基础英语一教案（课件）
Lesson One
Half A Day
Main Points
 About the author
 his voice
 how he pictures the world
 important works
 Check of Pre-class Work
 Text appreciation
 structure analysis
 topic discussion
 Language understanding
 sentence paraphrase
 word study
 writing techniques
About The Author
Naguib Mahfouz: Do you know anything about him?
the first Arab to win the Nobel
prize for literature, in 1988
"a Dickens of the Cairo cafés"
"the Balzac of Egypt".
Naguib Mahfouz
His Personal Voice
He was the first Arab to win the
Nobel prize for literature, in 1988.
“I am the son of two civilizations
that at a certain age in history have
formed a happy marriage. The first of
these, seven thousand years old, is the
Pharaonic civilization; the second, one
thousand four hundred years old, is the
Islamic civilization.” (Nobel Lecture)
Naguib Mahfouz started his career as a
writer by exploring ancient Egyptian
history, with the aim to seek the identity of
his own country in the space-time of his
existence and the sphere of his Self.
It is notable that when the author later on
turns to social and contemporary issues,
something of this early belief in fate,
destiny, dispensation or providence remains.
People in his novels are often, like reeds in
the wind, almost powerless in the face of
circumstance and chance.
How He Pictures the World
• very gloomy but not completely
disappointing
life is a tragedy
• time as a force of oppression.
• only two bright spots:
man's continuing struggle for
equality promise of scientific
progress
His Important Works
The Cairo Trilogy (1955-1957)
The Children of Gebelawi (1959)
The Thief and the Dogs (1961)
Autumn Quail (1962)
Small Talk on the Nile (1966)
Miramar (1967)
several collections of short stories
Check of Pre-class Work
 Words and Expressions
fill in the blanks
show the words by body language
 Ask your own questions
Prepare to ask your own questions about the text
 Listen to the recording
Listen to the recording of the text, paying special attention to
Paragraphs 14-16
Pre-class Work: fill in the blanks
 University students usually spend a great
on their own
deal of time studying __________.
 Peter loves __________
showing off his stamp
collection to his friends.
 These people argued that poverty had
__________
given rise to the crimes in the town.
went on with the
 The next day Mr. Smith __________
text just where he had left off.
Pre-class Work (2): acting out the
words and expressions
Use your body language to express the
following words and phrases:
cling to; daze; glance; halt; joyful; nap;
overlook; revolve; scold; spin; startled;
stretch; whisper; yell
Text Appreciation
 Structure of the text
Part 1 (para. 1-7 ) about:
The boy’s misgivings
about school
Part 2 (para. 8-16 ) about:
How the boy felt about
school.
Walking out of the school,
Part 3 (para. 17-20 ) about: he found time had
changed everything.
The main idea
 Select one statement that might best express the
message of the text. ____
a) Time goes by quickly, and many things can take
place in your life time. Before you know it, a new
society is born.
b) Your first day at school is a day to remember,
because it is so funny.
c) Life is a dream and it is soon over. Today you are a
school boy. Tomorrow you are an old man.
d) Schools in the old days were terrible places. The
teachers scolded and punished the children.

Can you use One word to describe your
feeling after the first reading of the text?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Puzzled
Shocked
Irritated
Joyful
Miserable
(Your personal opinions)…
Development of the story
School!
Part I The boy’s misgivings
about school
School?!
What have I done?
Make useful men
out of boys
prison / army —— school
prisoners
—— school
students
prison / soldiers
army ——
beating / training —— study
Everything that is enjoyable and
beneficial is here
Part II
How the boy
felt about school
Our path was not totally sweet
and unclouded.
Part III
Walking out of school,
he found
everything had changed
Summary of the text
Retell the story by putting the pictures in order
that they may render sense.
Try to bear the wh-questions like who, what, where, when,
why, and how in mind; tell the story in time order
Topic discussion
Plot of the story:
Setting of the story:
Protagonist v.s. Antagonists:
Drama of the story lies in:
Writing technique: (Have you ever read a
story using the similar technique?)
 Theme of the story:





Topic discussion
A. Read the following suggestions made by the father.
Which ones do you agree with and which ones not?
Have you ever been given some suggestions by your
parents when entering the university? List them out.







School is a place that makes useful men out of boys.
Don’t you want to be useful like your brothers?
Put a smile on your face and be a good example to others.
Be a man.
Today you truly begin life.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
 B. From the
description between
Para.8 and Para.16, we
can see different
aspects of school life.
Try to list as many
aspects as possible in
the following table.
positive ones
love
negative ones
discipline
……
……
……
……
C. In the last part of the text, the boy walked
out of the school to find that the outside
world had changed beyond measure. How might
he feel about the changes? List exact words
that support your choice.
He was _____
•frightened •surprised •angry •puzzled
•excited
•satisfied •delighted •sad
•indifferent •critical
Supporting words
startled, … …
D. "who, through works rich in nuance - now
clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively
ambiguous - has formed an Arabian
narrative art that applies to all mankind”
After reading “Half a Day”, how do you
understand the comment on Naguib Mahfouz?
Language Understanding
 Sentence Paraphrase
 Word Study
 Writing Techniques
A. Sentence Paraphrase
Explain the following orally.
1. It’s a place that makes useful
men out of boys.
2. I felt I was a stranger who had
lost his way.
Answer for reference:
1. It’s a place that makes boys
become useful men.
2. In this strange place, I felt
confused and didn’t know what
to do.
3. … from each floor we were
overlooked by a long balcony roofed
in wood.
4. Well, it seemed that my misgivings
had had no basis.
3. … on each side of the courtyard was a
building with a long wood-roofed
balcony on each floor where we could
be seen.
4. Well, it seemed that I was wrong to
think that school was a dreadful place.
5. Rivalries could bring about pain and
hatred, or give rise to fighting.
6. In addition, the time for changing
one’s mind was over and gone and
there was no question of ever
returning to the paradise of home.
5. When two or more boys fell in love with
the same girl, it might cause the boys to
suffer, or to hate each other, or to
fight.
6. Besides, it was impossible for us to quit
school and return to the good old days
when we stayed home playing and fooling
around all day. Our childhood was gone,
never to come back.
7. Nothing lay ahead of us but exertion,
struggle, and perseverance.
8. Those who were able took advantage
of the opportunities for success and
happiness that presented themselves.
7. We would have to do our best and
keep working very hard until we
finished school. this was what I
imagined our school days would be
like.
8. If there came opportunities, capable
students would seize them to achieve
success and happiness.
B. Word Study — Prepositions
Fill in the blanks with proper prepositions.
 The change of air is particularly beneficial
_______
her health.
to
 He is now convinced ______
of the truth of the
report.
by
 Please do not be irritated _______
his bad
manners since he is merely trying to attract
attention.
 The old woman is unbearably curious _______
about
other people’s business.
Word Study — Prefixes
A. Fill in the blanks with proper words having the
required prefix. After class, study such words as
much as possible.
 mis-= wrong(ly), bad(ly), ill
(misgiving…)
1. The irresponsible misbehavior of a drunken driver
resulted in an accident.
2. ___________
Misfortunes never come singly.
3. I like your plan in principle; my only misgiving is
that it may take too long to carry out.
4. How can we clear up themisunderstandingbetween
the two families?
 B. over- = above, across, beyond
(overlook, …)
1. The fire was completely
by
daybreak.
2. Water from the kitchen sink
onto the floor.
3. Our garden is
from the
neighbor’s windows.
4. Well, I’ll
it this time; but don’t
do it again.
 C. var(i)=diverse, to change
(vary, variation, various, variety, ...)
1. Features such as height, weight, and skin color
____ from individual to individual and from face to
face.
2. The weatherman broadcasts the ________ in
temperature twice a day.
3. The remarkable _______ of life on the Galopagos
Islands inspired Charles Darwin to establish his
theory of evolution.
Language Understanding
—— phrases
 to present oneself
to appear, happen
eg.
When the chance to study at Harvard
presented itself, I jumped at it.
He was ordered to present himself at the
chairman’s office at nine o’clock next
morning.
Guess the word meaning
 They unwrapped their Christmas presents.
 His wife presented him with a brand-new baby girl.
 His sudden resignation presents us with a tricky
situation.
 The National Theatre is presenting “King Lear” next
month.
 It was unfair to discuss his case if he wasn’t present.
 to make sb./sth. (out) of sb./sth.
It’s a place that makes useful men out of boys.
(make boys become useful men)
eg.
The army made a man of him.
He said the Government were frightened of
nothing. The real trouble was we were
making a mountain out of a molehill.
 There is no good to be had in doing sth.
 It is no good/use doing sth.
There is no good to be had in buying a boat
when you don’t have enough spare time to use
it.
It’s no good crying over spilt milk.
it is no (not much) good
it is no (not any, hardly any, little) use
it is useless
it is not the slightest use
it is worth (worthwhile)
there is no (no good, no use)
 There is no denying that women are playing an
important role in the world today.
 to tear sb. away from a place
to (make sb.) leave a place or a person unwillingly
because one has to
eg.
Can’t you tear yourself away from the TV for
dinner?
I found the program absolutely fascinating. I
couldn’t tear myself away—even to finish an
urgent e-mail.
 to cling to sth.
to hold tightly; not release one’s grip on
eg.
The little child clung to his mother for comfort.
Some of the victims of the fire climbed out of the
building, clung to the window ledges for a minute
or two and then dropped to their death a hundred
feet below.
She still clings to the belief that her son is alive.
 burst into (tears, sobs; laughter, a guffaw, song)
begin, suddenly and/or violently, to cry, laugh, sing
etc.
eg.
Aunt Annabel, who has been nervous and jumpy
lately, suddenly burst into tears.
As the comic got into his stride, the audience burst
into hoots of laughter.
cf.
The aircraft turned on its back and burst into flames.
The orchards seemed to have burst into blossom
overnight.
I mentioned the incident later to a tailor friend and
he burst out laughing/crying.
 sort people into ranks
put ... in order; arrange
They sorted the apples according to size into
large ones and small ones.
cf.
She spent a happy afternoon sorting out her
coins and stamps.
It’s no good standing back and waiting for
things to sort themselves out.
 to resort to
to make use of ; to turn to sth. (esp. sth. bad)
as a solution
eg.
Terrorists resorted to bombing city centers as
a means of achieving their political aims.
These are means we have never resorted to
to obtain information.
Elliptical
Rhetorical device
Figure of speech
Rhetorical question
modify
Writing Techniques
 A. Using repletion to achieve unity
 B. Using unexpected ending to introduce the
philosophy
 C. Using specific words and concrete details
to achieve effectiveness
 D. Creating realistic and convincing accounts
(1) Description
(2) Figures of speech
(3) Children’s narrative style
Assignment
Exercises of Lesson One
Further notes on discussion
1. If you had only half a day left to live, what
would you most want to do? List the top five
things you would do and give us your reason.
2. Suppose the narrator found his home at last.
What would happen after that?
3. Work in group. Make up your own story of
“Half a Day” and perform it.
4. Tell your funny first school-day stories.
Further notes on writing
Write a composition no less than 100 words
and you should base your composition on the
outline below.
On Change
1. We are living in an ever-changing world.
2. Change is double-edged.
3. We can manage to take advantage of
changes.
Half a Day
Naguib Mahfouz
You can tell whether a man is clever by
his answers. You can tell whether a
man is wise by his questions.
----Naguib Mahfouz