Lesson 3 The Present

1 Lesson 3 The Present

I. Information related to the text: Traditional birthday celebration in western

countries:

In the west, it is customary to hold a party in

celebration of a person ’s birthday. The guests will

come to the party with presents and say “happy

birthday ” to the birthday person. The guests then

watch him or her open the presents and he or she

thanks them for the presents they have brought.

At the party drinks and food are served. Toward

the end of the dinner the lights in the room are

turned off, and someone comes in from another

room with a cake on which are lighted candles,

one for each year. At the sight of the cake the

guests begin singing “happy birthday to you ’’,

and the birthday person makes a wish before he

or she blows out the candles on the cake. It is said

that the wish will come true if all the candles go

out in one puff. After that, the cake is cut in slices

usually by the birthday person, one piece for each

guest. When the party comes to an end, the guests

wish the birthday person “happy birthday” again and leave.

II.Introduction

Introductory questions: if the following statement is true, please repeat it; if it is false, correct it.

1. the old lady got up early that day simply because she was in the habit of doing so.

2. the old lady had two daughters: Myra, the one she was proud of, and Enid, the one she love.

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3. the old lady was proud of Myra as she had got

a medal for her work for the aged.

4. Enid worked as a school teacher and lived with her mother until she died.

5. in the past two years, Myra seldom came to see her mother, but she wrote to her quite often.

3 6. the old woman was sure that Myra would come

to see her since eighty was a special birthday.

7. Mrs. Morrison the help, and the neighbors

were particularly kind toward her that day; they

either gave her some lovely presents or invited her

to an afternoon tea.

8. She was sitting in her room, thinking what her

daughter would send her when the postman came.

9. the boy downstairs ran to the gate and got

the post for her.

10. as soon as she saw the envelope in Myra ’s

writing, she knew that her daughter would not

send her any presents.

11. after she read what her daughter wrote on the

printed birthday card, she felt so hurt that she

tore the check that came along with the card into

little bits.

4 Introductory remarks: What we are going to

study is a simple story. It is an account of what

happens to an old woman on her eighty birthday.

She was very excited that day . She gets up early

and puts on her best dress. She wishes her

daughter would come to see her, though deep

down she has her doubts. But one thing is certain:

she will get a present from her daughter anyway.

So she waits with eagerness. Finally the postman

comes; the old woman, however, does not receive

the parcel she has been expecting, but a printed

birthday card along with a check. She is so

disappointed, so hurt, that she tears the check

into small pieces.

The story, simple as it is, shows us some aspects of

the family relationship in West society and gives

us an insight into frustration lonely old people

suffer.

5 III. language points:

1.present :

①(n.) gift 礼物

examples:

● I’d like to send Mary a wedding present.

● Do you think this dictionary will make a great

birthday present?

②(v.) give; submit; introduce 献上，呈送，引见

● the little girl presented a bouquet to the

Queen.

● John presented his resignation letter after

quarreling with the boss.

● Allow me to present Mr. W.E. Johnson,

Chairman of the committee.

③(adj.)existing or in course of action now; being

in the place talked about 目前的; 出席在场的

● I’m not going to buy a house at the present

price. It ’s too expensive.

● How many people were present at the

meeting?

2. from the second flat:

from this expression we may infer that the author

6 is English, for “flat ” is a typical British English

usage . An American writer would have used

“ apartment ” instead. Also “the second floor ” is

obviously what the Americans call “the third

floor ”. Here are some other pairs of words used in

British English and American English

respectively:

billion —trillion, cheque —check, autumn-fall, pavement —sidewalk

film —movie, lift---elevator

railway —railroad, cab —taxi

tube/ underground —subway, tin —can

programme —program, honour —honor

tyre —tire, analyse —analyze

traveller —traveler, licence —license

3. occasion : chance 场合, 机会,

*I’ll go abroad if occasion arises.

● National Day is an occasion for general

rejoicing.

● There is no occasion to doubt the truth of

what he said.(reason)

On often/rare/numerous…occasions: 在经常/偶尔/无数次…的场合

I’m quite familiar with the President because we met on numerous occasions.

On the occasion of…值…之际

He last showed his appearance only on the occasion of his daughter’s wedding.

4. even if: though; in spite of虽然, 尽管

Sir Francis was determined to carry out his plan even if he had lung cancer.

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5. at other times: on other occasions在平时; 在别的场合

If you have worked hard at other times, you won’t have to sit up all nights before the exam.

6. make: (followed by an object and complement) cause to be

●They made Professor Smith Chairman of the

English Department.

●He was made our class representative.

8 7. Myra herself got a medal for her work for the

aged.

This paragraph about Myra is an example of

irony. Myra had got a medal for her work for the

aged and her husband was made mayor. All this

seems to tell us that she was a praise-worthy

person committed to the good of the old and

helpless. When we examine her actions, however,

we will come to see the irony of the situation. Did

she really care about old people? In no way. She

was so thoughtless that she did not come to see

her own old mother on her birthday, nor did

she call her on the phone. So the apparent

meaning of this paragraph is just the opposite to

the intended meaning.

8. be content to do sth.: be pleased to do; be

satisfied to do 乐意/满足于做某事

● No one is content to live in poverty.

● I am not content to admit defeat.

● The famous actor seemed content to play a

minor part in the play.

9. primary:

①f irst, as in order/ time/ place

●do you know the primary meaning of this

word? If not, consult a big dictionary.

●The primary education is compulsory in our

country. (note:for a primary school, American people say elementary school

②M ain; first in importance

●blue, yellow and red are three primary colors.

●The primary concern of people is economic

growth, isn’t it?

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10. round the corner:

①s oon to come/happen即将来临

●The fortune-teller told her that there was a

adventure for her just round the corner.

●National Day is round the corner. Let’s clean

up our dormitory.

②c lose by, near at hand附近, 近在咫尺

let’s go to the park; it’s just round the corner.

11. arrange for: make preparation for

●They’ve arranged for us to visit the Great

10 Walls tomorrow.

● She has arranged for her secretary to meet

you at the airport.

● Not all the young men like everything to be

arranged well for them.

12.go into/to hospital: hospitalize 住院

13. operate: ①vi. Perform surgery on sb. The

doctor has successfully operated on the wounded

soldier.

③ v i. Work: The machine does not

operate well.

④ V t. Manage: It is Mr. Wang who owns and

operates this farm.

⑤ V t. Make …work: Do you know how to operate

this machine?

14. efficient: capable (efficiency n. /inefficient

ant.)

● Efficient secretaries are in great demand

nowadays.

● Since you are so busy, you do need a very

11 efficient secretary.

15. after all: when everything has been considered;

nevertheless; anyway

① 在句首,译为 “毕竟”, 导出原因: Don ’t expect

me to work such a miracle. After all, I’m mere

mortal.②在句末, 译为 “终究,结果”, 表示结

果:I had tried it for an hour but still failed after

all.

16. endure: ①suffer; bear; put up with :

● Please give me a painkiller, I can ’t

endure it any longer.

● The company had to endure heavy financial

losses.

② l ast; persist; continue; weather:

*Their marriage has endured for 35 years.

17. spot ① n . stain 斑点,污点,缺点:

● It ’s difficult to get rid of spots of

blood/ink/mud.

● A spot on one ’s reputation

③ n . a particular place 特定场所,地点

12 *He happened to be on the spot when the robbery

took place.

● a scenic spot 风景胜地

● a danger spot 危险地段

● a hot spot 事故/麻烦地点

● vice spots 堕落场所

④ v t . recognize; discover; locate 认出;发现;准确

定位:The man was the first to spot the

comet.(彗星)

18. in blue: the preposition “in ” here is used to

express the meaning “wearing ” or “dressed

in ”

*a girl in red

*a soldier in uniform

*a lady in furs

*a wolf in sheep ’s skin

19.too …to …:太…而不能…

注意与cannot …too(无论…也不过分)的区别:

I cannot see you too often(to learn something

from you).

You cannot be too careful(to speak with the boss).

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20. pick up:

① l ift up 拾起:

The girl went to the platform and picked up the

receiver singing.

②learn/gain/get(knowledge)（自然地/无意地）学

会:

● Young children pick up a foreign language

easily.

● He picked up French during his short stay in

France.

③ t o better; improve;

increase 好转起来: ● I believe things will pick up.

● She has picked up in her study.

④ G ive sb. a ride in a vehice 开车去接/搭乘:

● Shall I pick you up at the station this evening?

21. tremble : to shake uncontrollably as from fear,

cold, excitement, etc.

注意几个同义词的不同用法:

① t remble 指由于害怕劳累而不由自主的 “发抖

颤抖”

● Let the imperialists tremble before us.

●He trembled with fatigue.

②s hake是普通而含义广泛的用语,着重“迅速激

烈地摇动”

He tried to shake the fruit down but in vain.

③s hiver因寒冷害怕而“轻微地颤抖”

●He was shivering all over with cold.

●He shivered with fright.

④shudder因恐怖厌恶而引起“突然的痉挛性的颤抖”

He shuddered at the very thought of such a thing.

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Key to Study and Practice

Vocabulary: p. 53

1. present

2. decade

3. content

4. arrange

5. minor

6. efficient

7. endure

8. extra

9. reluctantly 10. tremble

2. p. 54

1. bunch

2. packet/pack

3. piece

4. pair

5. piece

6. bunch

7. pair

8. piece

9. bunch 10. packet 11. pair 12. piece

3. P.54

1. at other times

2. After all

3. efficient

4. endure

5. extra, extra

6. round/around the corner

7. occasions

8. minor

9. arranged 10. primary 11. rare 12. trembling 13. reluctantly

14. dispointment

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4.

1.can endure

2.on the occasion of

3.to pick it up

4.are not (quite) sure of

5.felt(deep/ a pang of) disappointment

6.Not being content

/As he was not content

Word Building

P.55

1. milkman

2. fireman

3. fisherman

4. businessman

5. policeman

6. spaceman

7. weatherman

8. sportsman

2.

1. broaden s

2. widen ed

3. quicken

4. darken ed

5. sharpening

6. shorten s

3.

1.excitement- excited- exciting- excitedly- excited- excited

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2.disappointed- disappointing- disappointed- disappointment- disappointed

3. patience, patient, patiently, patience

4.r eluctant, reluctance, reluctantly, reluctant

5.e fficiency, efficient, efficiently, efficient

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Structure

10. P.58 1.The bottle is too small to hold so much water. 2. He was too tired to go any further. 3. He is too proud to see his own shortcomings.

4.It ’s too late for the bookstore to be open.

5.They did not stop working until it became completely dark.

6.He did not come until the meeting was over.

7.He said he would not get married until he had found a satisfactory job. 8. H e did not go to bed until he had finished his

reading assignment.

Cloze P.59

1. occasion

2. endure d

3. rare

4. postman

5. trembl ed

6. After all

7. at other times

8.

disappointment

1. necessary

2. and

3. with

4. The

5. of

6. in

7. growing

8. if

9. one 10. through 11. when 12. continue

1. present/gift

2. any/ those

3. could

4. sing

5. sent

6. cost

7. birthday

8. bird

9. replied

Translation

1.That famous actor seemed content to play a minor part in the play.

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2.National Day is round the corner. Let’s give our bedroom a thorough clean.

3.She agreed, very reluctantly, to be operated on by a young doctor.

4.They have arranged for us to visit the Great Wall tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll have a good time there(we’ll enjoy ourselves there).

5.After reading the letter the old man was so disappointed that he tore it into little bits with trembling fingers.

6.The old couple were proud of their grandson,

who got/ won two gold medals and a bronze at the 28th Olympic games.

7.Even if his grandmother could not come to his birthday, she would send him a lovely present. Tom was sure of that.

8.It was Mary’s twentieth birthday yesterday. Her father sent her a pair of boots. Her mother bought her a box of chocolates. And her boyfriend brought her a bunch of roses.

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Key to Reading Practice

EX. B. P.64

c- a- d- d- c- b- a- c- c- b

Key to Writing Practice

P. 67.

1.I went to visit the American author who had

written a number of books about China.

2.I ate the soup my aunt prepared.

3.It is obvious that they need more help in

English.

4.It is good news that she is still alive.

5.It doesn’t seem likely that she will come here.

6.He suddenly remembered that he had forgotten

to take his notebook with him.

7.Can you tell me what kind of show they are

putting on?

8.I’m wondering if the letter is overweight.

9.The children who came to the zoo liked the

pandas best.

10.Raw material is what we are badly in need of.

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Part II.

The old lady was very excited on her 80th birthday because she was hoping that her daughter would come to see her. She was sure that even if her daughter could not come for a visit, she would at least send a parcel to her. After all, eighty is special birthday. So the old lady waited eagerly for the postman. But her daughter did not send a parcel. Instead, she only sent a printed card along with a check. The old lady was so disappointed, so