1、Unit One The Temptation of a Respectable WomanI. Pre-reading activitiesIt is a story about what happens between Mrs. Baroda and the guest to their home. Then Ill tell you briefly why Gouvernail came to visit Mr. Baroda, what Mrs. Baroda thought of Gouvernail at first and then why she decided to leav
2、e the plantation.Initially Mrs. Baroda found her husbands friends silence both puzzling and boring. Her husband, Gaston, had informed her that his friend, Gouvernail, would be staying at the plantation for a few weeks and that he had a great wit. But she found his solemn silence lacking in any inter
3、est. The truth was, however, that he was a run-down, exhausted man merely seeking a short rest from overwork. Once he opened up and revealed his true personality, Mrs. Baroda was surprised and shocked by the temptation and desire he created in her, a respectable married woman. She felt it best to de
4、part from the plantation as soon as possible.II. Text Structure AnalysisWriting in chronological order is common in narrative, where events are presented according to time sequence. This kind of writing is much used in telling stories, in brief biographical and autobiographical sketches. This readin
5、g passage is made up of several episodes arranged according to time sequence even though the author employs many different writing techniques, esp. cause-and-effect in developing the episodes. 1. The first part of the passage is Para. 1, which is the general situation of the story and also the start
6、ing point of the story. Mrs. Baroda was a little annoyed that her husbands friend, Gouvernail, was to spend a week or two on their plantation.2. The second part consists of 9 paras, from Para 2 to Para 10, telling us what happened and Mrs. Barodas impressions of her guestGouvernail. The descriptions
7、 are presented in chronological order. Para 2 deals with Mrs. Barodas impression of her guestshe was feeling puzzled, not being able to penetrate her silent guest. Para 3 to 10 are about a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Baroda concerning their guest Bouvernail. Mrs. Baroda was troubled to find Go
8、uvernail a terrible nuisance not a man of wit, but a dull man difficult to understand. Time Markers: after a few days, then, one day, in the morning, until,etc.3. The third part is made up of 9 paragraphs, from Paragraph 11 to Paragraph 19, concentrating on what happened “that night”. The author use
9、s a succession of verbs and adverbs to describe what happened that night in chronological order. In this part, the author also describes some sort of emotional change in Mrs. Baroda but all this came along with a succession of actions.Time markers: that night, the next morning, then, when, etc.4. Th
10、e fourth part is Paragraph 20 only. Paragraph 20 is about what happened the day after “that night”. The next morning, Mrs. Baroda took an early train without even saying farewell. She did not return until Gouvernail was gone. Time markers: the next morning, not return until5. The fifth part is Parag
11、raph 21. Paragraph 21 describes what happened during the time after “that night”. During the summer that followed, Mr. Baroda greatly desired that his friend should come to visit them again but this was vigorously opposed by Mrs. Baroda. Time marker: during the summer that followed6. The sixth part
12、consists of Paragraph 22 to Paragraph 24, which is the continuing part of the story, still, according to time sequence. Before the year ended, Mrs. Baroda proposed to have Gouvernail visit them again as she had overcome everything. Time marker: before the year ended因果关系法（Cause and effect）；时间顺序法（Time
13、 Sequence）因果关系法一般用于解释产生某种结果的原因或分析某些原因带来的结果。如：第二段，作者讲述了个性沉默的Gouvernail令Mrs. Baroda颇为不解的三个原因：第一，在一起待了几天，她仍感到他很陌生；第二，她只得大部分时间让丈夫陪着客人，但她发现自己不在场几乎并未引起Gouvernail的注意；第三，而后她执意要陪他散步到磨坊去，试图打破他这种并非有意的沉默，但仍不奏效。 这三个原因使Mrs. Baroda对Gouvernail由不理解进而产生厌恶之感。作者还使用了时间顺序法，这是记叙文中经常采用的一种手法。文中出现了许多“时间标志词”（Time Markers）如：af
14、ter a few days, then, one day, in the morning, during the summer that followed, before the year ended 等。III. Language PointsWords & phrasestempt: try to persuade someone to do sth. Which may be unwise or immoralHe was tempted to cheat in the exam.Tempt sb to do sth /into doing sth/ tempt sb with wit
15、h sthtemptation: the temptation of a big cityHe resisted the temptation to smoke a cigarette.Most people cant resist the temptation of clever ads.Yield/give way to temptation 经不住诱惑 fall into temptation受诱惑Tempter 引诱者 tempting 诱人的idle a.without any particular purposeThere are few idle people in their
16、department.unwilling to work or be involved in any activity; lazy; wasting timeA man, like a sword, rusts in idleness.UselessIts idle to expect help from him.Vi 无所事事I asked him to stop idling about and do something useful. (东游西荡)penetrate into/thru/to 1. move into or through the cold seemed to penet
17、rate his bones. The sun penetrated thru the thick clouds and started to shine. The knife penetrated his stomach.2. understand or discover sth that is difficult to understand or is hidden. Dont bother to penetrate girls minds as they are always changing. 别费心机去洞察女孩们的心思，因为她们很善变。penetration 渗透 领悟力 洞察力 p
18、enetrating 渗透的，有洞察力的wit n the ability to use words in a clever and humorous way His speech is full of wit and humour. He hadnt the wit to say no. 他笨得连说一声拒绝的话都不会。 Debates sharpen your wits. 辩论能增长你的才智。 Oscar Wilde was a famous with. 有名的才子At ones wits end 智穷计尽 keep your wits about you 随机应变sheer1. very
19、thin, delicate and weighing very little i.e. ladys sheer stockings2. nothing except; complete It was sheer luck. He won by sheer determination./ He won by sheer chance.3. 陡峭的 The cliff was quite sheer.Vi 突然改变路线 When he saw me coming, he sheered off in the opposite direction. observation 1. make obse
20、rvation on /upon He made an observation on my plan of study. 作出评论 The book is full of interesting observation make on the nature of life. 满是对生活本质的有趣评述。 2观察（记录） She was admitted to hospital for observation. 住进医院接受观察 3 观察力 Slager is a man of keen observation. 敏锐的观察力Keepunder (close) observation 对（密切）监
21、视melt 1. slowly go away or disappearThe tension in the room began to melt. 缓和 2(cause to) turn from sth. Solid into sth. Soft or liquidHe only has to look at her, and she melts. 他只需看着她，她的心便软了。The noon sun will melt away the fog. melt away 消失keen There is keen competition for the position. 竞争激烈Eagles
22、 have keen eyesight.Many parents are keen to send their children to the best schools. 热衷于The knife has a keen edge. 刀刃锋利 be keen on doing sth keep a keen eye on be keen to do sthpropose fml. 1. offer or state (possible plan or action) for other people to consider He proposed that the book be banned.
23、 It is proposed that He proposed changing the name of the company. 2. intend to do How do you propose to explain your long absence. 3. recommend He proposed his new neighbor for club membership. 4. 求婚 He proposed to Miss Brown.overcome 1. defeat or succeed in controlling or dealing with 设法克服 She man
24、aged to overcome her fear of the dark. 2make helpless or weak by smoke, fumes, or feelings 使不堪， 使软弱 We were overcome by the heat.Overcome with emotion 激动得不能自已deserve have earned by ones actions or character; be worthy of deserve sth/ to do sth. deserve a mention She deserved to win.You have been wor
25、king all the morningyou deserve a rest.tender 1. gentle and loving She was tenderer toward her child than her husband. 2. (of meat or vegetable) easy to bite thru Would you like to try the tender beef I cooked? 3. painful; sore; sensitive to the touch The swollen side of my jaw is still tender. 一碰就痛
26、count upon/on 1Depend onDont count on others for help. 指望 2. expectI didnt count on John arriving so early. 料想Count against 被认为对不利count down 到计时 count in 把算在内 count out 逐一数出；不把算在内 count up 达到（总数），总计make a fuss about 对大惊小怪 make a fuss of/over对关怀备至There is nothing to make a fuss about.Dont make so muc
27、h fuss over the children. 照顾得太过分run down He is run down from working too hard. 筋疲力尽 She is always running down her friends. 说坏话，贬低 The company is running down its staff. 减少，缩减 A man was run down by a speeding car when he crossed the street. 撞倒 The detective ran down some leads in the murder case. 查找
28、出，搜索到object to opposeI object to the plan. object to (doing) sth.yield to She yield to his request. We shall never yield to force.Long sentences:1. She left her husband and his guest, for the most part, alone together, only to find that Gouvernail hardly noticed her absence. Leave alone 不打扰，不干预 He i
29、s busy; wed better leave him alone. Only to find. 不定式作结状。加only修饰，表示结果往往出乎意料之外。Yesterday I went to see him, only to learn that he had gone abroad two days before.2. “No. I should like him better if he did if he were more like others, and I had to plan somewhat for his comfort and enjoyment.”本句是if条件句，
30、表示对现在情况的虚拟。If there were no gravitation, we gravitation, we and everything else would fly off the earth into space.Somewhat ad. a littleThe situation has improved somewhat.3. “Her you are,” he went on, “taking poor Gouvernail seriously and making a fuss about him, the last thing he would desire or e
31、xpect.”Take sb./ sth. seriously 认真对待You cant take her promises seriously; she never keeps her word.The last thing 最不愿意干的事A teacher is the last thing he will be.4. She wanted to reach out her hand in the darkness and touch himwhich she might have done if she had not been a respectable woman. Reach out 伸出手（臂、足等），:如：He wanted to become a writer, but his father didnt think it was a respectable profession.5 / 5
