Tongue-tied

• Does the idea of expressing your feelings to someone you care for make you feel nervous and tongue-tied?
Warm-up Questions
How do you understand the German proverb “Whoever cares to learn will always find a teacher”?
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"Where did you get these words?"
• The driver explained that he was Pakistani. He listened to the radio as he drove and often jotted down unfamiliar, fascinating words whose meanings and spellings he then sought from his passengers.
• "Uh, let's see. 'Idiomatic' is related to the word 'idiom'. An idiom's something that's used in, say, a particular part of the country or by a particular group of people. People who aren't part of that group aren't likely to use it and might not understand it."
• "Can you give me an example?"
• I racked my brains. "Gapers block," I said. A peculiarly Chicago phrase.
• But did it really qualify as idiomatic? I had no idea because the longer I thought about idioms the less sure I was what they were.
Reference
Anyone who is willing to learn will make use of every chance to learn something from others.
Studying proverbs and idioms
Read the passage and work in pairs to pick out “proverb”and “idioms” in the passage.
• As any hard-bitten city dweller knows, the correct answer to a question like "Can you help me?" should always be some version of "It depends." I chirped, "Su知所措,不知(如何最好)和无法(找到) • (1)不接任何成分 • They were at a loss. They could speak very little English. • (2)接带疑问词的不定式 • Puzzled by his behaviour, they were at a loss what to do. • (3)接不定式 • I was at a loss to answer him. • (4)接介词for+名词构成的短语 • The police are at a loss for an explanation of the affair. • (5)接其它的介词 • I was at a loss about what to tell him.
2. What did the author mean by saying “clever is not clever if it doesn’t communicate”?
Reference
She meant that her clever explanation was not clever at all because it could not be understood.
3. How much does the author know of the differences between “proverb”, “peculiar” and “idiomatic”?
Reference
She might be able to use them correctly and subconsciously, but she couldn’t give a simple and clear explanation.
Passage A Tongue-tied
Tongue-tied
• If you get tongue-tied, you find it difficult to express yourself, usually because you are nervous.
• In their presence I became self-conscious and tongue-tied.
• "And proverb?"
• I should have told the poor man right then that I might be misleading him down the proverbial path, whatever that really means, but instead I said, "I think a proverb is kind of like an aphorism. But not quite."
Gapers block
• The holdup in traffic caused by drivers slowing down to see what happened in an accident or other event on the road.
• 指的是司机因为过于留意路上发生的事故 等而减速造成的交通拥塞。
Reference
Gapers block; Haste makes waste
Content Awareness
Reading Task 1 Understanding the details of passage Work in groups to discuss the following questions.
• "Thank you," he said. He passed a slip of yellow paper into the back seat.
• I stared at the paper, wondering. Was this a joke? A threat? Hand-printed on the paper in tiny block letters was this:
• I cleared my throat. "Um, it's a, well, um. It involves a peculiar use of the language."
• I thought my use of peculiar was kind of clever. He looked confused, a reminder that clever's not clever if it doesn't communicate.
4. Why did the author hope that the driver owned a dictionary?
Reference
Because she felt depressed at her inability to give a correct and simple explanation of the words.
3. How much does the author know of the differences between “proverb”, “peculiar” and “idiomatic”?
4. Why did the author hope that the driver owned a dictionary?
Questions for class discussion
1. What was the author’s immediate response when the driver passed her a slip of paper?
Reference
She wondered if it was a joke or a threat.
• Watching his puzzled look, I did what a person often does when at a loss for the right words: I went on talking, as if a thousand vague words would add up to one accurate definition.
• "Peculiar," he said. "What does this mean?"
• I could manage that one. "Strange," I said. "Odd. Often with a hint of something suspicious."