home (1.3): force the nail into the right place; make something unmistakably clear 2. scrupulous(l.10): painstaking; meticulous3. far afield (l.31): very far away4. rife (l.38): widespread

14、; common 5. leader(l.45): British English for newspaper editorial 6. coercion (l.48): pressure; compulsion 7. epitomize (l.49): be typical of; serve as the typical example of 8. disprove (l.63): prove to be contrary; refute 9. expire (l.74): die; pass away; come to an end10. indigent (l.74): poverty

15、-stricken; pennilessIII: library work 1. Gustave Flaubert (l.10): Born12 December 1821)Rouen, FranceDied8 May 1880 (aged 58)Rouen, FranceOccupationNovelist, playwrightNationalityFrenchGenresFictional proseLiterarymovementRealism,RomanticismEarly life and education Flaubert was born on December 12, 1

16、821, in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, in the Haute-Normandie region of France. He was the second son of Achille-Clophas Flaubert (17841846), a surgeon, and Anne Justine Caroline (ne Fleuriot) (17931872). He began writing at an early age, as early as eight according to some sources. He was educated in his n

17、ative city and did not leave it until 1840, when he went to Paris to study law. In Paris, he was an indifferent student and found the city distasteful. He made a few acquaintances, including Victor Hugo. Towards the close of 1840, he travelled in the Pyrenees and Corsica. In 1846, after an attack of

18、 epilepsy(癫痫), he left Paris and abandoned the study of law.Writing career In September 1849, Flaubert completed the first version of a novel, The Temptation of Saint Anthony. He read the novel aloud to Louis Bouilhet and Maxime du Camp over the course of four days, not allowing them to interrupt or

19、 give any opinions. At the end of the reading, his friends told him to throw the manuscript in the fire, suggesting instead that he focus on day to day life rather than on fantastic subjects. In 1850, after returning from Egypt, Flaubert began work on Madame Bovary. The novel, which took five years

20、to write, was serialized in the Revue de Paris in 1856. The government brought an action against the publisher and author on the charge of immorality, which was heard during the following year, but both were acquitted. When Madame Bovary appeared in book form, it met with a warm reception. Flaubert

21、was associated with, though not representative of, the movement of naturalism and known as one of the greatest realists of 19th-century France. He devoted his life to long hours spent in heavy toil over his work. His writing is marked by exactness and accuracy of observation, extreme impersonality a

22、nd objectivity of treatment, and precision and expressiveness in style, or the principle of the mot juste. Flaubert scrupulously avoids the inexact, the abstract, the vaguely inapt expression which is the bane of ordinary methods of composition; he never allowed a clich to pass him. In a letter to G

23、eorge Sand he said that he spends his time “trying to write harmonious sentences, avoiding assonances.” Flaubert believed in, and pursued, the principle of finding le mot juste (the right word), which he considered as the key mean to achieve quality in literary art. He worked in sullen solitude some

24、times occupying a week in the completion of one page never satisfied with what he had composed. 2. Mrs. Malaprop - a famous character in Sheridans comedy The Rivals (1775). She is noted for her blunders in the use of words. “As headstrong（不受管束的） as an allegory（比方；寓言） (alligator) on the banks of the

25、Nile” is one of her grotesque（荒唐的）misapplications. She also requests that no delusions（欺骗;迷惑）(allusions暗指) to the past be made. She has given us the word malapropism（用词错误，尤指误用发音相似而意义全非的词）as a name for such mistakes. Malapropism来自英国戏剧家Richard Brinsley Sheridan的一个叫情敌The Rivals的剧本剧中一位女主角叫做Mrs.Malaprop此

26、人才疏学浅却偏爱用大字难字以示风雅。可惜往往弄巧成拙令人忍俊不禁:有一次她在谈及子女教育的问题时说 As she grew up, I would have her instructed in geometry that she might know something of the contagious countries. 光看前半截倒没什么她说“等她长大了我要她学点几何”但后半截却让读者莫明其妙为何要“使她知道一些传染的国家”呢,原来这位Mrs.Malaprop把geometry几何当成了地理geography又把contagious传染的当成了contiguous邻近的。本来她想说“等

27、她长大了我要让她学点地理使她知道一些邻近国家的情况。”但由于把单词混淆了令人大为费解。 当她受到批评的时候她还振振有词地为自己辩护说 Sure, if I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue and a nice derangement of epitaphs. 这一次她把reprehend指责当成了apprehend了解,oracular深奥的误vernacular本地的,derangement乱七八糟充当arrangement排列,更有甚者竟把epitaphs墓志铭跟epithets描述

28、性的短语,混为一谈难怪 Find out where Hindi(1.105) and Swahili (1.106) are used. Hindi （印地语）（印地语） is a literary and official language of the northern India. Swahili （斯瓦希里语）（斯瓦希里语） is a Bantu （班图（班图) language that is a trade and governmental language over much of East Africa and in the Congo region. Bantu are p

29、eople belonging to a group of tribes found in equatorial and southern Africa. Paragraph 1 knock over: hit to fall 捶翻 drive something home: force (the nail) into the right place; make something unmistakably clear 把（钉子等）打入；使明确无误 E.g. (1). He slammed the door and drove the bolt home. 他砰地关上门，把门闩插好。 (2).

30、 drive ones point home 讲清楚自己的观点 (3). a voice that drives home each word 字字清晰的说话声 (4). To drive home his policy, the president wrote his second letter. 为了阐明他的政策，总统又写了第二封信。 (5). You must drive it home to John that we dont have enough money. 你必须使约翰明白我们钱确实不够 deft: effortlessly skillful 熟练的 hit it square

31、ly on the head: hitting it directly on the head. Also hit the (right) nail on the head: (informal) be exactly right in words or action 正中要害；猜中；说得好，做得好 E.g. : (1). Your criticism really hit the nail on the head. 你的批评确是一针见血。 (2). In so saying, you hit the right nail on the head. 你这样说确是击中要害。 squarely:

32、meaning “directly”, may be used both literally and figuratively. E.g. : (1). The boxer hit his opponent squarely on the jaw. (2). We must face the difficulty squarely. a word that is more or less right: a word that is almost right, but not completely right 差不多恰当的词语 clean English: English that is exa

33、ct (precise) and clear “A word that is more or less right, a loose phrase, an ambiguous expression, a vague adjective, will not satisfy a writer who aims at clean English.” : Paraphrasing: A writer who is particularly concerned about the precise expression in English will never feel happy with a wor

34、d which fails to express an idea accurately. Paragraph 2 scrupulous writers: writers who are thorough, exact, and who pay careful attention to details 一丝不苟的作家 scrupulous: correct even in the smallest detail; exact; painstaking; meticulous 严格认真的, 审慎的 unscrupulous: 不择手段的, 肆无忌惮的, the opposite of scrupu

35、lous, seems to be more often used to describe people who do not care about honesty and fairness in getting what they want, or who are completely without principles. Also by hook or (by) crook: to win by hook or crook Realization: manifestation As for traffic lights, the red is the realization of “st

36、op”. In language, sound is the realization of grammar, which is the realization of meaning. There is a famous saying is Systemic Functional Linguistics “Form is the realization of meaning.” Choosing words is part of realization, of defining our thought and feelings for ourselves, as well as for thos

37、e who hear or read our words. Paraphrasing: To a certain extent, the process of finding the right words to use is a process of perfection where you try to search for words that may most accurately express your thoughts and feelings, and words that may most effectively make your listeners and readers

38、 understand your thoughts and feelings. “How can I know what I think till I see what I say? ”This sounds stupid, but there is a great deal of truth in it. It sounds irrational that a person does not know what he himself thinks before he sees what he says. But as a matter of fact, it is quite true th

39、at unless we have found the exact words to verbalize our own thoughts we can never be very sure of what our thoughts are; without words, our thoughts cannot be defined or stated in a clear and precise manner. Paragraph 3 It is hard work choosing the right words, but we shall be rewarded by the satis

40、faction that finding them brings. Paraphrase: Finding the most suitable word to use is no case easy. But there is nothing like the delight we shall experience when such a word is located. The exact use of language gives us mastery over the material we are dealing with. Paraphrase: Once we are able t

41、o use language accurately, we are in a position to fully understand our subject matter. that constitutes his limitation: that makes or forms his shortcoming or inability in certain respects concept vs. conception: A concept is an idea of a category or kind that has been generalized from particular i

42、nstances. Thus, the concept of “cat” arises form the many cats we see. Concept also refers to a widely held idea of what something is or should be: The concept of government of many small nations has been influenced by the legislative and judicial institutions of Britain. The meaning of conception i

43、s much like this second sense of concept, but differs in that the idea of what a thing is or should be is here held by an individual or small group and is often colored by imagination and feeling: A childs conception of the universe is formed by his limited experience and his own fancies. your conce

44、ption of the man is clearer and sharper: your idea of the man is clearer and more distinct sharp: a word that has a variety of meanings E.g.: a sharp (thrill) voice sharp (harsh) words a sharp (severe) pain What is the significance of finding the right words? Words are many and various; they are sub

45、tle and delicate in their different shades of meaning. The exact use of language gives us mastery over the material we are dealing with. Paragraph 4 human vs. humane: human: relating to or characteristic of humankind or people E.g.: human action: action taken by man 人的行为 To err is human; to forgive,

46、 divine. 犯错人皆难免；宽恕则属超凡。（犯错是人，宽恕是神） human killer: a person or a machine that kills humans 杀人凶手；杀人机器 - human being; human nature; human rights humane: having or showing compassion or benevolence; characterized by kindness, mercy, sympathy E.g.: humane action: merciful action 人道的行为 humane killer: that

47、which kills but causes little pain; instrument for painless slaughter of animals 牲口无痛屠宰机，牲口麻醉屠宰机 a humane judge/officer distinct: adj. A. different in kind e.g. We should keep the two ideas distinct. 将两个概念区别开来 Donkeys and horses are distinct animals. 不同的动物 B. clearly marked, plain, e.g. a distinct i

48、mprovement 明显的 a distinct pronunciation 清晰的 Paragraph 5 far afield: far away from home; to or at a great distance; very far away 向远处, 远离 Dont go too far afield. In the text, it may be interpreted as: There is no need for us to make an effort to find proof of bad carpentry in language.” Namely, “ You

49、 can find examples of bad usage everywhere around you.” anxiety: associated with worry/fear eagerness：full of interest or desire Context: the context of situation: register the context of culture: genre the context of text Paragraph 6 cowardice: lack of courage 怯懦, 胆小 rife: widespread, common（流行的，普遍

50、的）. Rife is an adjective used with something negative. E.g.: (1). Crime and violence were rife in this city before liberation. (2). Typhoid fever (Poultry flu) is rife. 目前伤寒（禽流感）流行。 (3). Corruption (Unemployment) is still rife in that country. 那个国家依然贪污成风（失业遍地）。 (4). The whole city is rife with rumor

51、s. 满城谣言纷纷。 (5). This article is rife with error. 这篇文章错误百出。 (6). The country was rife with disease and violence. 那个国家当时疾病和暴力横行。 (7). Diseases used to be rife in that country. singularity vs. singleness: singularity: strangeness, oddity, peculiarity 奇特, 特性, 非凡 E.g.: singularity of mind 思想奇特；标新立异 singl

52、eness: complete devotion to; holding steadfastly to E.g.: singleness of mind 思想专一, 专心致志 Paragraph 7 malapropism: an often amusing misuse of a word, such that the word incorrectly used sounds similar to the intended word but means something quite different 词语误用（尤指误用发音相似而意义全非的词） hold to: (cause to) fo

53、llow exactly, keep to (something such as a promise); adhere to坚持，遵守，忠于 E.g.: (1). Whatever your argument, I shall hold to my decision. (2). The priest held to his beliefs in spite of cruel treatment. (3). He holds to a simple life. 他坚持过着简朴的生活。 (4). He held to his own counsel. 他按照自己的意见行事。 (5). I hold

54、 to my promise. 我格守诺言。 draw aside: (cause to) move to one side E.g.: (1). Drawing the curtain aside, he looked down into the street. (2). The crowd drew aside to let the prisoner pass. Paragraph 8 “Malapropism” means the unintentional misuse of a word by confusing it with one that resembles it, such

55、 as human for humane, singularity for singleness. But the misuse of “imprison” is a different case. It is wrongly chosen because the user has failed to recognize its connotation（内涵）. imprison: put into prison or keep in a place or state which one is not free to leave 监禁, 关押; 限制, 束缚 coercion: pressur

56、e, compulsion; government by force 强迫，压制；高压统治 E.g.: the coercion of public opinion舆论的压力 coerce v.t.: 强制；胁迫；迫使 E.g.: coerce somebody into doing something 迫使某人做谋事 coerce uniformity 强求一致 coercive adj. = coercionary adj.: serving or intended to coerce E.g.: coercive methods (measures) 强制的方法（手段） coercibl

57、e adj.可强迫的,可威压的 epitomize: be typical of; serve as the typical example of 代表，象征，体现，写 的梗概，作 的纲要 E.g.: (1). He was the man who epitomized black resistance to the colonial government. 他代表着黑人对殖民地政府的反抗。 (2). His political creed was epitomized in this report. 他的政治信念就概括在这篇报告中。 epitome n.: a thing or person

58、 that shows, to a very great degree, a quality or set of qualities (especially in the phrase the epitome of) 典型，象征；缩影 a short account of a book or speech 梗概；缩写，节录 E.g.: (1). She is the epitome of arrogance. 她是傲慢的典型。 (2). My cat is the epitome of laziness (= My cat is very lazy.). hit on: strike on:

59、find by lucky chance or have a good idea about（偶然或忽然）发现；碰上； 找到；想到 E.g. (1). I hit on this interesting book in a small bookstore. 我在一家小书店里偶然发现了这本有趣的书。 (2).The plan we hit upon was not logical, perhaps, but it worked.我们想出来的那个计划也许不合逻辑，但它行之有效。 (3). How did you hit on the right answer so quickly? (4). At

60、 last someone hit upon taking the other road through the mountains. distill: take and separate the most important parts of (a book, a subject, etc.) 提炼 E.g.: distill the essence of 提取的精华 - imprisoned force, coercion, compulsion, against will - contained more general, neutral - epitomized literary, f