现代大学英语

1、Lesson 4 A drink in the passage,Part One pre-class work Part Two Introduction to the Text Part Three Detailed Discussion of the Text Part Four Homework,Pre-class work,Questions: 1. What do you know about South Africa? 2. What do you know about the situation in South Africa at the time the story was

2、written? 3. Have you ever heard of the “apartheid”? What do you know about it? 4. What dramatic changes have taken place in this country since the time this story was written? 5. Has racism been a serious problem in human history? Is the problem resolved? 6. How much do you know about Nelson Mandela

3、?,Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918-,South African antiapartheid activist, President of South Africa (term 1994-1999) Leading the antiapartheid movement, first through militancy and later through diplomacy, and symbolizing the struggle of black South Africans during his long period of imprisonment Neg

4、otiating the end of apartheid and leading South Africas peaceful transition to democratic rule Winning the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with F.W. de Klerk,Part two introduction to text,I. Text Analysis Plot: a well-educated black finds himself cordially invited to split a bottle with a white man i

5、n the passage of the latters apartment building Setting: social setting: Apartheid South Africa in 1960, in the city Olando story setting: in the passage Protagonists: “I”the black sculptor Edward Simelane; “he” a white man named Van Rensburg,Theme: The story tells us how racial prejudice can preven

6、t us reaching, touching and connecting with each other. This invisible wall exists between the white and the black and hampers their free communication and full understanding. It is not just a wall imposed by apartheid laws, but a wall deeply rooted in their hearts. Structure: Part 1 (Paras. 1-6 ) a

7、bout: Against what background and from whom the story comes Part 2 (Paras. 7-76) about: How the story goes,Part Two Introduction to the Text,The writer of the story， Alan Paton, was an important South African novelist and political activist，whose novel Cry，the Beloved Country(1948)brought world-wide

8、 attention to the tragedy of apartheid and has since become an international classic In his writing, Paton explores the relationship between whites and blacks in his country. In this story ,a well-educated black finds himself cordially invited to split a bottle with a white man in the latters apartm

9、ent building. The black man is admired and praised by a group of friendly white people, but he has to drink in the passage.,Throughout the story one can see that the two sides are both anxious to reach out to each other, but they do not know how. Obviously there exists an invisible wall between them

10、 which hampers their free communication and full understanding, not just a wall imposed by apartheid laws, but a wall deep in their hearts. Apartheid South Africa was colonized by the British and Dutch in the 1 7th centuryBritish domination of the Dutch descendants (known as Boers or Africaners)，spe

11、aking a Dutch dialect known as Afrikaans) resulted in the Dutch establishing the new colonies of Orange Free State and TransvaalThe discovery of diamonds in these lands around 1 900 led to a British invasion which resulted in the Boer WarFollowing independence from Britain，there was a period of unea

12、sy powersharing between the two groups until the 1940s， when the Afrikaner National Party was able to gain a strong majority,Strategists in the National Party invented apartheid as a means to strengthen their control over the economic and social systemThe aim，in reality，was to maintain white dominat

13、ion while extending racial separation Race laws touched every aspect of social life，including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites，and the sanctioning of “white-only” jobs In 1950，the Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially classified into one of t

14、hree categories：white，black (African)，or colored (of mixed descent)Non-compliance with the race laws was dealt with harshlyChinese settlers，mainly laborers，were classified as coloreds，while Japanese，mainly businesspeople，were classified as white,Toward the end of the 1980s，amid increasing racial ten

15、sion and criticism from the outside world，Nationalist president FWDe Klerk started a serious reform He removed the ban on the African National Congress，the principal antiapartheid organization，and released Nelson Mandela，the ANC deputy president，after 2 7 years of imprisonmentNegotiations between th

16、e government and the ANC cornmenced In June 1991，the Parliament started scrapping the countrys apartheid lawsWith Mandelas election as President in 1994，apartheid was completely brought to an end,Word study,Word formation: suffixwide: extending or effective throughout a specified area or region e.g.

17、 nationwide, worldwide, communitywide,Part Two Detailed Discussion of the Text,1. His work，African Mother and Child，not only excited the admiration，but touched the conscience or heart or whatever it was that responded，of white South Africa His sculpture，African Mother and Child，not only won the admi

18、ration of the white people for its artistic merit，but also deeply touched or moved their hearts and conscience because the work made them see the injustice of racial discrimination and the black peoples yearning for a better 1ife for their children 2.It was by an oversight that his work was accepted

19、 It was by a careless mistake that his work was accepted，because as a black person，he was not supposed to participate in the competition oversight：a mistake that you make by not noticing sth or by forgetting to do sth，eg I didnt mean to leave the room unlockedIt was just an oversight By(an)oversight

20、，the letter was sent unsigned,3. The committee of the sculpture section received a private reprimand for having been so careless as to omit the words “for whites only” from the conditions a private reprimand：a private criticism；a criticism that is not made public reprimand：a sharp，angry and official

21、 rebuke(criticism) so careless as to omit the words “for whites only” from the conditions：so careless that they forgot to put the words “for whites only” in the conditions for entering the competition 4. a very high personage a high-ranking official；an important person personage：a person of distinct

22、ion Compare：person，personage，personnel，personality 5. The committee then decided that this prize must be given along with theothers，at the public ceremony which would bring this particular part of the celebrations to a close to bring sth to a close：to end or conclude sth，eg The government was anxiou

23、s to bring the hostage crisis to a close The surrender of General Lees army soon brought the Civil War to a close,6. but in certain powerful quarters，there was an outcry against any departure from the“traditional policies”of the country but in certain politically influential circles，there was a stro

24、ng protest against this decision as it was not in conformity with the traditional，apartheid policies of the country quarters：a usually unspecified group of people I 1earned the news from some usually wellinformed quarters. He has won some support from business quarters. outcry：a strong protest or ob

25、jection There was a public outcry against police brutality There was an outcry among the workers when the decision was announced departure from：a divergence from a rule or traditional practice traditional policies”：They refer to the racist policies which had been in effect for many years 7. However,

26、 a crisis was averted，because the sculptor was “anfortunately unable to attend the ceremony”. A crisis was avoided because to the relief of the authorities Simelane apologized that he would not be able to attend the ceremony personally to receive the prize Notice that what is given here in quotes is

27、 the official announcement which was probably not true，and everybody knew it,8. “I wasnt feeling up to it,” Simelane said mischievously to me. “My parents，and my wifes parents，and our priest, decided that 1 wasnt feeling up to it. And finally I decided so too. When Simelane said mischievously to the

28、 author that he wasnt feeling up to it, he meant that he was going to pretend that he was sick and therefore he could not go to the ceremony，and he knew that the author would understand that it was only an excuse. The meaning became even clearer when he went on to say that his parents and others “de

29、cided that he wasnt feeling up to it. What they really meant of course was that he should not go to the ceremony as it was too risky to feel up to：to be well enough to；to be capable of, e.g. I dont feel up to a long hike I dont think Ann will feel up to itShe is not as young as she used to be mischi

30、evously：playfully；teasingly 9. “boys，Im a sculptor，not a demonstrator.” Maiosi and Sola and the others were obviously well-known anti-apartheid activists. They wanted him to go to the ceremony for political reasons But his response was that he was only a sculptor and he was not interested in politic

31、sHe did not want to make it a political issue boys：my friends,10. “This cognac is wonderful，”he said，“especially in these big glassesIts the first time Ive had such a glassIts also the first time Ive drunk a brandy so slowly.” Brandy is an expensive drink that was usually consumed by well-to-do whit

32、e folks in Apartheid South Africa who would sip slowly from a brandy glassWhen a black person like Simelane ever got a chance to drink brandy，he would usually use a small glass and drink it quickly for fear that he might be seen and arrested by the police for breaking the lawA brandy glass is a 1arg

33、e one with a wide bowl and narrower topIt is this shape so that the drinker can appreciate the aroma of brandy, tain hour at nightOrlando must be a small town where blacks live 11.“In Orlando you develop a throat of iron，and you just put back your head and put it down，in case the police should arriv

34、e.” When black folks in Orlando drank brandy，frequently they had to put back their head and drink it up in one gulp in order to avoid police detection，and because brandy is a very strong drink，you gradually develop a very strong throat一1ike a throat of iron Notice that according to apartheid 1aws, b

35、lacks could not remain in the big cities after a certain hour at nightOrlando must be a small town where blacks live,12.They gave a window to it, with a white velvet backdrop，if there is anything called white velvet，and some complimentary words They gave a whole window to the sculpture with a white

36、curtain at the back and some words in praise of the workThe curtain(backdrop)was made of white velvet，if there is such a thing as white velvet Velvet is usually soft and smoothBut in this country of apartheid，it was hard for the sculptor to associate the color “white with such qualities as“ softness

37、 and “smoothness”. Notice the sharp contrast of the colors of the backdrop and the sculpture。There is something symbolic about it complimentary：paying compliments；expressing praise or admiration 13. On my way from the Herald office, Iwould only squint at it out of the corner of my eye. the station：T

38、his obviously refers to the railway stationThe sculptor lives in Orlando as he is not allowed to live in the big city and therefore has to commute by train every day the Herald office：We can assume that the sculptor works for a newspaper called The Herald to squint at：to look or glance to the side o

39、ut of the corner of my eye：Notice in this idiom that it is “my eye，not “my eyes”,14So I thought Id go and see the window，and indulge certain pleasurable human feelings So I thought Id go and see the window，and secretly enjoy some pleasant feelingsfeelings of pride for example for my genius 15I must

40、have got a little lost in the contemplation of my own genius I must have become too absorbed or preoccupied with my own genius 16And you know，one doesnt get called “mate” every day In South Africa，a black man does not hear a white man call him “mate”They are usually treated very rudelyBut this white

41、 man was very friendlyTherefore he just couldnt bring himself to say no to his invitation,17Well honestly I didnt feel like a drink at that time of night，with a white stranger and all，and a train still to catch to Orlando Well，to tell the truth，I didnt 1ike the idea of having a drink at that time of

42、 nightIt was getting late，and I had to catch a train to Orlando before I got into trouble with the policeBesides 1 would be drinking with a white stranger and would have to face all the possible conequences and all：the whole thing；including everything or everybody mentioned，eg My boss promised to pr

43、ovide me with a computer and all He ate the whole of the fish。head，tail，bones，and all 18“My flats just round the cornerDo you speak Afrikaans?” (just) round the corner：very near Afrikaans：a Dutch dialect spoken mainly by the white people of Dutch descent in South AfricaThe fact that the sculptor had

44、 spoken the language since he was a child showed that although he was black he was well-educatedIn this passage，there was quite a problem for the sculptor as to what language he should use，as language served as an important social status symbol.,19We didnt exactly walk abreast，but he didnt exactly w

45、alk in front of me Is there any symbolic meaning of the sentence? Would it be a problem for them to walk abreast? A black was not the equal of white so they would never walk side by side as equals 20. “1 wanted a bookshop，like that one there，I always wanted that，ever since I can rememberBut I had bad luckMy parents died before I could finish school.” Did van Rensburgs background have anything to do with his appreciation of the sculpture? 21. I was glad to see t