Unit 1 Thinking as a Hobby
Teaching procedures:
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Ⅰ Warm-up questions
Ⅱ Background
Ⅲ Word study
Ⅳ General understanding of the text
Ⅴ Detailed study of the text
Ⅵ Questions for discussion
Ⅶ Language focus
Ⅷ Exercises
ⅠWarming-up questions
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1. What’s your hobby?
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2. Do you regard thinking as your hobby?
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3. What kind of questions do you often think?
Ⅱ Background
1. About the author
 Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19
June 1993) was a British novelist, poet, playwright and
Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his
novel Lord of the Flies. He was also awarded the Booker
Prize for literature in 1980 for his novel Rites of Passage,
the first book of the trilogy To the Ends of the Earth.
 In 2008, The Times ranked Golding third on their list of
"The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
Ⅱ Background
2. Lord of the Flies
 Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning
author William Golding about a group of British
schoolboys stuck on a deserted island who try to
govern themselves, with disastrous results. Its
stances on the already controversial subjects of
human nature and individual welfare .
Ⅱ Background
3. Gandi and Nehru
Gandi (1869-1948) and Nehru(1889-19640 were
both leaders of the Fr—India Movement which
aimed at winning national independence for india
through non-violent, means. In the course of the
struggle, they were jailed by the British
government several times. But their efforts
brought about the independence of India on
Ahgust 15, 1947.
Ⅲ Word study
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Word list
1. acquaintance
3. bulge
5. confer
7. contradiction
9. deficiency
11. modest
13.rotten
2. anguish
4. compulsive
6. confront
8. contemplate
10. lest
12. penal
14. trifle
1. acquaintance
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to make the acquaintance of sb, / make sb’s
acquaintance结识某人;
a speaking/nodding acquaintance泛泛之交/ 点头
之交
acquaint (fml) v acquaint sb with sth: to provide
with information, make known to 使某人了解eg:
acquaint sb with facts
be acquainted ( with ) : to have met socially 与…
相识 eg: We are already acquainted.
2. anguish
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anguish :points to the extremity of grief which so terrifies
the spirit as to be insupportable特指极度悲痛，至于精
神上无法支撑的程度。
e.g. She was crushed by anguish on learning that her
husband and children were burnt to death.
Excessive anguish may turn a person’s brain.
The anguish of grief of the bereaved is beyond
description.
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Compare : agony
agony n most closely associated with physical pain, points to such
severity of it that the word is often used to denote the struggle and pain
that may precede one’s death.
e.g. She had upset some boiling oil on her arm and was in agonies of
pain
In his final agony, he called for the religious comfort which he had
rejected for years. 在他弥留的剧烈痛苦中， 他要求宗教上的安慰，
这是他多年来一直拒绝的。
The patient could not stand the sustained agonies any more.
may be used figuratively.
War refugees flocked to the neighboring country in the agony of
despair. 战争难民在极端的绝望痛苦中成群涌入邻国。
The old man was tormented by an agony of remorse.
这老人为极度的悔痛所折磨。
3.bulge
bulge v. to stick out in a rounded shape because sth is very
full or tight. (cause to) swell beyond the usual size; curve
outwards:
e.g. His leg was bulging with mosquito bites.
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He bulged his pockets with apples
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His pockets were bulging with apples.
compare : protrude , swell, stick out
protrude v (cause to)stick out or project 突出，（使）伸
出
 e.g. a shelf that protrudes from a wall自墙壁伸出的架子。
 Protruding eyes/ teeth 凸眼（暴牙）
swell v i) (cause to) become greater in volume, thickness or
force:
e.g. Wood often swells when wet.
The river was swollen with melted snow. 河水因融雪
而上涨
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His face began to swell up, eg from toothache.
ii) may be used figuratively.
eg He/ his heart was swelling with pride.
stick out (cause to) project, stand out eg
 A rude boy sticking his tongue out at his sister. 一个向他
姐姐伸舌头的粗鲁男孩。
4. compulsive
compulsive adj. 1) extremely interesting; fascinating e.g.
a compulsive novel about politics 有关政治的有趣的小
说
 2) (a) caused by an obsession
e.g. compulsive gambling/eating
(b) (of people) forced to do sth. By an obsession
e.g. a compulsive eater/ gambler/liar
 cf: compulsory: which must be done by law,by orders,etc
义务的 ～ education
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5. confer
i )to give or grant (a degree, title, favour). 授予（学位，头
衔，恩惠）
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confer sth on sb
ii) to consult or discuss （与某人）商谈；商议；讨论
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confer (with sb) (on/ about sth)
6.confront
Confront reality/ future / threat/ more challenges
Be confronted with（ indicate state）
eg: At present time, we are confronted with great challenges.
i)to bring face to face; confront sb with
The prisoner was confronted with his accusers.
When confronted with the evidence of his guilt, he confessed at
once.
ii) be or come face to face with; The difficulties that confront us
seem insuperable.我们所面临的困难似乎是不可克服的。
A soldier has to confront danger.
iii) be opposite to My house confronts his.
confrontation n
7. contradiction
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contradiction n.
eg: eliminate the ～消除矛盾 :
be in ～ to 与…冲突 :
Your behaviour is in direct ～ to your principles.
Contradict: v eg: If you contradict me once more, you
are fired.
Contradictory adj contradictory statement
contradict:
 contra- : opposite to, against ; dict : to say
vt. 1)反驳，否认
 2)与…矛盾，与…冲突
vt. deny the truth of
e.g. He contradicted what I said. 他否认我说的话。
vt. say the opposite of (what a person has said); deny the
words of (a person)
You must not contradict mummy.
He is always contradicting me.
vt. be opposed or contrary to
The two accounts contradict each other.
You contradict yourself.
8. contemplate
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vt. They contemplated each other for some minutes. vt.
仔细考虑,熟虑<问题等> · She is contemplating a
change of work. 她在考虑换工作。
vt. 考虑<做…> · He contemplated going to some health
resort. 他考虑到某一休养胜地。
vt. 考虑<…事> · We are contemplating where we should
travel [where to travel] to. 我们在考虑要到哪里去旅行。
vt. 期待,预期 · We did not contemplate such a
consequence. 我们没有预料到会有这种结果。
vi. 沉思,默想 · All day he did nothing but contemplate.
他整天除了沉思外没做任何事。
9. deficiency
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deficiency : a nutritional ～ 营养缺乏
the ～ in the system 制度的缺陷
a ～ of good sense 良知的缺乏
10.lest
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conj. for fear that;so that...not ·
He took his umbrella lest it should rain.
Take good care of yourself lest you catch cold.
conj. （用于fear,be afraid 等词之后） (after fear, be
afraid etc.)that ·
I was afraid lest he should come too late.
10.modest
adj. not thinking too well of oneself ·
 A modest man will never boast of his merits.
谦虚的人决不夸自己的功劳。 ·
 The more learned a man is,the more modest he usually is. 人
越是有学问，通常越谦虚。
 adj. not very big or very grand ·
 He is a rich man but he lives in a modest little house.
他是个有钱人，但是他却住在一座简朴的小房子里。
 adj. small,not much ·
 Please accept this modest gift. 请接受这小小的礼物。
 His request is more modest than yours. 他的请求比你的更
微不足道。
11. penal
adj. 刑事上的,刑法的
 the penal code 刑法 a penal offense 刑事罪
 penal servitude 监禁和劳役合并的一种惩罚,劳役刑
 a penal sum 罚款,违约金
 Penalty n.[C] 刑罚; 罚金,罚款[for] ·
 a penalty for violating traffic rules
 The penalty for disobeying the law was death.
 n.[C] 不利; 报应
 the penalties of old age
 pay the penalty of... 受到…的报应
 n.[C] 【运动】犯规的处罚,罚规 ; n.[C] (对上次优胜者
所加的) 障碍或不利条件 ·
 on [under] penalty of... 违者处以…之刑
 Non-payment is forbidden under penalty of forfeiture.
12.rotten
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rotten to the core
a rotten child
a rotten book
rotten weather
a rotten headache
I'm feeling rotten this
morning.
It's a rotten shame.
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完全堕落的,坏透了的
没有礼貌的孩子
很烂 [糟] 的书
令人厌烦的天气
剧烈的头痛
我今天早上感觉不舒服。
那真糟糕 [可惜] 。
13. trifle
n. a thing having little or no value ·
 We have no time to waste on trifles.
 an unconsidered trifle 未经考虑的琐事
n. a small amount of anything, a little
 Send a trifle for your birthday. 送点小礼物祝贺你的生
日。
 The expense is a mere trifle. 这点花费算不了什么。
 This dress is a trifle too tight. 这件衣服稍微紧了一些。
 a trifle of sugar 少量食糖
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vi. talk or act lightly,deal with (something)as though it were of
slight importance
 I‘m in no mood for trifling. 我无心嬉戏。
 Don‘t trifle with serious matters. 别玩忽重要的事。
vi. amuse oneself with; handle idly; play or toy with
vi. spend one‘s time idly or wastefully
vt. spend (time, effort, money,etc.) on things having little value
 She had trifled away the whole morning.
 她白白浪费了整整一个上午。
Ⅳ Genral understanding of the text
1. introduction to the text
 From the title, we can see the present text is about
thinking.
 The author’s use of the word “hobby” is very interesting.
Ⅴ
 By using the word, the author means that thinking is not
just for professional thinkers like philosophers.
 It is something all educated people should enjoy doing.
It’s important for young scholars’ healthy development,
both mental and physical.
Ⅳ Genral understanding of the text
Structure of the text
 The text can be neatly divided into three parts.
 Part one :(Paras.1---24) How the subject of thinking
was first brought up to the author and how he came
to understand the nature of “grade-three thinking”.
 Part two: (Paras. 25--29) The author’s analysis of
the nature of “grade-two thinking” .
 Part three: (Paras.30--35) The author’s
understanding of the “grade-one thinking” and his
desire for it .
Ⅴ Detailed study of the text
Questions:
 1) How are the three statuettes described
by the boy ?
 2) What do the three statuettes
symbolize?
 3) What effect do the boy’s descriptions
have?
 4) What are the characteristics of the three
grades of thinking?
1) How are the three statuettes described by the boy ?
Venus
Leopard
naked with nothing but a crouching; naked
bath towel; no arms; in an
unfortunate position
Rodin’s Thinker
naked, muscular, who sat,
looking down; his chin on
his fist and elbow on his
knee
frozen in panic, worrying
about the towel
busying being beautiful
ready to spring down at
the top drawer from the
cupboard
utterly miserable;
contemplate the
busy being natural
not miserable, an image
of pure thought
hindquarters of the
leopard in endless gloom
2）What do the three statuettes symbolize?
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They represented the whole of life.
The leopard stood for all animal needs or desires;
Venus stood for love ;
The Thinker stood for thinking as a uniquely
human feature.
3）What effect do the boy’s descriptions have?
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An humorous and sarcastic effect has been achieved by
the author’s description of the statuettes, which
established a background to support his later analysis of
three grades of thinking and some human natures.
4）What are the characteristics of the three grades of
thinking?
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Grade-three :Ignorance, hypocrisy, prejudice, selfsatisfied, contradictions (Mr. Houghton, nine tens of
people)
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Grade-two :Detecting contradictions; do not stampede
easily; lag behind, a withdrawal, destroy but not
create(Ruth, the author, (maybe) some acquaintances)
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Grade-one :To find out what is truth, based on a logical
moral system(few and far between)
Ⅴ Detailed study of the text
1. Beyond the leopard was a naked, muscular
gentleman.(para.2)
Pay attention to the following words in which “-ed” is
pronounced as /-id/:
a naked man; a learned professor; that blessed morning; a
wicked boy; the wretched life; our beloved country;
ragged pants; my aged parents(But not in “a man aged
45”)
2. I was not integrated. I was, if anything,
disintegrated.(para. 4)
integrated: forming a part of a harmonious group
disintegrated: Here, it is used by the author to mean the
direct opposite of “integrated”, therefore means some
kind of trouble-maker.
Note: this is not the way the word is normally used.
if anything: on the contrary, e.g.
 I never had to clean up after him. If anything, he did
most of the cleaning.
 I’m not ashamed of her. If anything, I’m proud.
3. On one occasion he headmaster leaped to his feet,
reached up and put Rodin’s masterpiece on the desk
before me. (Para. 13)
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Three parallel verb phrases are used to describe the
sequence of his actions.
to leap to one’s feet: to jump up
to one’s feet
站起来
to leap to one’s feet
一跃而起
to rise to one’s feet
站起身来
to struggle to one’s feet
挣扎着站起来
to stagger to one’s feet
蹒跚而立
to help sb. to one’s feet
扶某人站起来
to pull sb. to his feet
把某人拉起来
to reach up: to move a hand or arm upward in order to
touch, hold, or pick up sth.
4. Nature had endowed the rest of the human race with a
sixth sense and left me out. (Para. 15)
a sixth sense: a keen intuitive (直觉的) power. Here the
author means the ability to think.
to endow sb with sth: to provide sb. with a natural quality
or talent
e.g. She is one of those lucky women who are endowed
with both sharp brain and great beauty.
Everybody, except me, are born with the ability to think.
5. You could hear the wind, trapped in his chest and
struggling with all the unnatural impediments. His body
would reel with shock and his face go white at the
unaccustomed visitation. He would stagger back to his
desk and collapse there, useless for the rest of the
morning. (Para. 19)
struggling with all the unnatural impediments: The
fresh air had to struggle with difficulty to find its way to
his chest because he was unaccustomed to this.
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His body would reel and his face go white: He would
stagger or be thrown off balance and his face would turn
white.
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useless for the rest of the morning: unable to do
anything for the rest of the morning
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Note the humorous effect achieved through the use of
the exaggeration and formal style.
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6. Mr. Houghton was given to high-minded monologues
about the good life, sexless and full of duty. (Para. 20)
to be given to: To be habitually inclined to do (sth.): e.g.
 He is much given to blowing his own trumpet.
 She was given to hasty decision.
 They were much given to senseless gossip.
high-minded monologue: a highly moral speech.
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Obviously in Mr. Houghton’s clean life, there is no
place for alcoholic drink, sex, and other worldly pleasures.
This is, of course, ironical.
7. Yet in the middle of these monologues, if a girl passed the
window, his neck would turn of itself and he would watch
her out of sight. In this instance, he seemed to me ruled
not by thought but by an invisible and irresistible spring
in his neck. (Para. 20)
 to turn of itself: To turn by itself; to turn on its own
 irresistible spring: Metaphor is employed here, it refers
to his sexual impulse.
 The author is ridiculing the contradiction between his
high moral tone and the working of his genes which
compels him to turn his head toward young girls.
8.Technically, it is about as proficient as most businessmen’s
golf, as honest as most politicians’ intentions, or as
coherent as most books that get written. (Para. 23)
 This ironical sentence shows that the author not only
considers those people incompetent,dishonest and
incoherent, but also despises most businessmen, distrust
most politicians and dislikes most publications.
9. I no longer dismiss lightly a mental process. (Para. 24)
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I no longer consider the way grade-three thinkers think
unimportant because they account for nine-tenths of the
people and therefore have great power. Now I know that
ignorance, prejudice and hypocrisy are very powerful
enemies.
10. They have immense solidarity.
They usually represent the great majority.
Note that the author does not have any romantic ideas
about mass wisdom. In fact, he believes that most people
are parrots. They like to follow the crowd or jump(climb)
on the bandwagon(join others in doing sth fashionable or
likely to be successful).
11. A crowd of grade-three thinkers, all shouting the same
thing, all warming their hand at the fire of their own
prejudices… Man enjoys agreement as cows will graze all
the same way on the side of a hill. (Para. 24)
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all warming their hands at the fire of their own
prejudices: all feeling very content and happy because
they share the same prejudices
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The author thinks that it is probably human nature to
enjoy agreement because it seems to bring peace, security,
comfort and harmony.
12. Grade-two thinkers do not stampede easily, though often
they fall into the other fault and lag behind. Grade-two
thinking is a withdrawal, with eyes and ears open. It
destroys without having the power to create. (Para. 25)
 to stampede: to get easily frightened and run with the
crowd
 to fall into the other fault: to go to the other extreme,
that is to act too slowly and lag behind
 withdrawal: detachment: (冷漠) as from social or
emotional involvement; refusing to be part of the crowd
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13. It set me watching the crowds cheering His Majesty the King
and asking myself what all the fuss was about, without giving
me anything positive to put in the place of that heady patriotism.
But there were compensations. (Para.25)
fuss: too much attention or excitement to unimportant things
to put in the place of: to replace
heady: inclined to go to your head and make you
intoxicated(极其兴奋的) (a heady trend; heady success; heady
days)
Compensation: pay, reward
It made me watch people shouting in joy and support of the King
and wonder what this senseless excitement was all about
although I did not have anything good to replace this exciting or
intoxicating patriotism. But I did get something out of it.
14. She claimed that the Bible was literally inspired. I
countered by saying that the Catholics believed in the
literal inspiration of Saint Jerome’s Vulgate and the two
books were different. Argument flagged. (Para. 26)
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literally inspired: a true historical record; a factual
account of God’s divine plan and prophecies. This is the
belief of fundamentalists.
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Saint Jerome’s Vulgate: The Latin translation of the
Bible, used in a revised form as the Roman Catholic
authorized version
 to flag: to become dull
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“Both Methodists and Catholics believed that their
Books are a true record of the God’s divine plan.” The
author used this example to defy Ruth’s illogical opinion,
therefore the argument became dull because Ruth didn’t
know how to respond to it.
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15. That was too easy, said I restively since there were
more Roman Catholics than Methodists anyway; … (Para.
27)
restively : restlessly, difficult to control one’s emotion
Here, the author pointed out Ruth’s logical error. The
number of people who hold a view is no proof of its
validity.
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16. I slid my arm around her waist and murmured that if we
were counting heads, the Buddhists were the boys for my
money. She fled. The combination of me arm and those
countless Buddhists was too much for her. (Para. 27)
if we were counting heads : if we were talking about the
number of people who believe in this
the Buddhists were the boys for my money : I would bet
on the Buddhists; I am sure, they are greater in number
too much for her: More than she could accept or bear
Note the author’s description of the contrasting
combination of his intimate action and strong defiant
expressions, which eventually made Ruth withdraw and give
up as a grade-two thinker.
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17. I was given the third degree to find out what had
happened. I lost Ruth and gained an undeserved
reputation as a potential libertine. (Para. 28)
to be given the third degree: To be severely questioned
or interrogated
The author lost his girlfriend and won a bad name even
as a grade-two thinker, satisfying himself by finding out
deficiencies but not seeking for the truth. Note the effect
of the author’s self-mockery.
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18. To find out the deficiencies of our elders satisfies the
young ego but does not make for personal security. It took
the swimmer some distance from the shore and left him
there, out of his depth. (Para. 29)
to satisfy one’s ego: To make one fell proud of one’s
ability and cleverness
to be out of his depth :To be in the water that is too
deep for you to stand in and breathe
The author uses this metaphor to express the idea that
grade-two thinking has its limitations. It does not have
anything positive to offer.
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19. I came up in the end with what must always remain
the justification for grade-one thinking. I devised a
coherent system for living. It was a moral system, which
was wholly logical. (Para. 31)
According to the author, grade-one thinking must be
based on a coherent and logical system for living, in other
words, a moral system, without which you cannot prove
yourself to be a grade-one thinker. Judging by the context,
this system probably refers to one’s world outlook and
basic political beliefs and moral principles.
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20. It was Ruth all over again. I had some very good
friends who stood by me, and still do. But my
acquaintances vanished, taking the girls with them. (Para.
32)
all over again: repeated
What had happened to Ruth and me now happened
again. My grade-two thinking frightened away many of
my acquaintances.
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21. Had the game gone too far? In those prewar days, I
stood to lose a great deal, for the sake of a hobby. (Para.
33)
to go too far: to go beyond what is reasonable and
acceptable
game: his grade-two thinking which he takes as a hobby
to stand to lose: to be likely to lose
In those pre-war days when many people were fully
worked up to(逐渐达到) a political frenzy, it was very
dangerous to voice different opinions. You might lose
friends or your job.
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22. Now you are expecting me to describe how I saw the
folly of my ways and came back to the warm nest… (Para.
34)
Now you think I will tell you how I gradually saw my
stupidity in being a grade-two thinker and therefore
decided to give it up and return to the majority of gradethree thinkers.
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23. But you would be wrong. I dropped my hobby and
turned professional. (Para. 35)
But you guessed wrong. I did not drop my hobby of
thinking ( here, we can say he might give up the hobby of
grade-two thinking). Instead I went further and became a
professional thinker.
Ⅵ Questions for discussion
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1. Give a brief description of the three grades of
thinking with your own illustrations.
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2. What kind of thinker are you?
Ⅶ Language focus
1. Vocabulary
Verb: slip, integrate
Noun: rule, integration
Conj. : lest
Idioms of “stand”
2. Grammar Focus
Parallel constructions
Subject complement
Tense & Verb forms
Ⅷ Exercises
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Omitted.
Unit 1 Thinking as a Hobby