Unit 1 Never Say Goodbye Teaching plan 综合教程一

Unit 1 Never Say Goodbye
Pre-reading Activities
I. Pre-reading questions
1. What was your feeling when you left your parents for the first time and came here?
2. Have your family ever moved from one place to another? If you have, how did you feel when you were going to be away from the old house for good?
3. Have you ever attended a funeral of someone you know very well? If you have, what were you thinking of when you saw him for the last time?
4. Write a letter to your imaginary child to be read on his or her eighteenth birthday. Describe the qualities that you hope he or she will have at this time of life.
II. Cultural information
Quotes
Bertrand Russell: Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer. But in an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble. The best way to overcome it — so at least it seems to me — is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal.
Henry David Thoreau: The failures and reverses which await men — and one after another sadden the brow of youth — add a dignity to the prospect of human life, which no Arcadian success would do.
Global Reading
I. Main idea
What is the story narrated in the text about?
The text is the author’s recall of the most important and unforgettable experiences that came about when he was between 10 and 12. He had learned from his grandfather the profound meaning of “Never say goodbye” and became firm and strong-willed as a child.
II. Structural analysis
1. How are the events of the essay arranged? List some words and phrases which indicate the
chronological order.
2. Based on the time phrases found above, divide the text into parts by completing the table.
Time Paragraph(s) Event
when I was ten, 1 The author was to leave his big old house.
When the final day came 2-4 The author was anguish about the move. His grandfather advised him not to use the word “goodbye” to friends, for it implied
sadness.
I continued to5-9 The author’s grandfather took him to see the huge red rosebush in
the front yard.
a long, long
time ago
10-13 Grandfather recalls the death of his first son and his response to it.
a year and half later 14-20 The dying old man parted with his grandson calmly and even cheerfully without saying the word “goodbye”.
Detailed Reading
Text I
Never Say Goodbye
1When I was ten I was suddenly confronted with the anguish of moving from the only home I had ever known. My whole life, brief as it was, had been spent in that big old house, gracefully touched with the laughter and tears of four generations1.
2When the final day came, I ran to the haven of the small back porch and sat alone, shuddering, as tears welled up from my heart. Suddenly I felt a hand rest on my shoulder2. I looked up to see my grandfather. “It isn’t easy, is it, Billy?” he said softly, sitting down on the steps beside me.
3“Grandpa,” I replied through my tears, “how can I ever say goodbye to you and all my friends?”
4For a moment he just stared off into the apple trees. “Goodbye is such a sad word,” he said. “It seems too final, too cold, for friends to use. We seem to ha ve so many ways of saying goodbye and they all have one thing in common: sadness.”
5I continued to look into his face. He gently took my hand in his. “Come with me, my friend,” he whispered.
6We walked, hand in hand, to his favorite place in the front yard, where a huge red rosebush sat conspicuously alone.
7“What do you see here, Billy?” He asked.
8I looked at the flowers, not knowing what to say, and then answered, “I see something soft and beautiful, Grandpa.”
9Kneeling, he pulled me close. “It isn’t just the roses that are beautiful, Billy. It’s that special place in your heart that makes them so.”
10His eyes met mine again. “Billy, I planted these roses a long, long time ago — before your mother was even a dream3. I put them into the soil the day my first son was born. It was my way of saying thank you to God. That boy s name was Billy, just like yours. I used to watch him pick roses for his mother4.”
11I saw my grandfather’s tears. I had never seen him cry before. His voice became hoa rse. 12“One day a terrible war came, and my son, like so many sons, went away to fight a great evil. He and I walked to the train station together ... Three months later a telegram came. My son had died in some tiny village in Italy. All I could think of was that the last thing I said to him in this life was goodbye.”
13Grandpa slowly stood up. “Don’t ever say goodbye, Billy. Don’t ever give in to the sadness and the loneliness of that word. I want you to remember instead the joy and the happiness of those times when you first said hello to a friend. Take that special hello and lock it away within you — in that place in your heart where summer is an always time5. When you and your friends must part, I want you to reach deep within you and bring back that first hello.”
14 A year and half later, my grandfather became gravely ill. When he returned from several
weeks in the hospital, he wanted his bed next to the window, where he could see his beloved rosebush.
15Then the family was summoned and I returned to the old house. It was decided that the oldest grandchildren would be allowed to say their goodbyes.
16When it came to my turn, I noted how tired he looked. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and hard.
17I took his hand as gently as he had once taken mine.
18“Hello, Grandpa,” I whispered. His eyes slowly opened.
19“Hello, my friend,” he said, with a brief smile. His eyes closed again and I moved on.
20I was standing by his rosebush when an uncle came to tell me that my grandfather had died. Remembering Grandpa's words, I reached deep within me for those special feelings that had made up our friendship6. Suddenly, and truly, I knew what he had meant about never saying goodbye — about refusing to give in to the sadness.
Paragraphs 1-4
Questions
1) What do you know about the author’s home? (Paragraph 1)
2) Why did the author shudder and shed tears when the final day came? (Paragraph 2)
3) Why did his grandfather advise him not to use the word “goodbye” to friends? (Paragraph 4)
Paragraphs 5-13
Questions
1) Why did the author’s grandfather take him to see the rosebush in the front yard?
2) Why did the author’s grandfather plant those roses? (Paragraph 10)
3) What kind of advice did the author’s grandfather offer in Paragraph 13? (Para graph 13) Paragraphs 14-20
Questions
1) Why did the author’s grandfather want his bed to be next to the window? (Paragraphs 14)
2) Why was the family summoned to the old house? (Paragraph 15)
3) What do you think of the parting between the author and his grandfather? (Paragraphs 16-19) Further Enhancement
I. Text II
Lead-in Questions
1. How would you react to a crisis, especially when you feel scary?
2. Who do you think are better at handling crisis, men or women? Why?
Text
The Dinner Party
Mona Gardner
The country is India. A colonial official and his wife are giving a large dinner party. They are seated with their guests ——army officers and government attaches and their wives, and a visiting American naturalist —— in their spacious dining room, which has a bare marble floor, open rafters, and wide glass doors opening onto a veranda.
A spirited discussion springs up between a young girl who insists that women have outgrown the jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era and a colonel who says that they haven't.
"A woman's unfailing reaction in any crisis," the colonel says, "is to scream. And while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more of nerve control than a woman has. And that last ounce is what counts."
The American does not join in the argument but watches the other guests. As he looks, he sees a strange expression come over the face of the hostess. She is staring straight ahead, her muscles contracting slightly. With a slight gesture she summons the servant standing behind her chair and whispers to him. The servant’s eyes widen, and he quickly leaves the room.
Of the guests, none except the American notices this or sees the servant place a bowl of milk on the veranda just outside the open doors.
The American comes to with a start. In India, milk in a bowl means only one thing — bait for a snake. He realizes there must be a cobra in the room. He looks up at the rafters — the likeliest place —— but they are bare. Three corners of the room are empty, and in the fourth the servants are waiting to serve the next course. There is only one place left — under the table.
His first impulse is to jump back and warn the others, but he knows the commotion would frighten the cobra into striking. He speaks quickly, the tone of his voice so arresting that it sobers everyone.
"I want to know just what control everyone at this table has. I will count three hundred —that's five minutes — and not one of you is to move a muscle. Those who move will forfeit 50 rupees. Ready?"
Th e twenty people sit like stone images while he counts. He is saying "… two hundred and eighty..." when, out of the corner of his eye, he sees the cobra emerge and make for the bowl of milk. Screams ring out as he jumps to slam the veranda doors safely shut.
"You were right, Major!" the host exclaims. "A man has just shown us an example of perfect control."
"Just a minute," the American says, turning to his hostess. "Mrs. Wynnes, how did you know that cobra was in the room?"
A faint smile lights up the woman's face as she replies: "Because it was crawling across my foot."
Notes
1.Mona Gardner (1900-1981) was born in Seattle, Washington. She lived in Hong Kong, South Africa, and California, among other places, and she also traveled widely. Many of her novels and stories are set in Asia. The Dinner Party, her best-known short story, takes place in India earlier last century, when India was still a colony ruled by Great Britain.
2.colonial official (Paragraph 1): a British citizen appointed to a governmental position in India, a British colony for many, many years until 1974
3.attaches (Paragraph 1): persons with special duties on the staff of an embassy to another country
4.… that women have out growing the jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era (Paragraph 2): … that women have passed the time when they would jump on a chair at the sight of a mouse. Here the word, a typical example of journalistic style, jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse is a compound adjective formed from an attributive clause.
5.And while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more of nerve control than a woman has, and that last ounce is what counts. (Paragraph 3): Even though a man is also likely to “jump on a chair at the sight of a mouse,” he has at least the last b it of self-control to refrain himself from jumping up. And it is the self-control that matters.
6.The American comes to with a start(Paragraph 6): The American becomes aware of the potential danger with a sudden shock. This sentence is grammatically loose, for the phrase “come to”, being used to express that sb. begins to realize sth., is not followed by a necessary object, i.e., sth. happening, etc.
7.Rupees(Paragraph 8): Indian coins. Ten rupees was worth about one US dollar at the time of the story.
Questions for discussion:
1.On what topic did the colonel and the young girl disagree?
2.What kind of expression did the American notice came over the face of the hostess?
3.What did the American realize was happening when he noticed bowl of milk?
4.How did the American react to the crisis?
5.What did the American say to make sure that everyone remained perfectly still?
6.What qualities did both the American and the hostess display?
Key to questions for discussion:
1. They disagreed on whether women were still easily scared.
2. A strange expression came over the face of the hostess: she was staring straight ahead and her facial muscles contracted slightly.
3. He realized that there must be a cobra in the room because the bowl of milk meant bait for a snake.
4.He stayed calm at the table and gave others a warning in an arresting voice. He let the others stay at the table and counted down the time or forfeited one who moved.
5. Because the hostess, with the help of the American, had just escaped the danger of a possible attack by a cobra.
6. Both of them, a man and a woman, demonstrated admirable self-control.
II. Memorable Quotes
Read the following quotes and interpret the importance of family or family bonds implied in them.
Guidance: Family is where our roots take hold and where we grow. A close family bond is like a safe harbor where we find refuge. Rituals of bedtime stories, hugs, holidays and daily meals shared together, provide a sense of warmth, and safety. These rituals and traditions, not only create memories, but create our first path in life — one that is positive.
1. The happiest moments of life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. —Thomas Jefferson
Paraphrase: When I look at my life, those happiest moments are spent at home with my family who love me and make me feel safe.
in the bosom of sth.: in a situation in which you are with people who love and protect you
e.g. He spent the weekend in the bosom of his family.
2. Where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. —Oliver Wendell Holmes Paraphrase: We love our home —the place our bodies may leave, but we are emotionally attached to it forever.
but not: used to introduce a word or phrase that contrasts with what was said before
e.g. We can buy a house, but not a home.。