Lesson One Thinking as a Hobby
By William Golding
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Aims and objectives：
1. To Grasp The Main Idea And Structure Of The Text
2. To Master The Key Language Points And Grammatical
Structures In The Text
Key Language points:
1.Words & Phrases
2.Structures Of The Text
3. Grammar Focus
3.1.Parallel constructions.
3.2 Subject complement
3.3
Tenses and Verb forms
Difficult points:
1.
Paraphrasing And Understanding Of Some Difficult
Sentences
2. Writing devices 3. Grammar focus
Teaching Mode：
discussion, Appreciation Paraphrase, Practice
Reference Books:
Contemporary College English Teachers’ Manual
A Guide to Contemporary College English And Other
Reference Books
Class division:
12 periods:
1—4
a. Warm up and discussion
b. Background information
c. Text Appreciation
5—10
Detailed Study
11---12. Exercises and Unit test
Interactive Activities:
1. Presentation
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2.Reading Aloud
3. Paraphrasing & Question-answering
4. Translation
5. Discussion
I. Warm up:
1. Please describe the following pictures in detail and depict their symbolic meaning in
your own words.
2. Compare your answer with that of the author, and try to find their symbolic meaning
in the boy’s (the author) eyes.
II. Background information
1. About the author
William Golding (1911-1993), a British writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature
in 1983 , and who is known especially for his novel Lord of the Flies.
When William Golding (1911-1993) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1983, the Nobel Foundation cited: "his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic
narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human
condition in the world of today".
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William Golding’s main works
•
Poems (1934)
•
Lord of the Flies (1954)
•
The Inheritors (1955)
•
Pincher Martin (1956)
•
Free Fall (1959)
•
The Spire (1964)
•
Darkness Visible (1979)
•
The Trilogy Rites of Passage (1980, Booker Prize)
•
Close Quarters (1987)
•
Fire Down Below (1989), republished under the general title To The Ends of
the Earth
Quotations of the author
•
Language fits over experience like a straight-jacket.
•
My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer
over my shoulder.
•
Novelists do not write as birds sing, by the push of nature. It is part of the job
that there should be much routine and some daily stuff on the level of
carpentry.
2. Rodin’s Thinker
Resting on the horizontal panel above the doors, The Thinker became the focal
point of The Gates of Hell and subsequently perhaps the most well-known sculpture
of all time. The athletic-looking figure, inspired by the sculpture of Michelangelo,
depicts a man in sober meditation, yet whose muscles strain with effort—possibly to
evoke a powerful internal struggle. Rodin initially referred to the figure as Dante but
eventually what we know as The Thinker evolved into a more symbolic
representation of creativity, intellect, and above all—thought.
3 . Goddess Venus
•
Venus of Milo
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Venus de Milo (about 150—100 BC) is considered by many art historians to be the
ideal of Hellenistic beauty. It was carved out of marble and stands approximately 205
cm (6 ft 10 in) high.
As Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty, Venus is associated with cultivated fields
and gardens and later identified by the Romans with the Greek Goddess of Love,
Aphrodite.
III. Text Appreciation
1. Theme
Thinking is not just for professional thinkers like philosophers. It is something all
educated people should enjoy doing, and it is considered one of the most precious
qualities in young scholars for the healthy mental development.
2. Structure
Part One (Paras. 1—24 ) about:
How the subject of thinking was first brought
up to the author and his understanding of the nature of “grade-three thinking”
Part Two (Paras. 25—29) about: The author ’s analysis of the nature of “grade-two
thinking
Part Three (Paras. 30—35) about : The author ’s understanding of the “grade-one
thinking” and his desire for it
3. Writing Devices
1) Metonymy
In metonymy, an idea is evoked or named by means of term designating some
associated notion. “It” stands for “thought” in grammar, but actually refers to Mr.
Houghton, and it is vulgar to refer to a girl as a skirt.
2) Synecdoche
Synecdoche can be included in metonymy, and it refers to the substitution of the part
for the whole or of the whole for the part. E.g.
If we were counting heads, the Buddhists were the boys for my money. (Para. 27)
(head = person)
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There are two mouths to feed in my family.
(mouth = person)
God bless the hands that prepared this food.
(hand = person)
3) Irony
Irony is the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the
opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. e.g.
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)
Mr. Houghton was given to high-minded monologues about the good life, sexless and
full of duty. (Para. 20)
4) Hyperbole
It is the deliberate use of overstatement or exaggeration to achieve emphasis. E.g.
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)
4. Questions for discussion
1). What does “hobby” refer to?
2). Why does author use this word in the title?
It’s very interesting for the author to use “hobby” in the title. By using this word he
means that thinking is not just for professional thinkers like philosophers. It is
something all educated people should enjoy doing. This special interest is often
referred to as “idle curiosity”, and it is considered one of the most precious qualities
in young scholars.
3). How are the three statuettes described by the boy and what do they symbolize?
Scan the text and list out the related information.
Venus:
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naked with nothing but a bath towel; no arms; in an unfortunate positionfrozen in
panic, worrying about the towel
busying beig beautifuln
Leopard
crouching; naked
ready to spring down at the top drawer from the cupboard
busy being natural
Rodin’s Thinker
naked, muscular, who sat, looking down; his chin on his fist and elbow on his knee
utterly miserable; contemplate the hindquarters of the leopard in endless gloom
not miserable, an image of pure thought
4) What do the three statuettes symbolize?
What effect do the boy’s descriptions
have?
They represented the whole of life. The leopard stood for all animal needs or desires;
Venus stood for love and the Thinker stood for thinking as a uniquely human feature.
5) How did the author describe the following figures to demonstrate his analyses of
different grades of thinking?
Headmaster: nothing human in his eyes, no possibility of communication (not
understand his students)
Me, the boy: delinquent, not integrated, misunderstanding the symbolic meaning of
the statuettes, couldn’t think
Mr. Houghton: ruined by alcohol, preaching high-moral life but showing hypocritical
and prejudiced nature
A pious lady: who hated German with the proposition of loving enemies
Ruth: foolish argument, illogical and fled at lastBritish Prime Minister: talking
about the great benefit conferring on India by jailing Nehru and Gandhi
American politicians: talking about peace and refusing to join the League of Nations
Me, the author: not easily stampede, detect contradiction; turned into a professional
thinker
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5. The summary of the characteristics of the three grades of thinkingThinking
characteristics
examples
Grade-three
Ignorance, hypocrisy,
Mr. Houghton, nine
tens of people
prejudice, self-satisfied,
contradictions
Grade-two
Detecting contradictions;
do not stampede easily;
Ruth, the author,
(maybe) some
acquaintances
lag behind, a withdrawal,
destroy but not create
Grade-oneTo find out what is truth,
far and few between, only in
booksbased on a logical moral system
IV. Detailed Study
Part 1: (para 1-24)
Sub-part 1 (para 1-14)
1. come to a conclusion （para.1）: other collocations of “ conclusion:
to reach/arrive at a ～; to draw a ～ (from);
to jump to conclusions: to come to a decision about sb.or sth. too quickly, before
one has thought
about all the facts, before careful consideration
2. grammar school（para.2）： (In Britain, it refers to a school for children over 11
who are academically bright,
Now there are few grammar schools.
(In the USA, it used to mean an elementary school but it is now considered
old-fashioned )
3. It is/was +focal/emphetic element +that/who clause（para.2）: emphatic/cleft
sentence
eg. The headmaster of my grammar school first brought the subject of thinking
before me.
Can you rewrite the sentence by emphasizing the underlined parts?
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What about the following sentence?
Pat released the present’s illness to the reporters at the party last night.
4. statuette （para.2） -ette: small
eg. kitchen---kitchenette; cigar----cigarette; novel---novelette
5. nothing but（para.2）: nothing except; only
eg. If someone wants to borrow money from you, you can refuse it by saying
I’m sorry I cannot help you, I’m nothing but a student
I know most of you care nothing but TEM 4
I look down upon him. He was nothing but a coward.
The doctor told her that it was nothing but a cold.
eg. Though he is a little boy, he is anything but scared when speaking before so
many people.
6. to be/seem in a panic (state) /v. into a panic (action)（para.2）: fearfully;
in
a state of sudden uncontrollable quick-spreading terror or anxiety;
eg. Criminals at large are always in a panic when they see police cars or hear
the siren. So are the children when they have done sth wrong at school.
What if someone suddenly calls “Earthquake/Fire”? First you are thrown
into a panic and then you run away as quickly as you can.
The audience were thrown into a panic when the fire started.
She got into a panic when she thought she’d forgotten to lock the door.
7. lest（para.2）: conj.
for fear that;(formal and old fashioned) to make sure that sth
would not happen
(the subjunctive mood is used in the clause, or some modal verbs as can, may,
might, etc)
eg. Some students like to sink their heads in class lest teachers ask them to answer
questions.
Also some of you don’t like to express themselves in English because they
are afraid they might make some mistakes.
We ran as fast as we could lest we miss the train.
He did not tell his father about the exam lest he get mad at him.
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(Please study more examples on p13)
9. to slip（para.2）:to fall by sliding
(Please study the word on p13 )
10. farther vs further（para.2）:both refer s to physical distance whereas the latter refers
to degree,
time and all other figurative uses
I’m too tired to walk any farther/further.
I’ll further explain the text next time/
Can you give some examples?
11. (not) to be in a position to do sth: （para.2） (not) to be able to do sth because you
(do not)
have the ability, money or power to do it
eg. You are not in a position to earn money to support your family.
After graduation and you have found a job, you’ll be in a financial position
to help your family.
Now you are not in a position to be a simultaneous interpreter, either.
Nor am I .We must work hard . We still have a long way to go.
to symbolize (para.3): to represent; to stand for
eg. Dragon symbolizes the ancient emperor.
The letter ‘V’ symbolizes (is symbolic of/a symbol of) victory.
symbol (n.) symbolic (adj.)
Rich life symbolizes (is symbolic of/a symbol of) fast development of a nation.
to be +adj./n vs be being adj/n. (para.3):
When the verb “be” is used in the continuous tense/progressive aspect (either present
or past) it
could be paraphrased as “act as”. This special use implies a way of behavior which
is
regarded as temporary . Thus it is different from the non-progressive form be +adj.
which
implies a permanent quality. Please note that certain adjectives such as tall, large,
green, etc.
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which refers to a permanent quality cannot be used with this form.
eg. The leopard was Nature, and he was being natural.
Don’t you think Lao Wang is being helpful today?
I was wondering what the children are up to. They are being quiet today.
Don’t you know that you are being a nuisance？
*She is being tall.
*They are being black people
17. be busy doing/with sth. (para.3):
Can you give some examples?
18. had better…. hadn’t S?
The author had better explain that he was a frequent visitor to the headmaster’s study,
hadn’t ____?
19. to integrate (para.4):: to combine; to unite; to unify; to mix; to merge; to join or help
someone
to join in the life and customs of a group or society
eg. It is risky but necessary to integrate into the world market.
It took many years to integrate those millions of immigrants.
(dis)integrated (adj.)
(dis)integration (n)
integral ( adj.) (Please study the words
on pp13-14)
20. if anything: (para.4): on the contrary
21. hindquarters (para.9) hind: adj. at the back or forming the back part
eg. hind legs;
behind
to realize with hindsight/with the wisdom/benefit of hindsight: understanding the
nature or the
reason for an event after it has actually happened
hindmost: superlative degree of hind 最后的
Everyone for himself and let the devil take the hindmost .
22. on one occasion (para.13): at a time when sth happens; once
on several/special/formal occasions:
on occasion : fml: from time to time; occasionally
23. leap to one’s feet (para.13):: to jump up
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Can you think of other expressions with “to one’s feet”？
To rise ~=stand up ; to struggle ~; to stagger
~ `; to help sb ~ ; to pull sb to his
feet
24. to endow. sb. with sth. (para.15): to provide sb./sth
with a natural quality or
talent
eg. Who is the most humorous person in our class? ---We can say -: He is
endowed with great humor=God has (not )endowed him with much humor./(If
none, well, God has not endowed anyone in our class with humor)
if a girl is beautiful and bright, we can say She is one of those lucky girls who
are endowed with both intelligence and great beauty.
As we know that dandong is small but very nice town with pleasant weather. I can
say proudly:
Our city is endowed with pleasant weather and beautiful scenery.
I’m sure your hometown is also endowed with some beauty. Tell us about it/Share it
with us, ok?
25. to leave sb/sth out:(para.15):1) to fail to include
2) to fail to accept or make welcome into a social group
eg. You’ve left out the most important word in this sentence
I explain the text in great detail lest I leave out any language points.
If you don’t respond to my questions, I will always be left out/he always
feels left out.
26. to be ( much) given to (doing) sth(para.20):: to be habitually inclined to do (sth)
eg. They were much given to hasty decisions/senseless gossip
Yong girls are much given to crying when sth sad happens to them.
27. of itself (para. 20): by itself; on its own
28. in this/one’s instance(para. 20): on this occasion ;in this/your case/example
(pay attention to the Chinese translation in different situations)
eg. Usually I support people who take such actions, but in this instance I have to
be very clear about my attitude towards them.
I cannot allow this to happen and there is no exception in your instance.
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29. to think well/ill of sb(para. 20). to have a good/bad opinion of sb; to think
(un)favorably of sb;
to (dis)like sb.
Can you give some examples?
30. disinterested vs uninterested: (para. 23)
disinterested: free from bias and self-interest and therefore impartial and objective;
uninterested: not interested
(please do Ex 5—2) (p21)
33. out- +verb (para. 24): beyond; further；bigger/larger/more than..
eg. to outnumber : We were completely outnumbered by the enemy.
(The enemy were more in numbers than us)
to outlive: She outlived her brother. (She lived longer than her brother)
to outgrow: He’s outgrown his clothes (He has become too big for them)
to outrun:
Liuxiang outruns all his other competitors in 100-meter men’s
hurdle race (running faster than others)
34.. to fall into the other fault(para. 25): to go to the other extreme
35. to lag behind(para. 25): to move or develop more slowly than others
Can you give some examples?
36. to put in the place of(para. 25): to replace
37. to confer sth (up)on sb: (para. 25) (fml) to offer or give sth to sb.
38.for my money(para. 27): (infml) in my opinion; I bet; in my opinion
39. be too much for sb(para. 27):. more than sb could bear or accept
40.to be given the third degree(para. 28): (infml) 1)to be beaten up by police
2）to be severely questioned or interrogated
41. to make for (para. 29): to be likely to have a certain result; to make sth. possible
eg. I think this book will make for very interesting reading.
This widening gap between the rich and poor will not make for social stability.
42. to set out to do sth(para. 29) to begin to do sth
Eg. We set out to paint the whole house but finished only the front part.
I think you are deliberately setting out to annoy me.
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43. few and far between(para. 30): very few (used as a predicative)
More idiomatic pairs of adjectives like this:
safe and sound; dead and gone; cut and dried; hale and hearty; short and sweat; null
and void;
meek and mild; free and easy; fair and square; black and blue
44. to aspire to/after sth(para. 30): to have a strong desire to be or to achieve
aspiring (adj.) aspiration(ｎ)
eg. She aspires to a good command of the English language.
Marilyn Monroe aspired to be an actress.
I can fully understand young people’s aspirations today.
He is one of the most aspiring students in our class.
45. at the best of times(para. 31): even when the conditions are most favorable
46.to come up with ( a plan, reply, etc) (para. 31): (infml) to think of; produce
47. to do away with(para. 31): to eliminate; to get rid of; to diminish
Can you give some examples?
48.all over again (para. 32): repeated
49. to stand to lose/gain: (para. 32) to be likely to gain /lose
(Please study more
idiomatic uses of
“to stand” on p15 )
50. to go too far(para. 33): to go beyond what is reasonable and acceptable
51. for the sake of(para. 33): in order to help; improve; or bring advantages
52. to be content with/to do sth(para. 34): to be satisfied/happy with/to do sth
Can you give some examples?
V. Assignment:
Write an essay in about 200 words on the topic: What Kind of Thinker Are You?
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