Unit 2
Charlie Chaplin
by Peng Nianfan
Background Information:
Charlie Chaplin
Chalres Spencer Chaplin was born on 1th April
1889 in Walworth, London, and lived a Dickensian
childhood, shared with his brother, Sydney, that
included extreme poverty, workhouses and seeing
his mother’s mental decline put her into an
institution. Both his parents, though separated
when he was very young, were music hall artists,
his father quite famously so. But it was his mother
that Charlie idolized and was inspired by during his
visit of the backstage while she performed, to take
up such a career for himself.
Background Information:
Dickens
Charles Dickens, 1812-1870, an English
novelist, is considered by many to be the
greatest of all. His many famous books
describe life in Victorian England and
show how hard it was, especially for the
poor and for children. They include Oliver
Twist, A Tale of Two Cities and David
Copperfield.
Background Information:
Hollywood
Hollywood is an area of Los Angeles
which is known as the center of the
American film industry. In terms of
geography, Hollywood refers to an area
consisting of the City of West of Holywood
and its vicinity that form part of the Greater
Los Angels metropolitan area. It is generally
thought that everyone living in Hollywood is
extremely rich, famous, and concerned with
appearances but in fact many parts are poor,
dirty and badly cared for.
Text Structure Analysis:




Part One (Para 1-2):
Part
Two (Para
3-6):
A
general
introduction:
His professional
Part
Three (Para success:
7-8):
Partemotional
Four (Para
9):
His
life
The end of his life story.
Summary of the Text
The text is about Charlie Chaplin’s life which
is full of contrasts. He came into the world
miserable but brought the world endless joy.
His Tramp on the screen, crude or coarse in the
eyes of the English, gave him permanent fame
in movie history. His nonsense screen language
with no known nationality brought about his
huge success. The contrast between his desire
to be loved and his fear of being betrayed led to
his painful marriages but brought him the luck
to walk into the sunset with Oona. And even
after his death, the theft of his body served as
a fitting memorial to his life as a great comic.
Words and Expressions













sentence
provide applause and profit
revolt against
trip sb up
come down in the world
sth gives/bring sb sth
have the urge to do sth
rouse
painfully-bought self-knowledge
lose one’s faith in sb/sth
typical patterns for recovery of sth denied
earlier
find in sb a man/woman of
to give sb permanent fame
Sentences
• (I-1) Sb. else might do/have done sth.
But only sb. can do/could have done sth.
else. (L.4) 别人或许会做某事，但只有某人才
会做别的事。
•e.g. 在你身陷困境时，或许别人会帮你一把，
但只有你才能真正帮自己从中摆脱出来。
•When you are caught in a dilemma,
others might lend you a hand. But only
you can help yourself out.
2.
to provide applause and profit where sb. is
concerned: 给予某人掌声和收益(para. 2)


Our society should provide more applause
and reward where the upholders of justice
are concerned.
我们的社会应给予伸张正义者更多的掌声和奖励.
3. to revolt against/at/from sth./sb. : reject
sth/sb 反抗/反感······ (para. 3)
They
revolt at those who have great
ambition but little ability.
他们很反感那些眼高手低、志大才疏的人。
4. to trip sb. up : catch sb’s forrt and make him fall绊
倒某人； 使某人犯错误；使某人受挫(para. 3)
Read
the questions carefully, because the
examiners sometimes try to trip you up.
仔细阅读这些问题，因为出题者有时会有意诱导你犯错。
5. to come down in the world: have less money and
a worse social position than before (para. 3)
When
coming down in the world, don’t grow
dejected; when coming up in the world, don’t
get swollen-headed.

潦倒不堪时勿丧志，飞黄腾达时莫忘形。
6. Sth. gives / brings sb. sth.—and, more
importantly, sth. else—to do / be… : post-modifier
(para.4)
• (后置定语)某事为某人带来了······，更重要的是带
•
•
来了······，他/她因此得以······
Her devoted pursuit of knowledge gave her
the desire — and, more importantly, the
ability — to explore and extend a talent she
found in herself.
她对知识孜孜不倦的追求为她带来了渴望，更重要
的是带来了能力，她因此得以发掘并扩展自己身上
所显露的天才。
7.to have the urge/a deep need to do sth. : have a
strong desire to …有一种要做······的欲望(para. 6)
 It is important to have the urge to prove one’s
worth to society, but more important is the
ability to turn the urge into reality.
向社会证明自身价值的欲望固然重要，而更重要的是把欲
望变成现实的能力。
8. rouse : make sb feel a particular emotion;
（formal) wake sb up (para. 6)
 I don’t want to rouse any suspicions.
我不想引起任何怀疑。
The
a.m.
telephone roused me from my sleep at 6
6点钟电话声把我从睡梦中唤醒。
9. painfully-bought self-knowledge: 以沉重
的代价换来的自知之明(para. 7)
The
self-confidence bought with unyielding
efforts is of endless benefit to one’s whole life.
通过不懈努力换来的自信心可以使人受益终生。
10. to lose one’s faith in sb./sth. ：lose one’s
trust or confidence in sth (para. 7)
He
who has lost his faith in his future has to be
at the mercy of（受、、、支配）fate
对前途失去信心的人只能听从命运的摆布。
11. Typical patterns for recovery of sth.
denied earlier
(II –1)It is a relief to know that life/fate eventually/at last
gave sb. sth. it had earlier denied him/her.(L.53)
令人宽慰的是，生活/命运最终把某人先前没能得到的东西
给了他/她。
e.g. 令人宽慰的是，持之以恒最终使他如愿以偿，把他先
前由于时运不济无法得到的东西给了他。
It is a relief to know that perseverance eventually gave
him the result that he had long desired for but fate had
earlier denied him.
12. find in sb. a man/woman of… : find the quality
in sb 发现某人是一个······ (para. 8)
We
find a true scientist in him.
我们发现他是一个真正的科学家。
He
find something not good in his wife.
他察觉他妻子有点不妙。
13. to give sb. permanent fame: to make sb.
famous for a long time (para.1)
Honesty
and uprightness during his tenure of
office gave him permanent fame in the minds of
the people.
在任期间的清正廉洁使他在人民心中声名永驻。
Questions for Discussion
Work in small groups and discuss the
following questions.
1. What disadvantages did Chaplin face early in
his life and how did these perhaps help him
later?
2. When it came to relationships, what main
problem did his personality have and what
results did this have?
Structure writing


Now try to write your own short composition,
with a general statement supported by
details. You may choose one of the following
topics. One topic has a detailed outline that
you can follow.
A general statement: Charlie Chaplin is a
great comic not only for his native land,
Britain, but more for the world.
Structure writing
Details:
 wearing moustaches, huge pants and tailcoats,
not characteristic of the British people.
 Silent films, people having no difficulty in
understanding his films .
 Sound movies, a nonsense language not for one
single nationality

Structure writing

Of British origin, but signed up by Hollywood
Not confined to his mother country; he
traveled, and on the stage for people of
different nationalities
More topics:
 Marriage has obligations and responsibilities
to take on
 Love is not possessive
Homework
1.
Finish the exercises in Section A.
2. Prepare for Section B.