Lesson 12
Lions and tigers and bears
I.
Warming-up Qs
• 1. How do you like parks?
• 2. What does a park provide you with?
• 3. What is usually related to the parks?
• How do you think of crimes happening in
parks? Do you think it is a safe place? If
not, what will you do that may help to
make it a better place?
I.
Warming-up Qs
If you should happen after dark
To find yourself in Central Park,
Ignore the paths that beckon you
And hurry, hurry to the zoo,
And creep into the tiger’s lair.
Frankly, you’ll be safer there.
Question: What does the poem try to tell us?
About the text
• An interesting travel article by Bill Buford
for “The New Yorker.” He spent the night in
the park and told of his adventures in
“Lions and Tigers and Bears.” That piece is
included in Best American Travel Writing
2000. The author combines his travel
description with everything he has read,
heard, observed and experience in
connection with the place:
• his movement in the Central Park, the
events and famous people associated with
its history, the beauty of New York at night
seen from its heart, the crime the park has
witnessed and the fear it has inspired. The
author writes in an engaging style, varying
the pace as well as the tone of this narration
with a charming rhythm.
II.
Dictation
Success Can Be Reached in Different
Ways by People in Different Careers.
Listen to the
passage and fill
the missing words.
II.
Dictation
Different Media
LISTEN
With the introduction of radio, newspaper
publishers wondered how ___________would
broadcasting
affect them. Many feared that radio
____ as a quick
informed
and easy means of keeping people ________
would displace the newspaper industry
altogether. Others hoped that the brief
newscast heard on the air would stimulate
________
listeners in the story so they’d buy the paper
to get more information.
II.
Dictation
closerto the
This second idea turned out to be _____
truth. Radio and print weresubstitutes
not __________ for
each other but actually supported each other. You
media _____ is not
see the relationship between different
displacement
always one
of ___________ but can be one of
reinforcement
_____________.
case Take television
However this is not always the____.
and motion pictures for example, with the
popularization
_____________of
TV, the motion picture industry
attendance dropped when
suffered greatly. Movie _________
audience members chose to stay at home and be
entertained Likewise, when a football game was
_________.
stands were often empty
shown on the air, the _______
because _____chose
to watch the game at home.
fans
Background
Information
I.
Founding Commissioners of Central Park
II.
Central Park Location on Manhattan Map
III.
Central Park History
IV.
Central Park
Central Park
• Central Park in New York City is built in
1857 and located in the center of Manhattan
Island. It covers an area of 840 acres and is
2.5 miles long and 0.5 mile wide. There are
35 miles of walks and 10.25 miles of road
and 5.5 miles of bridle path.
Manhattan
Map
Central
Park
New York’s green rectangle
Central Park
the urban
wonders of the
world, a green
oasis in the
great concrete,
high-rise
landscape of
New York City
Central Park
For most New Yorkers,
Central Park is our
constant definition of open
space, room to run and the
romance of reading under
a tree. Free and open to
the public, Central Park is
our citywide campus and
our common backyard.
“a garden for all as private
Eden”
Central Park
In Central Park
Roller skating
has always
been a popular
recreational
pastime.
The Ramble
Overlooking the East
Drive in Central Park, Still
Hunt is a reminder of the
smaller animals and birds
that can be found in the
Park.
Lions
A bronze sculpture of
panther crouched on a
rock on the edge of
Ramble. His name is
Still Hunt.
Para. 5
Central Park
Tigress and Cubs
Inside the Central Park Wildlife Conservation Center,
64th Street and Fifth Avenue
Central Park
Groups of Bears:
near Fifth Avenue
at 82nd Street
Dicussion
• Do you know anything about the bite of
China? What do you think attributes to its
success?
• What’s the common way of organizing the
travel writing?
• changing steps and landscapes
• 酒店处于群山环抱之中，空气清新怡人
，处处鸟语花香，四季如春，移步换景
。
• Surrounded by hills, the hotel feasts on
fresh and pleasant air, bird chirps, flower
fragrance, a weather that is like spring all
the year round, and picturesque sceneries
everywhere.
Text structure
• Part 1 (Paras. 1—2
):
• Part 2 (Paras. 3—6 ) :
The author decided to camp in the
Central Park .
The first or two hours and his feeling
and the fear Central Park inspired
• Part 3 (Paras. 7—12 ) :
Central Park history and another
scare
• Part 3 (Paras. 13—25 ) :
My sleep over in the wood
Detailed study
• The author’s decision to camp in Central
Park:
• When?
• Friday evening in July; 9:15
• Where?
• Who?
• The author
•
•
•
•
•
•
What?
To spend the night in the CP
Why?
Human psychology—wishing to do sth.
precisely because it is something people
normally don’t do.
How?
by camping
Detailed Analysis (part 1)
Para. 1-2
stuff
• To stuff sth with sth else: to fill or overfill a
container or space with sth
• She stuffed the fridge with food.
• She stuffed the food into the fridge.
• 他满脑子的愚蠢想法.
• His head is stuffed with silly notions.
• Put that stuff over there.
• Don't give me that stuff about being tired.
• The team really showed its stuff and won
the championship.
• A stuffed tiger
• do one's stuff
• 显身手
• kids' stuff
• 轻而易举的事情
curl
Examples:
The hairdresser curled Mary’s hair.
She kept curling her handkerchief around one finger.
Smoke curled from the chimney.
A snake curled around the trunk of a tree.
v. a) to form into a spiral or curved shape
卷曲，扭曲；缠绕
b) to grow in or form curls or ringlets
（烟）缭绕升起；蜷曲
curl up
She curled her mouth up in anger.
卷起，撅起（嘴唇）；
She curled herself up in the big armchair with a
good book.
（因恐惧、羞愧、厌恶）使蜷缩，扭曲身体
• Without any hesitation, she took off her
shoes, _____ up her skirt and splashed
across the stream.
• A.tucked
• B.revolved
• C.twisted
• D.curled
• Key: A
Drop off
• to drop off: (infml) to start to sleep; doze off
• 他总是在上课时打瞌睡。
• He always dropped off to sleep in the
middle of lecture.
• Cf: Can you drop me off at a supermarket?
• Her friends dropped off into the shadows.
• （逐个）走开，消失；放下，下降，掉
下
•
•
•
•
drop off the edge of the earth
ph. 人间蒸发
drop off the hooks
vi. 死
appeal
• If you want children to work hard you
must _____ their interests instead of their
sense of duty.
• A.appeal to
• B.look into
• C.give rise to
• D.go in for
• Key: A
• Generally, it is only when animals are
trapped that they _____ to violence in order
to escape.
• A.proceed
• B.appeal
• C.resort
• D.incline
• Key: C
Founding Commissioners of
Central Park
Frederick Law Olmsted
Calvert Vaux
Founding Commissioners of Central Park
• The founding commissioners: the city officials who
were appointed to establish Central Park.
Commissioners are officials in government, esp.
those in charge of departments. The founding
commissioners of Central Park were the landscape
architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert
Vaux. The two designed and oversaw the firstphase construction of the Park which began in
1858 and ended in 1878.
Founding Commissioners of Central Park
Robert Moses (1888—1981) was a New York
state and municipal official whose ambitious
public works projects of the 1930s, 1940s and
1950s transformed the urban landscape of New
York City. He expanded the State’s park system
and built numerous parkways and hundreds of
new playgrounds and parks and important
highways, bridges and tunnels linking the
boroughs of New York City.
Moses preferred recreational facilities to the
rural scenery stressed by the English
Romanticists, and an ordered and symmetrical
design in French Renaissance style, evident in the
southern Central Park. Therefore, under Moses,
Central Park gained 19 playgrounds, 12 ballfields, handball courts, and the Woll-man Rink.
not to mention / without mentioning
更不必说······，除······以外还
We are served French champagne, not to
mention the usual cocktails.
David is handsome and smart, not to
mention being a good athlete.
Detailed Analysis (part 2)
Para. 3-6
Para. 3
The Delacorte Theatre
The Delacorte Theater
is the summer home of
the New York
Shakespeare Festival.
It’s a place to host
classical plays and
musicals.
During June, July and
August.
The Delacorte Theatre
Para. 3
The open-air theater in Central Park that serves as home
to free summertime performances which, during the
months of June, July and August, include at least one
Shakespeare production. The summertime performance
are one of the New York City’s most beloved cultural
events.
• The taming of the Shrew was written by
Shakespeare in 1591 and probably the
earliest of his comedies.
Synopsis
• Katherina isn’t top of Lucentio’s or Hortensio’s
popularity list. Her sister Bianca is. But Bianca
isn't on the market until Katherina gets hitched.
• Enter Petruchio, a Shrew Whisperer, intent on
Katherina's dowry.
• Three men with just two women on their mind.
But who will succeed? And who will complete the
taming of the shrew?
stock
• Stock: usually kept in stock and regularly
available
• 常备的
• Intensive reading is one of our stock
courses.
• A stock phrase
• 口头禅
• There's a whole _____ of bills waiting to
be paid.
• A. stock
• B. stack
• C. number
• D. sequence
• Key: B
In view
在能看见的范围内；在考虑中；在注意中
Examples:
The sea came in view as we came out of
the forest.
Dream pursuer has kept his goal in view.
• _____ his poor record in school, the
board thinks that he should study hard.
• A. In spite of
• B. In charge of
• C. In view of
• D. In case of
• Key: C
• They came to inspect the house ____
buying it.
• A. in the event of
• B. with a view to
• C. with reference to
• D. on account of
• with a view to 意为“以…为目标；目的是
…”，后接动名词；in the event of 意为“
如果…发生；万一”；with reference to
意为“关于，就…而论”；on account of
意为“因为，由于”。
• Language and thought may be viewed as two
independent circles overlapping in some parts.
When language and thought are identical or
closely parallel to each other, we may regard
thought as “subvocal speech,” and speech as “
_____ ”.
• A.vocal thought
• B.subvocal thought
• C.covert thought
• D.overt thought
• Key: D
in view of
鉴于，由于
to the view
在展出
with a view to
以······为目标
come in view of
出现在······视线中
come /burst into view
（突然）出现在眼前
disappear/be lost from view
看不见了
block/obstruct/shut off/spoil the view
挡住某人的视线
Belvedere Castle
Para.3
To the south of Delacorte
Theater perched on Visa
Rock. As its name suggests,
the castle offers visitors a
wonderful panoramic
viewpoint.
It is now home to the Henry
Luce Nature Observatory, where
simple displays show how
naturalists observe the world.
Belvedere Castle
Belvedere is Italian
for “beautiful
view”.
Para. 3
Shakespeare Garden
Para. 4
Nestled between the
Delacorte Theater,
Belvedere Castle, and the
Swedish Cottage, it is a
garden dedicated to
Shakespeare in 1916, the
300th anniversary of his
death.
Shakespeare Garden
Para. 4
Following a Victorian tradition, only
flowers mentioned in Shakespeare’s
plays and poetry were planted in the
garden. Scattered throughout the
garden are bronze plaques with
Shakespearean quotations that
inspired the planting.
drift out
drift out
（口）不经意（慢吞吞）走出来，走开，
离开
Example:
The smoke pall drifted out to reveal the
blackened shell of the building.
• The service operates 36 libraries
throughout the country, while six ____
libraries specially serve the countryside.
• A. mobile
• B. drifting
• C. shifting
• D. rotating
• Key: A
come upon
I came upon an old friend when I was
shopping in the store.
Fear came upon her as she waited
碰上，偶然遇上; 冲向，袭来
• come upon the stage
• 进入社会
bolt
• vi.
•
• vt.
•
a) to run away quickly
猛冲，逃跑
b) to move; to break away 迅速移动
c) to fasten with strong rods and bar
拴住，使······和在一块
d) to swallow food or drink hurriedly
匆匆吞下，咽下
a) He bolted out of his house.
b) Eyes bolted towards the stranger.
c) He bolted the door on the inside.
d) He bolted down a hurried breakfast.
a bolt from (out of) the blue 晴天霹雳，意外的事
bolt upright 笔直
make a bolt (for it) 赶快逃走
stroll
• Wander 和ramble 强调没有固定路线或目标
• They would go off together, rambling along the
river.
• She wandered in the darkness, not knowing
where to go.
• Roam 强调行动的自由性，通常指在一片广阔
的土地上
• Herds of horses and cattle roamed at will over
the plain.
• Meander 表示轻闲地，有时是无目标地
漫步走过一条不规则的或曲折的路线：
• He meandered to and fro, completely lost
in his thought.
• vagabonds meandering through life
• Stroll 散步;溜达 (at a leisurely pace)
• stroll in the park
• stroll the beach
• The interpreter gave only a ____ version of the old
man’s long rambling account.
• A. minimum
• B. tiny
• C. condensed
• D. compressed
• 翻译对老人喋喋不休的描述只做了简要翻译。
• condensed 意为“缩短的，缩写的”；minimum
意为“最低的；最小的”；tiny意为“极小的，微
小的”；compressed意为“压缩的；压紧的”，
不能指语言。
obliterate
The heavy rain obliterated all footprints.
Anne was eager to obliterate her error.
They tried to obliterate the enemy’s bomb base.
• 擦掉痕迹;
• 忘记；
• 消灭
The Ramble
Para. 5
It is a 38-acre wild garden in
Central Park with rocky outcrops,
secluded glades and a tumbling
stream, built for visitors to stroll
in. With its intricate landscape
Olmsted called his creation,
ramble a "wild garden".
The Ramble
Para. 5
The Ramble is a sanctuary for as
many as 250 species of birds, with
the interlaced paths and hills,
countless trees, shrubs, meadows,
rocky cliffs and a winding stream.
It takes people with adventurous
spirit to hike in the Ramble.
The Ramble
Para. 5
Raccoons can
be seen
scurrying in the
underbrush.
Raccoon
To be continued on the next page.
The Ramble
Overlooking the East
Drive in Central Park, Still
Hunt is a reminder of the
smaller animals and birds
that can be found in the
Park.
Lions
A bronze sculpture of
panther crouched on a
rock on the edge of
Ramble. His name is
Still Hunt.
Para. 5
Background– New York Skyline
New York City has the world's
most recognized and inspiring
skyline—an icon of New
York. The best New York
skyline vantage points are on
top of the 102-story Empire
State Building.
New York Skyline at Night
Buildings soar upward.
Para. 5
To be continued on the next page.
The Lake
Para. 6
The lake is the largest body of water (excluding the
Reservoir) in Central Park. It was created out of a
large swamp in the south of the Park and was
intended for boating in the summer and ice-skating
in the winter. Many visitors are content, however,
to circle the lake on foot, following the pathways
that wind along its shoreline, watching the Park’s
tree-line shifting in its reflection.
The Lake
rowing boat
on the lake
in the
Central Park
suspend
• As the workers went on strike, the company
was obliged to suspend its operations.
• Such fine particles suspend readily in water.
• They decided to suspend trade with that
country.
• The policeman was suspended while the
complaint was investigated.
• 暂停;悬浮;中止;勒令停职
• Grain production in the world is _____
,but still millions go hungry.
• A. staggering
• B. shrinking
• C. soaring
• D. suspending
• Key: C
• She intends to move that the committee ____
discussion on this issue.
• A. suspends
• B. suspend
• C. will suspend
• D. suspended
• 【句意】她想提议委员会暂时终止对这个问题的
讨论。
• 本句中，move后面加that从句时，从句中要求使
用虚拟语气形式，即(should)+动词原形。所以选
项中只有B)对
bearing
• Her dignified bearing throughout the trial made
everyone believe she was innocent.
• The pain was almost past bearing.
• I saw a tombstone bearing the date 1602.
• We must consider this question in all its bearings.
• He is out of his bearings.
• Sometimes the student may be asked to
write about his _____ to a certain book or
article that has some bearing on the
subject being studied.
• A. comment
• B. reaction
• C. impression
• D. comprehension
• Key: B
The Strawberry Fields
The tear-drop-shaped area
of parcel of park landscape
in the south of Central Park
planted with 125,000
strawberry. It is named
after the song Strawberry
Fields Forever in honor of
John Lennon (1940—1980),
member of the Beatles.
Para. 6
Phrases containing “rip”
• rip into
• 猛烈攻击，抨击
• She won the election campaign by ripping
into her opponent's political record.
• rip out
• 狠狠地发出
• Rip out a vicious oath.
• rip off
• She ripped off a leather jacket while
ostensibly trying on clothes.
• This false advertising campaign ripped
off a great many consumers.
• 1. 偷窃 2. 剥削、诈取、欺骗 3. 撕掉
• rip apart
• 把...扯破/开, 把...弄得凌乱不堪
• rip and tear
• 狂怒;胡闹
• No one can function properly if they are
_____ of adequate sleep.
• A. deprived
• B. ripped
• C. stripped
• D. contrived
• Key: A
compulsive
• They have done away with _____ Latin for
university entrance at Harvard.
• A.influential
• B.indispensable
• C.compulsory
• D.compulsive
• E. compelling
• Key: C
•
•
•
•
•
•
compulsive
强迫的，上瘾的，难以抑制的
compulsory
强制的，势在必行的，义务的
compelling
引人注目的，紧迫的，令人信服的;强迫
的
on one’s hands
受照顾；需要负责；可自由支配
1. She has a large family on her hands.
她有许多子女要照顾。
2. 我手里有一所空房子要处理掉。
I have an empty house on my hands.
3.他有许多时间可自由支配。
He has got much time on his hands.
at hand:
在附近，在手边
on hand:
现在，在手头；到场出席；即将发生
in hand:
手里拿着；在掌握中；（工作等）在进行
中（讨究）
Detailed Analysis (part 3)
Para. 7-12
secluded
This is the quietest and most secluded area
of the city.
secluded life/monk/valley
Translation
v. seclude (from)
n. seclusion
adj. seclusive
隐居的，与世隔绝的；
僻静的
A French garden
spot
• Can you ____ any smell of the gaswhich is
escaping?
• A. discover
• B. detect
• C. find
• D. spot
• Key: B
• detect 意为“察觉，发觉，发现”；discover 意为“发
现”，指偶然发现了已经存在那里很长时间的事物；
find意为“（通过努力）发现；发现…处于某种状态
”；spot 意为“（尤用眼睛）察觉，认出，挑出，发
现”。
rigid
•
•
•
•
•
We have watered down the rigid training.
rigid discipline
a table made of rigid plastic
Their face are rigid for cold.
严格苛刻的/呆板的，僵硬的/固执僵化的
，刻板的/刚硬的, 刚性的
• Synonym:
• rigorous
shriek
v. / n. to shout in a loud high voice because
you are frightened, excited, or surprised
Examples:
The woman trapped under the piles of
debris raised her voice to a shriek.
She shrieked an alarm at him.
Cf. shrill
Translation
尖叫，尖声叫喊
embolden
v. to give courage or confidence to sb.
Examples:
在酒精的作用下，他勇敢地走过去同她讲话。
Emboldened by drink, he walked over to speak to
her.
Bold
a bold, impudent child.
Pay attention to the words in bold.
a bold handwriting.
Henry James
Central Park History
There are three elements in the architecture of Central Park.
• English Romanticism is characterized by the picturesque ideal to
blend with the natural environment. Central Park’s founding
commissioners Olmsted and Calvert Vaux were influenced by this
tradition. Their ideal was to allow New Yorkers to experience a
day in the pastoral country without leaving the island city.
• Another style is Classicism characterized by formal symmetry
and the use of straight lines, evident in the south end of the
Park.
Central Park History
The Park was pressed for primarily by
wealthy merchants and landowners. In
the first decade after its completion, it
was clearly the playground of the
wealthy. It was located too far uptown to
be within walking distance for the city’s
working class population.
III. Central Park History
• Until the late 19th century, workers comprised but a
fraction of the visitors to the Park when they launched
a successful campaign to have concerts held on
Sundays.
• Saturday afternoon concerts were for middle-class
audiences, for the six-day working week precluded
attendance by the working class.
III. Central Park History
• Indeed the concept of creating the park
was originally conceived by wealthy New
Yorkers who admired the public grounds
of London and Paris. However, with the
maturing of the nation and the rise of its
power, the pride of Americanism gradually
took the upper hand. The author therefore
describes the Park proudly as efficient,
purposeful and distinctive—neither
romantic nor classical, and neither English
nor French, but distinctively American.
•
•
•
•
•
pat on the back
A word or gesture of praise or approval:
赞扬或同意的话或手势：
他因为工作干得出色而得到赞扬
He received a pat on the back for doing a
good job.
domain
• n. 领地，领域，范围，[数]域
• Military history is really outside my
domain.
• The kitchen is my wife's domain, she
doesn't like me going into it.
• C.f. dominate dormant
• These causes produced the great change in
the country that modernized the _____ of
higher education from the mid-1860's to the
mid-1880's.
• A. branch
• B. category
• C. domain
• D. scope
• Key: C
• Governments today play an increasingly
larger role in the _____ of welfare,
economics, and education.
• A. scopes
• B. ranges
• C. ranks
• D. domains
• Key: D
The Reservoir
Para. 11
Note
The Reservoir
The Reservoir:
Located in the north part of Central Park, the
reservoir, with the 1.58 mile track round it, is a
favorite place for joggers, birdwatchers, and tourists
where they can enjoy some of the best views of the
New York City skyline.
on the/a rampage
横冲直撞；暴跳如雷
The escaped elephant was on the rampage for
two days.
The rioters went on a rampage and vandalized
many shops.
• The Central Park Jogger
case involved an assault
and rape that took place in
New York City's Central
Park on April 19, 1989.
The victim was Trisha
Meili. Five juvenile males
were tried and convicted
for the crime. The
convictions were vacated
in 2002 when another man
claimed to have committed
the crime alone and DNA
evidence confirmed his
involvement in the rape.
itinerary of the author
• http://www.centralparknyc.org/maps/
The Ramble (漫步园)
The West Side
And …
Near the reservoir
The Ninety-fifth Street
A starlit night
Fragment
•
•
•
•
•
You watched the sight from a bridge,
As a sightseer watched you from a tower.
The moon adorns your window,
And you adorn another’s dream.
---王佐良
Central Park West at Night
Para. 12
Another Aesthetic Experience
Para. 12
But there was no escaping the recognition that this city—
contrived, man-made, glaringly obtrusive, consuming
wasteful and staggering quantities of electricity and water
and energy—was very beautiful. (Para. 12)
But there was no denying the fact (you have to
admit) that the city was very beautiful,
although it was not a natural kind of beauty, it
was artificial and showy, and it used up a great
amount of water and energy.
But there it was: the city at night, viewed from what
meant to be an escape from it, shimmering. (Para.
12)
• People come to the Park to escape from
the hustle and bustle of the city. But it
was precisely in the Park that day that I
found the city at night was extremely
beautiful.
There is no escaping/denying the recognition
that the city was very beautiful. (Para. 12)
• There is no verb.+ing…
There is no denying that…
There's no escaping being human.
(We can never escape who we are.)
There is no escaping the fact that he has lied.
(One cannot escape from the fact that he has lied.)
More examples:
There was no knowing how long he might be away.
There’s no telling when an outburst might come.
There’s no escaping mental stress these days. Life is
tough.
There is no denying the fact that these people
have a reason to be angry.
There is no arguing with someone who
refuses to listen.
He knew that from that day onward there
was no going back.
There was no mistaking his intention this
time.
shimmering: shining unevenly/seeming to
move slightly
other words denoting “to send forth light”
glimmer
sparkle
glisten glitter
twinkle flash
Everything about her shimmered and
glimmered softly, as if her dress had been
woven out of candle-beams.
The sweat glistened on his forehead.
jewels glittering in the display case
crystal glasses sparkling in the candlelight
a few stars, twinkling faintly in the deep blue
of the night sky
• Flash 指的是突然的、明亮的但短暂的发
光：
• A bolt of lightning flashed across the
horizon.
• Gleam 暗指在黑色的背景上不断出现的
短暂亮光：
• “The light gleams an instant, then it's night
once more” (Samuel Beckett).
• Sparkle 指一系列迅速闪动的高亮度小闪
光
• crystal that sparkled in the candlelight;
• glitter 是具有更高亮度的相似的一系列光
点
• glittering mirrors
• Glimmer 指的是微弱的、迅速消失的光
• glisten尤其指潮湿的物体上反映的有光泽
的柔和光辉，如高山上积雪反射的光辉
• Round about, piles of lime-stone glistened
in all the colours of the rainbow.
• Her eyes were glistening with tears.
• Twinkle 就是迅速地、间歇地发光或闪亮
：
• “a few stars, twinkling faintly in the deep
blue of the night sky” (Hugh Walpole).
Park’s West Drive
And …
The North Woods
The Empire State Building
（帝国大厦）
The Loch
North Woods
The North Woods are the dense woodlands
covering the northwest Central Park from 101st
to 110th Street.
Para. 13
wind one’s way
迂回而行，弯曲经过
Examples:
The brook wound its way through the fields.
She wound her way into his confidence.
Cf. I took them into my confidence.
我对他们很信任。
North Meadow
North Meadow
• A bridle Path in
Central Park
Para. 16
perplex
The question perplexed him.
The boy perplexed his parents.
to perplex an issue
adj. perplexed/perplexing
n.
perplexity
使困惑，使费解；
使复杂化
scurry
It began to rain and we scurried home.
We heard mice scurrying about in the kitchen.
Dark clouds were being scurried across a grey
sky by the wind.
a scurry of footsteps in the passage 急促脚步声
Huge snow scurries.
急赶，急转，疾走
Henry James
(1843-1916)
亨利•詹姆斯
Life story
Born in a wealthy family （New York）
three siblings and a brother (second)
Henry James, Sr.(father)
a philosopher and reformer(改革家)
William James (brother),
a psychologist and philosopher
William Dean Howells (his life-long friend)
Educated in Harvard Law School
Balzac, Merimee , George Sand, George Eliot and Hawthorne.
Not married ; once loving his cousin
touring England, France, Italy
Reading intensively European literary celebrities
Thinking that American life is materialistic and lack
of culture and sophistication
Settling in England in 1876
becoming a naturalized British citizen in 1915(加入
英国国籍)
Influenced by some literary celebrities:
George Eliot; Turgenev(屠格涅 夫)；
Flaubert (福楼拜) Hawthorne
awarded the Order of Merit by King George V.
（1916 ）
died of pneumonia on 28 February 1916
His ashes were interred at the Cambridge Cemetery
in Massachusetts, United States
inscription “Novelist, Citizen of Two Countries,
Interpreter of His Generation On Both Sides Of The
Sea”.
A memorial stone was placed for him in the Poets'
Corner of Westminster Abbey, London, England in
1976.
Literary achievements
A productive writer : writing novels, novellas
and tales, traveling writings, literary
criticism, plays, autobiographies and so on.
Three periods of his literary life
• a. the first period (1865-1882)
• b. the second period (1882-1895)
• c. the third period (1895-1900)
the first period (1865-1882)
The American 《美国人》 (1877)
a story about a young and innocent
American confronting the complexity of the
European life
Daisy Miller 《 黛西•密勒》(1878)
a novella about a young American girl who
gets “killed” by the winter in Rome
international fame for the first time.
The Europeans (1878)
the scene shifted back to America, where some
Europeans learn with difficulty to adapt themselves
to the American life.
The Portrait of A Lady 《贵妇人画像》(1881) :
masterpiece
the clash between the Old World and the New in the
life journey of an American girl in a European
cultural environment.
The Second period (1882-1895)
Dropping the “international theme”
experiment with different themes and forms
Novels
The Bostonians (1886), which satirized the women
liberation movement that took place in Boston
The Princess Casamassima (1886), which exposed
the anarchist conspiracy in the slum of London,
were written in a naturalistic mode and proved to
be unsuccessful.
play writing
—better knowledge of literary techniques, though
not at all success
short fictions
The Private Life (1893)
The Death of a Lion (1894)
The Middle Years (posthumously 1917)
exploring the relationship of the artist to the
society only to prove that the artist would not
sacrifice the truth for the passion no matter how
troubled and isolated he feels.
short fictions
The Turn of the Screw (1898)
a story about the troubled and abnormal
psychology of oppressed children, in which a
whole household is terrorized by “ghosts,”
The Beast in the Jungle (1903)
focuses on the imaginative obsession of some
haunted men and women with their personal
disaster in future
The third period(1895-1900)
Returning to the “international theme”
Writing a few novellas（小说） and tales dealing
with childhood and adolescence — a revival of his
earlier theme of innocence in a corrupted world
What Maisie Knew 《梅吉的见闻》
The third period(1895-1900)
The Wings of the Dove 《鸽翼》(1902)
The Ambassadors 《专使》(1903)
The Golden Bowl 《金碗》(1904)
James's most influential
contribution to literature
His Contribution to Literary Criticism
It is both concerned with form and devoted to
human values
“The Art of Fiction” 《小说的艺术》
the aim of the novel is to present life
so it is not surprising to find in his writings human
experiences explored in every possible form:
illusion, despair, reward, torment, inspiration,
delight, etc.
His Contribution to Literary Criticism
The artist has the freedom to write about
anything that concerns him, even the
disagreeable, the ugly and the commonplace.
The artist should be able to "feel" the life, to
understand human nature, and then to record
them in his own art form.
His Contribution to Literary Criticism
Novels should be correspondent with life.
The area of art is all life, all feeling, all
observation, all vision.
The air of reality should be the supreme virtue
of a novel.
The form and content of a novel should be
consistent.
The Art of Fiction
I. International theme
• James's fame generally rests upon his novels and
stories with the international theme.
• These novels are always set against a larger
international background, usually between Europe
and America,
• and centered on the confrontation of the two
different cultures with two different groups of
people representing two different value systems.
• The typical pattern of the conflict between
the two cultures would be that of a young
American man or an American girl who goes
to Europe and affronts his or her destiny.
• The unsophisticated boy or girl would be
beguiled, betrayed, cruelly wronged at the
hands of those who pretend to stand for the
highest possible civilization .
Marriage and love
• as the focal point of the confrontation
between the two value systems
• the protagonist usually goes through a
painful process of a spiritual growth,
gaining knowledge of good and evil from the
conflict.
International theme
The meeting of America and Europe
American innocence in contact and
contrast with European sophistication
and decadence(颓废),
and its moral and psychological
complications,
and some superiority of the values of the
New World to those of the Old
• James treated with great care
• the clashes between two different
cultures
• the emotional and moral problems of
Americans in Europe, or Europeans in
America
The treatment of
the international theme
•
•
•
•
characterized by
the richness of syntax and characterization
the originality in point of view
symbolism, metaphoric texture, and
organizing rhythm
II. psychological realism
• the forerunner of the 20th-century
"stream-of-consciousness" novels
• the founder of psychological realism
• Psychological Analysis of His Characters
• Emphasizing on the inner awareness
and inward movements of his
characters in face of outside
occurrences rather than depicting the
environment in any detail
III. his narrative “point of
view”
• One of James's literary techniques innovated to
cater for this psychological emphasis
• As the author, James avoids the authorial
omniscience as much as possible and makes his
characters reveal themselves with his minimal
intervetion.
• So it is often the case that in his novels we usually
learn the main story by reading through one or several
minds and share their perspectives.
• This narrative method proves to be successful in
bringing out his themes.
the most expert stylist of his time
• As to his language, James is not so easy
to understand.
• He is often highly refined and insightful.
• With a large voabulary, he is always
accurate in word selection, trying to find
the best expression for his literary
imagination.
Listening lab
New York City, located in New York State, is
the largest city and the chief port of the United
States. The total area of New York City is about
____square miles. The city has ____boroughs:
Manhattan, the Bronx, Queen’s, Brooklyn and
Richmond.
The city with its good _____was discovered as
early as 1524, and it was established by the
_____who named the city New Amsterdam. In
1664, the city was taken by the English and it got
the name New York as it _____ now. During the
American Revolution in 1776, George Washington
had his _________for a time in New York City.
The Declaration of Independence was first read
there on July 4th 1776. The city remained the
nation’s capital until____.
New York became an important port early in
the last century. A large _____ of the national
exports passed through New York harbor. New
York has become one of the world’s busiest ports
and also the________ , manufacturing, and travel
center of the country.
New York is often called “The Big Apple”, which
was termed by ____musicians to describe something
that is the ultimate in size, _________ and
achievement. In this city there are many colleges,
universities and technical schools, many
theaters,______, concert halls, _______ and zoos.
New York City really has the wonders of the Big Apple
that exceed all __________—the fantastic skyscrapers,
marvelous museums, cultural centers, architecture and
________ attractions, which are most worth seeing.
Listening lab
New York City, located in New York State, is
the largest city and the chief port of the United
States. The total area of New York City is about
300
five
____square
miles. The city has ____boroughs:
Manhattan, the Bronx, Queen’s, Brooklyn and
Richmond.
harbor
The city with its good _____was
discovered as
early as 1524, and it was established by the
_____who
named the city New Amsterdam. In
Dutch
1664, the city was taken by the English and it got
the name New York as it _____
bears now. During the
American Revolution in 1776, George Washington
had his headquarters
_________for a time in New York City.
The Declaration of Independence was first read
there on July 4th 1776. The city remained the
nation’s capital until____.
1790
New York became an important port early in
the last century. A large portion
_____ of the national
exports passed through New York harbor. New
York has become one of the world’s busiest ports
and also the________
financial , manufacturing, and travel
center of the country.
New York is often called “The Big Apple”, which
was termed by ____musicians
jazz to describe something
that is the ultimate in size, _________ and
achievement. In this city there are many colleges,
excitement
universities and technical schools, many
theaters,______, concert halls, _______ and zoos.
New York City really has the ballets
wonders of the Big Apple
museums
that
exceed all __________—the fantastic skyscrapers,
marvelous museums, cultural centers, architecture and
________
attractions, which are most worth seeing.
expectations
sightseeing