《大学思辨英语教程写作1》练习答案-Unit 5 Dream and Faith

Unit5Dream and Faith
Part I:Learning the Skills
Activity1:
Match the themes with the following stories.
A.The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.
B.Idleness brings want.
C.Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness.
D.Unity is strength.
E.Fine feathers don’t make fine birds.
Story1：C
Story2:B
Story3:A
Story4:E
Story5:D
Activity2:
Review the texts you have read in the previous units and figure out the theme(s)revealed in each text.Discuss with your partner how these themes are developed and revealed in the texts,and comment on the techniques that the authors use to develop the themes.
Text Theme(s)How the theme(s)is(are)
revealed
Comments
The Story of My Life(Chapter4)One could overcome
a problem that
seems to be
insurmountable
--Offered background
information about herself at
the beginning
--Described the skillfulness
and patience of Ann Sullivan
--the key moment of epiphany
“The Diamond Necklace”Vanity and pride can
be expensive
A great contrast between
what life is and what life
Mathilde fancies at the
beginning
Mathilde borrowed a necklace
and had a moment of her
fancied life,
Madame Loisel’s vanity causes
her to want to live beyond her
means and her pride that
prevents her from telling
Madame Forestiere the truth.
“After Twenty Years”Justice is higher than friendship
“The Selfish Giant”Sharing can bring joy “Too Soon a
Woman”
True courage is love
“My Father sits in the Dark”The love of family members
“The three Little Pigs(V1)One should try his best
“The three Little Pigs(V2)Truth might take a turn when the narrator is different
“A Day’s Wait”Courage is
Activity3
Read the poem“Sea-Fever”by John Masefield carefully.Write your answer to each question and then discuss your answer with your partner.
1)What is the theme,or message that the author expresses in this poem?
The simple things in life may be the best.
2)What words are repeated to point out the theme?Without these words,do you think that
the theme will be weakened or strengthened in the poem?Why?
“all I ask”is used in all these stanzas to emphasize that what“I”want is easy to satisfy.
Without these phrases,the effect will be weakened.
3)What do you gain from this poem in terms of living a life?
One can live a happy life without too many materials possessions.
Activity4
Read the following passage,and then complete the statements that follow.
1)The phrase“not the brightest bulb in the lamp”in Para.1means he is not smart at all.
2)After reading about Epaminondas’dealing with the cake,the butter and the puppy,your impression about him is he is quite simple-minded--not able to adapt with the change of specific circumstances.
3)The theme of this folk tale is give unconditional love and accept the differences between people.
Part II:Case Analysis
Activity5
Read Text A and consider how the author develops the main theme of the story.
Task1Understanding the text
Work in groups or pairs and fill in the blanks with the missing information about how the author develops the main theme through a series of events and a twist with the last event.
Soapy’Action Results Your Comments
the1st event Dined luxuriously at
some expensive
restaurant.The head waiter kept
him from getting in.
The snobbish
waiter judged him
by his appearance.
the2nd event Broke a shop window
and waited for the
police to arrest him.The policeman did
not believe he did it.
The policeman
trusted only their
own judgment.
the3rd event Asked the waiters to
call the police by
telling them he had no
money for the dinner
he just had at a
restaurant.Two waiters pitched
him out.
He again failed.
the4th event Accosted a young
woman who was
nearby a police Rather than being
offended,the woman
came to him joyfully.
The woman,
probably a
prostitute,is a
social problem.
the5th event Started to yell and
make a noisy scene in
front of a police.The policeman did
nothing considering
him as a university
student celebrating
their victory in
games.
The law was
enforced
differently
towards different
people.
the6th event Stole a well-dressed
man’s umbrella.It turned out the man
took the umbrella
that didn’t belong to
him in a restaurant.
It is ironic that a
well-dressed man
stole an umbrella.
the7th event Being touched by
music from church
Soapy decided to
restart.A policeman came
over and arrested
him.
The climax and
ending is quite
dramatic.
Task2Responding to the text
Write your answer to each question in full sentences.Then discuss your answers with your partner.
1)Why did Soapy want to be arrested and what does that tell us about the theme of the story? Soapy wanted to have a“nicer”place for the coming winter.The living of the poor in that society seems quite hopeless and abnormal.
2)What are the regular responsibilities of a policeman?How did the cop respond to Soapy’s several attempts to get arrested and how does that help to develop the theme of the story?
A policeman’s regular responsibilities include order maintenance and misconduct prevention. By letting Soapy go several times despite his attempt to get arrested,it showed the police was not doing their job.It further prepared for the climax of the story and strengthened the theme.
3)When Soapy was moved by the anthem music near the church and planned to start over,he was arrested.What is the significance of this event in further developing the theme?
This is the climax of the story which made a sharp turn from what has happened in the previous events and makes the readers feel strongly about the absurdity of the society.
4)Does the author convey his theme clearly in the text?How do you figure out the theme in the story?
The author did not explicitly state the theme in the text.It was presented through the description of Soapy’s winter plans and what he had tried hard to achieve his purpose.
5)What impact do you think the unexpected arrest would have on Soapy’s regained faith to “battle with his desperate fate”and“make a man of himself again”?
It might ruin his plan to restart his life and probably he would lose his faith because of this event.
Activity6
Read Text B and consider how the author develops the main theme of the story.
Task1Understanding the text
Write your answer to each question in full sentences.Then discuss your answers with your partner.
1)Who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist in this story?
The protagonist is a woman and the antagonist is a boy.
2)What is the conflict mentioned at the beginning of the story?
The boy tried to snatch her purse.
3)What leads to the encounter between the protagonist and the antagonist?
The boy wanted to buy a pair of shoes but couldn’t come up with the money needed.
4)What did the woman decide to do after the first encounter with the boy?
She dragged the boy to her home.
5)Did the boy try to run away when he got a chance later?Why or why not?
The boy did not try to run away when he got a chance at Mrs.Jone’s home because he got treated well by Mr.Jones.
Task2Responding to the text
The dialogue plays an important role in the development of the theme of this story.Read the following dialogue excerpts and discuss with a partner how they demonstrate the theme in the story.
The dialogue helps to develop the plot in which the theme is embedded.The first two dialogues introduced the first encounter of these two main characters as a background.Starting from the third dialogue,Mrs.Jones showed her concern for the boy by asking him to come along with her and wash his face.The following dialogues also revealed the kind heart of Mrs.Jones(not sending him to the jail and inviting the boy eat together with her).She also revealed that she made mistakes in the past but still warned that boy that he should not do illegal things in future. Task3Making a comparison between“The Cop and the Anthem”and“Thank You,M’am”Write your answer to each question in full sentences.Then discuss your answers with your partner.
1)Are there any similarities between Soapy and Roger?
Both Soapy and Roger were trying to do something bad to meet their own purposes.
2)Are there any similarities between the policemen and Mrs.Luella Bates Washington Jones? Both the policemen and Mrs.Jones did what they thought they should do when dealing with Soapy and Roger respectively.
3)What might happen if Soapy had met someone like Mrs.Luella Bates Washington Jones earlier in his life?
Soapy might have become what he intended to become at the end of the story.
4)What might happen if Roger had met a policeman as that in“The Cop and the Anthem”? Roger might be sent to prison and became someone like Soapy or even worse.
5)What distinguishes Mrs.Luella Bates Washington Jones from the cops and what are the consequences of these differences?
Mrs.Jones educated the boy in her own way and possibly prevented the boy from going astray in his future life.
6)What are the respective viewpoints of the authors toward the disadvantaged(Soapy and Roger)and the powerful(the cops and Mrs.Luella Bates Washington Jones)in your opinion? How does that serve the theme of each story?
The authors showed sympathy towards Soapy and Roger but in“The Cop and the Anthem”the author portrayed the cops as not doing what they were supposed to do while“Thank you Ma’m”offered a positive image of Mrs.Jones.The different treatment of the powerful makes these two stories developing towards different directions,each serving its own theme?????
7)Do you think Mrs.Jones acted out of faith in the story?Why or why not?In what ways do you think a person of faith differs from a person without faith?
Yes,she mentioned that she had done something wrong as a youth but she would not tell.
Part III:Language Study
Activity7
The following sentences are all from O.Henry’s works.Find out the figurative device(s)in each sentence and discuss the effect with your partner.There may be more than one answer.
1)Hyperbole
2)Metaphor
3)Hyperbole
4)Personification
5)Metaphor
6)Irony
7)Personification
8)Metaphor
9)Understatement
10)Personification
11)Personification
12)Simile
13)Personification
14)Metaphor
15)Personification
Activity8
Read the following lines of poetry and find out the figurative device(s)in each excerpt. Excerpt1:simile
Excerpt2:hyperbole
Excerpt3:personification
Excerpt4:metaphor
Excerpt5:personification
Excerpt6:metaphor
Excerpt7:simile
Excerpt8:personification
Excerpt9:metaphor
Activity9
Read the following two stories and underline the different parts.What makes the difference? Discuss your understanding with your partner.
In these two excerpts,the difference lies in the figurative use of language.In the second excerpt, there were uses of onomatopoeia(Thunk,thunk)simile(soft pine needles covered the ground like a soft brown blanket;as anxious as a fish out of water),alliteration(twittered and tweeted), hyperbole(the sky-scraping branches of trees),and personification(made his heart dance).It creates images in the readers’mind.
Activity10
Read the following paragraph and then rewrite it using figurative language.
1)Using Alliteration:Tanysha sat up late in her bedroom trying to study.
Tanysha sat up late in her bedroom silently and studiously trying to study.
2)Using Hyperbole:She was an all-A student…
She was such a great student that anything less than a100++would send her sobbing from the room.
3)Using Simile:…and tomorrow’s math test was an important one.
Tomorrow’s math test was as important to Tanysha as a candidate’s final election speech is in the presidential election.
4)Using Onomatopoeia:Lying back on her bed for a minute…
With a squeak of bedsprings and the crunch of crumpled paper,Tanysha lay back on her bed for a minute.
5)Using Metaphor:…Tanysha started daydreaming about going to college and becoming a
doctor one day.
She started daydreaming about going to the ivory tower learning to become a disease
fighter one day.。