Unit 5
Choose to Be Alone on
Purpose
Background Information（1）
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Henry David Thoreau (12 July 1817 – 6 May 1862）
was an American author, naturalist,
transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic,
philosopher, and abolitionist who is best known
for Walden, a reflection upon simple living in
natural surroundings, and his essay, Civil
Disobedience, an argument for individual
resistance to civil government in moral
opposition to an unjust state.
Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and
poetry total over 20 volumes.
Background Information（1）
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Among his lasting contributions were his
writings on natural history and philosophy,
where he anticipated the methods and findings
of ecology and environmental history, two
sources of modern day environmentalism.
He was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures
that attacked the Fugitive Slave Law while
praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and
defending the abolitionist John Brown. Thoreau’s
philosophy of nonviolent resistance influenced
the political thoughts and actions of such later
figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Background Information（2）
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
John Milton II (9 December 1608 – 8 November
1674) was an English poet, author, polemicist
and civil servant for the Commonwealth of
England. He is best known for his epic poem
Paradise Lost and for his treatise condemning
censorship, Areopagitica.
Milton was writing at a time of religious and
political flux in England. His poetry and prose
reflect deep convictions, often reacting to
contemporary circumstances, but it is not always
easy to locate the writer in an obvious religious
category.
Background Information（2）
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His views may be described as broadly
Protestant, and he was an accomplished,
scholarly man of letters, polemical writer and an
official in the government of Oliver Cromwell.
After his death, Milton became the subject of
partisan biographies, such as those by Edward
Phillips and John Toland, and a hostile account
by Anthony à Wood. Samuel Johnson described
him as "an acrimonious and surly republican";
but William Hayley's 1796 biography called him
the "greatest English author", at a time when his
reputation was particularly in play.
Background Information（3）
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William Wordsworth was an English poet (17701850). Orphaned at 13, Wordsworth attended
Cambridge Univ., but remained rootless until
1795, when a legacy made possible a reunion
with his sister. He became friends with Colerdige,
with whom he wrote Lyrical Ballads, which
launched the English Romantic Movement. His
poetry is perhaps most original in its vision and
creative imagination. In 1843, he became
England’s poet laureate. He is regarded s the
central figure in the initiation of English
Romanticism.
Text Structure Analysis:
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Part One (Para 1-2):
Part Two
(Para
3-10):
Living
alone–
a common
social phenomenon
Who Three
are often
living
alone?
Part
(Para
11-13):
Partcomments
Four (Para on
14-16):
The
the phenomenon of
Conclusion.
solitude
•
Summary of the Text
As a sort of US national disease, lots of people
are living alone, some divorced, some
widowed and some never yet committed. But
to be alone on purpose is of American hero.
Solitude is liked by poets and philosophers for
inspiration, and improved by being voluntary.
Although those living with others may enjoy
temporary solitude, those living in solitude
may suffer from the need to talk, thus
behaving strangely and talking at length to
themselves or to their pets. The best cure for
this is to stay rational, settle down and find
grace and pleasure in one’s own condition
Words and Expressions
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by count
cast out
solitary
set forth
dictate
soak
choke
at length
seal up
1. by count: by calculating the number of
units in a group (Para 1)
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By our count, that’s the fifth cake
you’ve eaten.
我们数了一下，这是你吃的第五块蛋糕。
By my count, there are 270 people
present.
有270人出席，我统计了一下。
2. cast out: get rid of
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(Para 2)
The poor fellow was cast out by the
landlady when his last penny had gone.
那个可怜的人花掉最后一个便士之后，就被房东
太太赶了出去。
He was cast out of his home at the
age of 14.
他在14岁时被家里赶了出来。
3. solitary: alone, with no other people or
things around (Para 2)
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The young man is solitary by nature.
这个年轻人生性就相当孤僻。
The solitary boat looked tiny in the
sea.
孤舟在大海上显得渺小。
4. set forth: start a journey; present sth. or
make it known (Para 4)
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They set forth on their hike
immediately after breakfast.
他们早饭后马上起程开始徒步旅行。
The president set forth his views in a
television broadcast.
在他的前言中这位作者写出了这本书的理由。
5. dictate: say words aloud for sb. Else to
write down; tell sb. what to do (Para 6)
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He dictated a letter to his secretary.
他向秘书口授了一封信。
Conscience dictates truthfulness.
良心促使人吐真言。
6. soak: remain in liquid; enter through the
small opening of a surface (Para 11)
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What I need is soaking in a hot tub.
我所需要的是泡在热浴缸里。
The ink had soaked through the thin
paper onto the picture beneath.
墨水渗透到这张薄纸下面的图片上去了。
7. choke: become or make sb. Become
unable to speak; stop breathing (Para 12)
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Anger choked his words.
他气得说不出话来。
She almost choked to death in the
thick fumes.
她差点被浓烟呛死。
8. at length: taking a long time, fully; after a
long time, eventually (Para 13)
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He went at great length about his
various illnesses.
他唠唠叨叨地讲起了他得的各种疾病。
“ I’m still not sure,” he said at length.
“我还是不肯定，”他终于说了。
9. seal up: close a container tightly or fit a
crack (Para 15)
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Make sure the parcel of examinaiton
scripts is properly sealed up.
确保装试卷的袋子密封好了。
He sealed up a drawer so that it
cannot be opened.
他封住抽屉使它不能打开。
Questions for discussion
1. Why is loneliness called a national disease in the
U.S.?
2. How will temporary absence of friends and
acquaintances affect a person?
3. How is a solitary man advised to enjoy his life？
4. What can be inferred from the passage about the
author’s attitudes towards ordianry people’s
condition of living alone?
Writing
2003.1
四级考试作文及范文
It Pays to Be Honest
1. 当前社会上存在许多不诚实的现象。
2. 诚实利人利己，做人应该诚实。
Writing
It Pays to Be Honest
In our everyday life, we often hear of stories of
people being cheated by dishonest people. For
example, consumers go to buy a chicken and come
back with a chicken whose stomach is filled with
sand. Besides, many people have had the
experience of being overcharged for a certain
service or being charged for some service which
they have never enjoyed.
Writing
Such instances are so common in our current
society that people have come the conclusion that
there are few honest people nowadays.
However, people should realize that being honest
is both beneficial to others and to themselves as well.
In Nanjing, recently the story of a tax driver has
been told by many people. This driver has always
been kind and honest to his passengers and his
fellow drivers. People like him very much and feel
secure to travel in his car.
Writing
One day, the mother of the taxi driver suddenly
fell ill and had to be sent to the hospital at once.
Just at this critical moment, a car stopped on the
roadside and the driver helped his mother into his
car. His mother arrived in the hospital in time and
soon recovered. From his own experiences, the taxi
driver often says to people that it pays to be honest.
If everyone is honest, how wonderful our society
will be!