Unit 8
Unit 8
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Travel
Pre-reading Tasks
While-reading Tasks
Post-reading Tasks
Leisure Time
Pre-reading Tasks
1. Where is the author living?
2. How did the author feel when
he/ she decided to stop by and
take a look at Niagara Falls
through the eyes of a tourist?
3. Have you ever had the same
kind of experience as the author
did?
(Script: P.341)
Pre-reading Tasks
 Few of us have had the chance to visit
an out-of-the-way place such as a jungle,
desert, or remote mountainous area.
Would such a trip be worthwhile? Annie
Dillard figured it would.
About the Author
Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard (1945--)
A nature writer and Pulitzer Prize
winner
Text A is taken from Teaching a
Stone to Talk
(1988).
(Expeditions and Encounters)
About the Author
This book is a collection of her
"Expeditions and Encounters" as the
subtitle quickly informs us. She takes
expeditions to the Pole, to the jungle, to
a solar eclipse, to a cabin in the woods;
she encounters a weasel, silence in a
field, God in a doorway, mirages, and a
nine-year-old girl. And she grabs hold of
each expedition and encounter, not
daring to let it go, ever.
Annie Dillard
About the Author
Dillard's writing career began early in
high school when she began composing
poetry. She has an unquenchable thirst
for knowledge. Often she reads over 100
books a year, on just about any topic
imaginable. She's been this way from
her childhood on.
Annie Dillard
About the Author
works include An American
Childhood and Teaching a Stone to Talk,
The Living, and Mornings Like This. But
Dillard is perhaps best known for Pilgrim at
Tinker Creek, the book which won her the
Pulitzer Prize at age 29. "By the time I
finished the book, I weighed about 98
pounds," Dillard said. "I never went to bed.
I would write all night until the sun was
almost coming up." She admits that she has
changed since then, but says she does not
regret "fanaticism of youth."
Her
Annie Dillard
About the Author
In 1982 she was honored with an
invitation to take part in a cultural
delegation of scholars, traveling with
them to China.
Annie Dillard
While-reading Tasks
 Text A
In the Jungle
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Annie Dillard tells of her visit
to the Napo River in the jungle,
one of nature’s most unspoiled
places.
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What is the function of the
two phrases “out of the way”
(Para 1) and “in the way”
(Para 18) ?
While-reading Tasks
 Text Organization (P.273)
 Part One (Paras 1-5)
 Part Two (Paras 6-8)
 Part Three (Paras 9-18)
Text Analysis and Language Study
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Part One (Paras 1-5)
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Main Idea:
 Description of the Napo River and surrounding
jungle scenery at night, together with the
author’s reflections on it
Cultural Notes:
Language Study:
Questions:
Cultural Notes
Amazon
(P.285 Cloze B)
Cultural Notes
Amazon (river): river in northern South America, largely
in Brazil, ranked as the largest in the world in terms of
watershed area, number of tributaries, and volume of water
discharged. Measuring 6,400 km (4,000 mi) from source to
mouth, it is second in length only to the Nile among the
rivers of the world. With its hundreds of tributaries, the
Amazon drains a territory of more than 6 million sq km (2.3
million sq mi), roughly half of which is in Brazil; the rest is
in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela. It is estimated
Cultural Notes
that the Amazon discharges between 34 million and 121
million liters (9 million and 32 million gallons) of water per
second and deposits a daily average of 3 million tons of
sediment near its mouth. The annual outflow from the river
accounts for one-fifth of all the fresh water that drains into
the oceans of the world. The outpouring of water and
sediment is so vast that the salt content and color of the
Atlantic Ocean are altered for a distance of about 320 km
(about 200 mi) from the mouth of the river.
Language Study
1. out-of-the-way (L1)
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(1) (a) far away from cities and difficult to reach;
remote; far-off; far-away
---We have bought a little cottage, quite out of the
way.
(b) exceptional; uncommon
--- He has done nothing out of the way.
(c ) well resolved
--- I feel better, now that one problem is out of the
way.
out-of-the-way (L1)
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(2) out of sight (L69): --- The woman didn’t go into
the house until her daughter drove away and
slowly faded out of sight.
(3) out of range(L86): --- too far away to be
reached, seen or heard
---in/ within / out of /beyond (firing) range
在射程以内（以外）
---She was out of range (of my voice).
out-of-the-way (L1)
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(4) out of action(no longer able to operate or function),
out of date, out of doors, out of hand(out of control),
out of breath, out of order, out of place, out of
print（绝版的）, out of proportion, out of season
（not in season）, out of shape(not having the usual
shape; unfit 不健康), out of the ordinary (unusual;
exceptional), out of the question(not worth discussing;
impossible), out of practice（荒疏）
2. stump (L3)
(1) 树桩；残余部分
the stump of a cigarette, a pencil, a tooth, a limb
(香烟头，铅笔头， 残牙， 残肢)
 (2) sapling树苗, trunk, bark, shade of a tree / tree
shade, shadow of the trees, wart树瘤, tree-crown
树冠, crotch of a tree / fork树杈, leaf, annual ring,
branch, bough粗树枝, twig嫩枝, knot节疤, the tip
of a tree / treetop树梢， limb树主枝
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3. spatter (L11)
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(1) v.
(a) It suggests larger amounts of paint, mud, blood,
etc being thrown at sb. and making him or her dirty.
spatter sth. on /over sb./sth. ; spatter sb./sth. with
sth.
---spatter oil on one’s clothes / spatter one’s
clothes with oil
---The bus spattered them with mud as it passed in
the rain.
3. spatter (L11)
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(b) fall or rain down in drops
---We heard the rain spattering down on the roof of
the hut.
(2) n. ----sprinkling; small shower
e.g. the spatter of raindrops on the roof
spill, splash, sprinkle, spray
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spill: ---It’s no use crying over spilt milk.
---The ink has spilt on the desk.
---Don’t spill the soup.
splash: We splash liquids when we spill them
accidentally（不慎洒出）.
---Don’t let the acid splash on your hand.
泼洒;溅 ---splash-ink（泼墨）
---splash water on the floor
---splash water over each other
spill, splash, sprinkle, spray
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sprinkle : Sprinkle is used with water, sand, salt,
etc and indicates intentional scattering, usually
over a small area .
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---the Water-Sprinkling Festival of the Dai
---Sprinkle a little salt on the food.
---The priest sprinkled holy water on the baby’s
forehead.
---Sprinkle some water before you sweep.
spill, splash, sprinkle, spray
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spray: We spray small drops of paint, perfume,
chemicals, etc, usually with an aerosol（内压式喷
雾器） or a spray-gun（喷枪）, in order to cover
an area completely.
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---spray herbicide
---spray paint on one’s car
4. illumine (formal) = illuminate (L12)
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(1) shine light on
---The sky was illumined by flashes from the
volcano.
---Torches illumined the picnic areas.
(2) decorate sth. with bright lights for a special
occasion
---All the streets are illumined at Christmas.
(3) make sth. clear; help to explain
---This book illuminates the whole problem.
5. tangle (L14)
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(1) v. (a) (cause sth. to) become twisted into a
confused mass
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---His hair tangles easily.
(b) tangle with sb./sth.---become involved in a
quarrel or fight with sb./sth.
--- I wouldn’t tangle with him, if I were you.
5. tangle (L14)
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(2) n. (a) confused mass (of string, hair, etc.)
--- The wool got in a fearful tangle.
--- Her hair was full of tangles after being out in
the wind.
(b) confused condition
--- His mind was in a complete tangle.
6. stir (L17) (L105)
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⑴ ---stir the soup with a spoon
---I put milk in my tea and stirred.
⑵ (cause sth. to) move slightly
---A gentle breeze stirred the leaves (her hair, the
curtains).
---Not a leaf stirred.
⑶excite or arouse (a person or his feelings, etc.)
---The story stirred the boy’s imagination.
---Old memories stirred as she looked at the
photographs.
6. stir (L17) (L105)
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⑷ stir-fry： v.（用旺火）快炒
n.（东方式）炒菜
⑸stir : n. --- Give the soup a stir.
---轰动 The book caused quite a stir.（引起相当轰
动）
⑹stirring: very exciting
---He made a stirring speech and everyone cheered.
7. twine (L18)
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(1) v. (cause sth. to) twist, coil or wind round sth.
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编， 搓， 扎 ---She twined her hair into braids.
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---He made a rope by twining strings.
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盘绕 ---The vine twines around the tree.
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蜿蜒 ---A snake twined over the ground.
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(2) n. strong thread or string made by twisting
two or more strands of hemp, cotton, etc together
二股或多股线或绳
8. dissolve ( L20)
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⑴---Water dissolves salt.
---Salt dissolves in water.
---Dissolve the salt in water.
⑵ fade away; disappear
---The view dissolved in mist.
---The mountains dissolved behind a thick curtain
of clouds.
---All his hopes dissolved at the terrible news.
8. dissolve ( L20)
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⑶ (cause sth. to) come to an end
---Parliament dissolved (or was dissolved).
---dissolve a business partnership, a marriage, an
agreement
(4)dissolve in sth. 情不自禁 (can’t help doing
sth.)
--- dissolve in tears/laughter/giggles
Questions
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1. How does the author describe the
summer night in the jungle?
2. There is an abundance of sensory
impressions in the essay. Find out the
sensory impressions in Part One.
Text Analysis and Language Study
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Part Two (Paras 6-8)
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Main Idea:
 Recalling what happened to her at their arrival
at the village and what others felt about the
Napo River and the people there
Language Study:
Questions:
Language Study
9. disembark (L25)
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---disembark from a ship, a plane
---disembark passengers , goods from the plane
the prefix “em” 置于…之内，上…
emplane （使）乘飞机；把…装入飞机
embay 使入海湾， embed嵌入
bark （三桅帆船）；（诗）小船
embark （使）上船或飞机； 搭载
“dis” ( prefix )
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⑴表否定：
dishonest, disloyal, disadvantage, disbelief,
disproof (反证), disprove (prove to be wrong or
false 证明为误), dispraise, disembark (L25)
⑵除去， 解除 ：
disarm : (解除武装) --disarm the enemy (of his
weapons); (裁军) --The superpowers are unlikely to
disarm completely. --nuclear disarmament
disburden (relieve of a burden) , disbud (remove
buds from 从…摘去幼芽)
“dis” (prefix)
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⑶分开， 离， 散 ：
dissolve (L20) （溶解；分解；解散；消散）, dissect
（解剖；剖析）, distract (使分心), dispel （驱散）,
dispense (分配；配发（药）), distribute
dis=di : digress (wander from the main topic 离题),
divorce
⑷加在名词前构成动词， 表“使失去”：
discourage, dispirit, discredit （使丧失信誉）,
discolor ( 使)褪色
10. slump (L25)
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(1) v. (a) sit or fall down heavily
---He slumped onto the sofa , completely
exhausted.
(b) ( of prices, trade, business activity) fall
suddenly or greatly
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---The company’s shares slumped last month.
---Sales slumped by 20% last year.
(2) n. period when business is bad, sales are
few,etc; depression
11. be dying to do sth. / for sth.: (L29)
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desire (to do) sth. eagerly
---She was dying to tell them the good news that
she had won first prize in the speech contest.
---I’m really dying for a drink on a day like this.
Questions
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1. What made Dilliard loose her hair from
its braids in the middle of night? What had
happened before that?
2. What did the Manhattan writer think
about their spending time in the jungle?
3. Find out the sensory impressions in Part
Two.
Text Analysis and Language Study
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Part Three (Paras 9-18)
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Main Idea:
 Detailed description of journeying in the
jungle and her feelings about it
Language Study:
Questions:
Language Study
12. fringe (L44)
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(1) n. (a) (BrE)=(AmE) bangs (plural) the part of your hair
that hangs over your forehead 留海儿
---Mary has straight shoulder-length hair and a short fringe
/ short bangs.
(b) decorative edge on a garment, rug,etc. 穗子,流苏,毛
边
(c ) the outer edge or limit of sth.
--- The new suburbs were springing up on the fringes of
the city.
(2) v. be fringed by/with sth.: have sth. as a border
--- The estate was fringed with stately elms. 那片地以挺拔
的榆树为界。
13. smear (L51)
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(1) spread a greasy or sticky substance on sth./sb.
smear sth. on /over sth./sb.; smear sth./sb. with
sth.
---The tablecloth was smeared with jam.
---She smeared suntan lotion on her face.
(2) make sth. dirty or greasy; smudge
---The window was all smeared after the rain.
(3) (fig) damage (sb. or sb.’s reputation)
---smear sb.’s reputation
14. repute (L53)
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believe, consider (If you say that sth. is
reputed to be true, you mean that people say it is
true, but you don’t know if it is definitely true;
often used in passive; a formal word.) 一般称为，
(1) v.
一般认为
---He is reputed as / to be the best singer in the
city.
---He was reputed to be a millionaire.
(2) n. (formal) reputation
15. hug (L59)
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⑴---Mary threw her arms around him and hugged
him tight.
⑵keep close to
---The road hugs the river.
---We hugged the wall to avoid being seen.
⑶hug oneself 得意， 沾沾自喜
hug oneself on / for sth.因…而沾沾自喜
⑷cling firmly to and take pleasure in (opinions) 坚
持并乐于信守（观点，信仰，偏见）---hug one’s
opinions, beliefs
16. vault (L69)
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(1)jump in a single movement over or onto an object with
the hand(s) resting on it or with the help of a pole
---He vaulted (over) the fence and ran off into the night.
---(fig , fml）vaulting (i.e. boundless, overreaching)
ambition 奢想
---vaulting horse 鞍马， 跳马
---pole-vault v. n. 撑竿跳
(2) vaulter (person who vaults)
---a good pole-vaulter
17. clatter (L82)
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(1) v. move quickly and noisily; (cause to )make
continuous loud noises by hitting objects against
each other
---She dropped the bucket and it went clattering
down the stairs.
---His boots clattered on the stairs, attracting our
attention.
---Don't clatter your knives and forks.
(2) n. 连续撞击声
---the clatter of horse’s hoofs, a typewriter 马蹄、
打字机的咔嗒声
18. dangle (L92)
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(1) hang or swing loosely
---I dangled my feet in the clear blue water.
---Earrings dangled from her ears.
---A bunch of keys dangled at the end of a chain.
在链子一端悬吊着一串钥匙。
---dangling participle （语）垂悬分词 (e.g.
Walking home, an accident was seen.)
18. dangle (L92)
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(2) dangle sth. before /in front of sb.
temptingly to sb.
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---offer sth.
--- The prospect of promotion was dangled before
him. 晋升的希望在吸引着他。
---The promise of an ice-cream cone was dangled
in front of us, as a reward for washing the car.
Questions
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1. What is the point of going to the Napo
River in Ecuador according to the author?
2. What did they eat that night in the
village? And what did they see there?
3. Find out the sensory impressions in Part
Three.
Post-reading Tasks
1. Exercises:
2. Reciting a short part from the
text ( at least 50 words ), and
explaining why it is your
favorite part.
3. Discussion: If you had both
time and money, what places
would you like to visit most?
Why?
Exercises for Unit 8
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Directions: For each of the following sentences there are four choices marked A,
B, C and D. Choose the one that best completes the sentence.
1. When bees ______ , hundreds of them come together in a great
mass.
A. swarm
B. sway
C. swallow
D. swindle
2. The dancers _______ over the floor of the room.
A. gleamed
B. glimmered
C. glided
D. sliced
3. After a whole night of argument we ______ the following plan.
A. thrashed through
B. thrashed out
C. thrashed about
D. thrashed at
4. I felt his report was deliberately opaque. Here “opaque” means ____.
A. distinct
B. obscure
C. instinct
D. clear
Exercises for unit 8
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5. When he was young he could ______ onto the back of a horse.
A. slide
B. put
C. stumble
D. vault
6. She is reputed to be very healthy. Here “reputed” can be replaced by
______.
A. considered
B. refuted
C. denied
D. required
7. You must _____ this ointment over the wound.
A. smear
B. smash
C. slump
D. swell
8. His prospects for winning the elections were dissolving rapidly.
Here “dissolving” means _______.
A. rising
B. disappearing
C. appearing
D. coming
9. How can you be indifferent _______ the sufferings of starving
people?
A. at
B. from
C. to
D. in
Exercises for Unit 8
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10. To her, this wounded soldier was not an enemy _____ a suffering
human being.
A. but rather
B. rather than
C. rather
D. would rather
11. She _____ through the mist, trying to find the right path.
A. glared
B. peeped
C. stared
D. peered
12. Now that the boy was earning his own living he could ______his
father’s strict rules.
A. deny
B. defy
C. overlook D. neglect
13. Here in Chicago, for instance, the movement was growing by
______and bounds.
A. leaps
B. heaps
C. lumps
D. junks
Exercises for Unit 8
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14. Dr. Salk failed many times but he finally ______ to find a
successful polio vaccine.
A. brought through
B. passed through
C. passed by
D. broke through
15. The teacher asked a difficult question, but finally Ted ______
a good answer.
A. came up
B. came out at
C. cried out with
D. came up with
16.The workers marched through the streets with banners to ______
against the rising cost of living.
A. prove
B. disapprove
C. protect
D. demonstrate
17. A thirsty man will drink great ______ of water.
A. quantity
B. quality
C. quantities D. deal
Exercises for Unit 8
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18. Jean’s got very ______opinions about food, so she won’t eat
anything new or foreign.
A. critic
B. conventional
C. strict
D. disciplined
19. The latest information ______ me in the belief that he is
to blame.
A. approves
B. establishes
C. confirms
D. sets
20. Many English words are _____ from Latin and Greek words.
A. derived
B. obtained
C. got
D. attained
21. This story is not real, it is only ______.
A. imaginable
B. imaginary
C. imaginative D. image
22. By _____ of the position he held , he was able to move about
freely.
A. account
B. virtue
C. consideration
D. thought
Exercises for Unit 8
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23. A passing truck _____ mud on my new coat.
A. sprayed
B. spilled
C.shattered
D. spattered
24. Vicki never worried or hesitated about anything, she just _____
it and almost always got whatever she wanted.
A. went for B. went by
C. went over D. went with
25. It can be said without exaggeration that no part of the United
States is not easily accessible by car, by train, or by air, and ______ by
all the three of them.
A. more often than not
B. more often than
C. no more often than
D. less often than
26. The worsening of the country’s economy could mean _____ public
support for the ruling party.
A. crippled
B. subtracted
C. fluttered
D. diminished
Exercises for Unit 8
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27. Certainly in our society teachers don’t enjoy the respect that is ____
to doctors and lawyers.
A. rewarded
B. accorded
C. designated
D.transferred
28. The chances of the disease being _____ to humans are extremely
remote.
A. exposed
B. commuted
C. migrated
D. transferred
29. Climate is especially important ______ articles that are readily
affected by moisture.
A. in case of
B. in the case of
C. in case D. in this case
30. Although he was jumping so well, he failed to win the first prize
and had to ______ the second.
A. settle down B. settle on C. settle for
D. settle with
Exercises for Unit 8
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Key to Exercises:
1----5
6---10
11---15
16---20
21---25
26---30
ACBBD
AABCA
DBADD
DCBCA
BBDAA
DBDBC
Leisure Time
(A Poem)
The Lake lsle of lnnisfree
(by William Butler Yeats)
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
Leisure Time
(A Poem)
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes
dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the
cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
Leisure Time
茵梦湖岛
我将要动身去茵梦湖，
在那里建座小屋，用粘土和树篱；
种上九畦豆子，养一窝蜜蜂，
在林中独居，听蜂儿大声嗡嗡。
我将在那里享受宁静，宁静会慢慢降临，
降自晨曦的朦胧，降自蟋蟀的歌吟；
半夜里微光幽幽，中午时紫光熠熠，
黄昏时刻红雀的羽翼四处拍打。
我现在就要动身，因为日日夜夜总听见
那里的湖水轻轻拍打着湖岸；
每当我伫立在路旁，或在灰色的人行道上
那声音总是在我的心灵深处震响。
(A Poem)
Thank you !