Mark Twain-the mirror of America第一部分课文讲解

MarkTwain---MirrorofAmericaMadeby:ChanelLuoPara1~3TextAnalysisMirrorofAmerica“Mirror”Isapieceofglassorothershinny/polishedsurfacethatreflectsimages.Here,itisametaphor.Itmeansafaithfulrepresentationordescriptionofsomething(theUSA).WhydoestheauthorsaythatMarkTwainisthemirrorofAmerica?MarkTwain:SamuelLanghorneClemensHisLife______HistoricEventsofUSATrampprinter印刷工--ProsperousRiverpilot领航员--MississippiRiverTranscontinentalRailroadsGuerrilla游击队员--TheCivilWarProspector淘金者--GoldRushReporter记者--WestwardExpansionCorrespondent通信员--Europe,theHolyLandWriter作家--TomSawyer’sinnocenceHuckFinn’sexperienceTheassertionthatMarkTwainisthemirrorofAmericaismadeintwosenses.MarkTwain’sexciting,adventuresomelifestoriesthemselvesmirrorapartoftrueAmericanhistory,andthelifeofordinaryAmericanpeople.Second,hislifeexperiencefurnishedhimwithawideknowledgeofhumanity,aswellaswiththeperfectgraspoflocalcustomsandspeech,whichMarkTwainhasmanifestedsowellinhiswriting.Hisworksmirrortherealsocietyofhistime.Thewholesentencestructure:parallelism.remember…as…e.g.鲁迅创造了阿Q,这是大多数的中国人所熟知的.MostChinesepeoplerememberLuxunasthefatherofAhQu.Father:metaphor,heremeansthecreatorortheauthor.cruisethrougheternalboyhood：journeythroughlastingboyhoodendlesssummeroffreedomandadventure：longsummerfulloffreeandadventurousactivitiesEternal&Endless:hyperbole夸张,这两个词说明哈克贝利费恩和汤姆索亚两个人物会永远活在读者心中,突出了马克吐温笔下的两个文学形象的永恒魅力.Idylliccruise诗情画意的旅程Idyllic:asimplehappyperiodoflife,ofteninthecountry,orascenefromsuchatime.cruise:aseavoyageforpleasure,especiallyoneonalargeshipandlastingforseveraldaysorweeks.MostAmericansrememberMarkTwainasthefatherofHuckFinn'sidylliccruisethrougheternalboyhoodandTomSawyer'sendlesssummeroffreedomandadventure.In-deed,thisnation'sbest-lovedauthorwaseverybitasadventurous,patriotic,romantic,andhumorousasanyonehaseverimagined.everybitas…as:justas…as,quiteas…as完全，同样的e.g.Heiseverybitascleverasyouare.AdventurousPatrioticRomanticHumorousDotheyhavedeepmeaningsapartfromtheirliteralmeanings?“Adventurous”MarkTwainlikedtotrysomethingnew,likeanewlife,anewplaceandnewwritingskillsandsoon.“patriotic”showshisstrongpassionorloveforhiscountry,countrymenandnaturalscenery.“romantic”idealistic,emotionalandartistic.“humorous”hemadepeoplelaugh,broughtthemfunandjoy,hiswritingisfullofwittylanguages.FurtherunderstandingoftheseadjectivesCynical愤世嫉俗的acynic—denyingthesincerityofpeople’smotivesandactions;seeingnogoodnessinhumanbehavior.havinglittlefaithinhumansincerityorgoodness.E.G.acynicalman/acynicalattitude/acynicalsmileProfound:toemphasizethatsth.isverygreatandintense深度的,深远的E.G.Hislove/feelingforhiscountrywasprofound.deal:togive,togiveout,tostrike,todistribute给予dealsb.ablow…tocausesb.greatdifficultiesHedealtmeahardblowonthechin.obsess:v.Tooccupythemindofexcessively,keepthinkingaboutsth.andfinditdifficulttothinkaboutanythingelse.使着迷,困扰Thefearofdeathobsessedherthroughoutheroldage.frailty:aweaknessofcharacterorbehavior.虚弱,弱点Oneofthefrailtiesofhumannatureislaziness.Frailty,thynameiswoman!(Hamlet)“Ablackwallofnight”---Rhetoricdevice,Structure,Imply?Rhetoricdevice---Metaphor,comparethedarknightastheblackwallStructure---n.+of(像…)+n.Imply---thecolor“black”or“dark”and“night”---impliessomethinghopeless.oppositeto“day”and“daybreak’and“light”----“hope”or“hopefulness”.“ablackwallofnight”----“despairandhopelessness”.e.g.Hedidnotseeabrightfuturebutadarkoneandahopelessone.tramp:流浪汉apersonwhohasnohomeorpermanentjobandverylittlemoneyguerrilla游击队员amemberofanunofficialfightgroupwhichattackstheenemyinsmallgroupsunexpectedly.Starry-eyedoptimist耽于幻象的乐天派apersondisposedtotakeafavorableofviewofthingsacid-tonguedcynic语言尖刻的讽刺家apersonwhobelievestheworstaboutpeopleortheoutcomeofeventsrangeacross浪迹totravelwithoutanydefiniteplanordestination,afairlyliteraryuse.同义词区别:wander,range,saunter,strollRangetotravelwithoutanydefiniteplanordestination,afairlyliteraryuse.Wanderimpliestheabsenceofafixedcourseormoreorlessindifferencetoacoursethathasbeenfixedorotherwiseindicated.Thetermmayimplythemovementofawalkerwhetherhumanoranimal,butitmaybeusedofanythingcapableofdirection.漫游,徘徊Saunterstressesaleisurelypaceandinidleandcarefreemind.漫步,闲逛Strolldiffersfromsaunterchieflyintheimplicationsofanobjective,(assight-seeingorexercise)pursuedwithouthasteandsometimeswithwanderingfromoneplacetoanother.散步,漫步Howtounderstandthesentence“digestingthenewAmericanexperiencebeforesharingitwiththeworldaswriterandlecturer”?Possibleanswers:MarkTwaintravelledaroundtheworldandwroteaboutthingsortheexperiencethathehadbeenobservedandabsorbed.Heactedasacarriertospreadorintroducehisideaandhisinformationtohisreadersthroughhisbooksorlectures.Heredigestmeansthatyouthinkaboutit,understandit,andrememberit.WhydidMarkTwainadopthispennamemeaning"twofathomsdeep”?Drawreaders’attention~ThesailingexperiencetakesupanimportantpartinhisheartImpressthelistenersanautical(航海的)termusedbysailorstoreportsoundingsnavigable:可通航的deepandwideenoughtoallowshipstotravelattest:证实,证明toshowtobetrue,togiveproofof,todeclaresolemnlyartery:动脉,干线bloodvesselthatcarriesbloodfromthehearttotherestofthebody,hereisametaphor,todescribeitasthemaintransportationkeelboat:龙骨船alongbaralongthebottomofaboatorshipfromwhichthewholeframeoftheboatorshipisbuiltup.thefirstmajorcommerce最重要的商品themostimportantcommoditiesLumber木材treetrunks,logsorplanks,timberTheMississippiriverTheMississippiRiveristhesecondlongestriversystemintheUnitedStates.TheMississippiflows2,340milesfromitssourcetoitsmouthintheGulfofMexico.Today,itisoftencalled“OldManRiver”.Deltacountry河口三角洲地区Deltaisthe4thletteroftheGreekalphabet,whichisshapedlikeatriangle.Thereforeanythingintheshapeofadelta,esp.adepositofsandandsoilformedatthemouthofsomeriversiscalledadelta.Molasses糖浆thethickbrownuncrystallized(非结晶的)bittersyrupobtainedfromsugarduringrefiningBasin流域Abasinofalargeriveristheareaoflandaroundit.Fromthebasinwaterandstreamsrundownintotheriver.theYellowRiverBasin.Drain流干tocausetobecomegraduallydryorempty◆GiveabriefaccountofTwain’sexperiencebeforehebecameawriter.Heusedtomovehereandthere,andhefirstworkedasaprinter,thenariverpilot,aConfederateguerrilla,agoldminer.Whenhewasyoung,heembodiedhopeandbeautifuldreams,sohewasquiteoptimistic.Butlaterhebecamemorecynicalandsarcastic.artery&heart&drainmetaphor“artery动脉”---mainroute“heart心脏”---thecentralpartorcenter“drain流干”---tocauseliquidflowaway(排走)itliterallymeanstheMississippiRiverdrainedthevastareaalongitsbanks.TheMississippivalleytakesuporcoversthreequartersofthepopulatedareaoftheU.S.Aofthattime.Rhetorical devicesHyperboleoroverstatementisafigureofspeechinwhichexaggerationisusedtoemphasizeapoint,tocreatehumor,ortoachievesomesimilareffects.HuckFinn'sidylliccruisethrougheternalboyhoodandTomSawyer'sendlesssummeroffreedomandadventure.