现代大学英语精读第一册 Lesson3(3)

A metaphor compares things implicitly. Read literally, it does not state that things are alike; it says that they are the same thing, that they are identical.

Pattern：

Task: Find more metaphors in this text.

The whole sentence: It’s true I’m not strong and my clothes are full of holes, but I can still work in the rice fields all day.

24) Disease, wounds, hardships ….I don’t complain. (para 7)

The whole sentence: All my life I have suffered from disease, wounds, hardships and shortage, and I’ve become used to them. I don’t complain because I know such is life. Life is always a fierce struggle.

Question: What is the general idea of para 4 to para 7?

Answer: This part focuses on the changes that she finds she can’t adjust to.

Question: How does the wife present her speech? What is her attitude toward the changes around her?

Answer: By the wife presents her idea of

this changing world. She dislikes the changes around her. She won’t accept the changes and even refuses to change with the life.

Question: Find the evidences of comparison/contrast and exemplification in the text.

25) My see—they see more than they should. My —they hear the two “do” : “do” is used to emphasize verb

“more than is good”: is the same as “more than what is good”.

More examples:

He drank more than (what) was good for him.

Kate meant more than (what) was said.

Some of the stories were really more than (what) could be believed.

The whole sentence: I’m not what my wife says I am. I do see and hear—I see and hear too much evil, too many ugly and terrible things, things that I wish I did not have to see and hear. And this is not good for me.

26) I don’t talk about what I know because I know too much. I know for example, greed, anger, and lust are the root of evil. (para 8)

The whole sentence: I’m silent because I don’t want to talk about what I know—I know these things (i,e, greed, anger, lust) lead to evil.

27) I know every inch of it. (para 10)

The whole sentence: I know our land thoroughly/ inside out.

28）（para 10） to tie somebody down: to restrict somebody’s freedom.

e.g. She doesn’t want children because she says they tie you down.

她不想要孩子，就因为她总说孩子会束缚她的自由。

The whole sentence: My children grew up and had happy days on this land. But this couldn’t prevent them from leaving or make them return. 10)

The whole sentence: As soon as they have the chance to go to the cities to enjoy the modern way of life, they just go away.

a pair of jeans: here the jeans symbolizes being modern.

“like birds”: it is the use of simile

Simile: 明喻

Definition: A simile consists of two parts: tenor (本体)and vehicle（喻体）. The tenor is the primary subject; the vehicle is the thing to which the main subject is compared to. The data processing (is

going on) as (slow) as a snail. Records (fell) like ripe apples (on a windy day.) subject / tenor similemarkerreference/ vehicle

Task: Find more examples in the text about simile.

Question: What can be inferred from para. 10?

Answer: The farmer is very traditional. He still clings to the conventional idea of

having a big family with children around him. Because of his strong attachment to the land, he wants his children to follow in his footsteps and be content with the farming life.

30) Sickness comes and goes, and we get back on our feet again. (para 11)

The whole sentence: We often fall ill, and then we are well again and able to stand up and go about our business.

31) It’s good to smell the scent of in November. The soft cool breeze ripening: gerund functioning as modifier

They were infuriated by this insulting demand.

No soaking rain fell in the period.

Our industry is developing at an astonishing speed.

like waves of gold: a simile

which ripple and shimmer like waves of gold: non-restrictive relative clause

The whole sentence: The ripening rice is so pleasant to smell in November. In the soft cool breeze, the sheaves move and shine in the sun like a golden sea.

32) Yes, I love this land and I hope one of my children comes back one day to live, the land’s secret message to them. (para 11)

to pass on: hand or give sth. to sb

The whole sentence: Yes, I love this land and I hope one of my children returns one day to live on it, and produces a lot of grandchildren for me so that I can tell them what this land means to us. It is our history, our culture, our tradition, and our life. Question: What is the main idea of the second part?

Answer: The farmer tells about what he thinks are the root of all evils and what joys he finds in life and farming.

Question: What can we learn from the last paragraph?

Answer: The farmer nurses a strong love towards the land. He loves the feeling when

tilling the land and the smell and sight when the rice on the land is ripening. He feels so close to the land that he can even read the message of the land. He strongly hopes that one day he can pass on the land’s secret message to his grandchildren.

Style: essay (in a very broad sense or interview

The interviewees: a farmer and his wife

(Note: Since the World War II it has become popular for writers to interview people, record what they say and, after some, not too much, editing, publish these people’s stories in book form.)

Stylistic feature

straightforward language

colloquial short sentences

small and easy words