Unit
Unit 7
7
The Chaser
Audiovisual Supplement
Cultural Information
Watch the video clip and answer the following questions.
1. Why does the man choose to propose to his girlfriend
in the Starlight room?
It is because the Starlight room is a romantic and
magic place to propose.
2. Why does the woman say no to his proposal?
It is because she feels he is not ready for marriage.
Audiovisual Supplement
Cultural Information
Audiovisual Supplement
Cultural Information
From The Bachelor
Man:
It has been three years since our first date. Time
has really gone by fast.
Woman: Yep.
Man:
And over the past few weeks, I have been doing
some thinking, mainly thinking about the human
condition. A lot of life comes down to making
sacrifices and deciding which direction is my life
gonna go. Could you please leave? Thank you
very much.
Woman: Are you OK?
Man:
Yeah.
Woman: OK?
Audiovisual Supplement
Man:
Cultural Information
A lot of life comes down to deciding what am I
willing to sacrifice because obviously if you
choose one path in life, well, you know, you
can’t choose the other. That’s kind of where I
found myself lately, ever since we, you and I, in
our relationship, en, have reached that place.
Woman: That place.
Man:
The upshot is “you win.”
Woman: “You win”? Was that a proposal?
Man:
“You win” was just the last part of it. The whole
thing was a proposal. The “you win” had a
context. Aren’t you even gonna look at it?
Woman: But, first, can we just, can we retrace the
mental steps that led to “you win”? Like when
you say you and I have reached that place. What
place?
Audiovisual Supplement
Cultural Information
Man:
You know what I mean. Shit or get off the pot?
Woman: Did you really just say “shit or get off the pot”?
Right here in the starlight room?
Man:
What is a big deal?
Woman: Why can’t you just say “fish or cut bait”?
Man:
Because we always say “shit or get off the pot.”
Everybody says “shit or get off the pot.”
Woman: Not in the Starlight Room!
What is it with the Starlight Room?
Man:
Woman: Magic, Jimmy. Romance. You know, the whole
reason why you come up here to propose. You
see the lights in the city. You have a wonderful
meal. You listen to beautiful music. And it casts
this romantic spell. When you say “shit or get
off the pot”, all the magic just suddenly
disappears. Now all you have left is bowel
trouble.
Audiovisual Supplement
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Man:
Woman:
Cultural Information
I am sorry. I didn’t think you’d get so upset over
a figure of speech.
It’s not the words, Jimmy. It’s the whole
approach. God, it’s as if you deliberately …
What? What?
You don’t want to marry me, do you?
I just proposed to you.
Yeah, but the way that you proposed, you
weren’t asking me to marry you. You were
asking me to say no.
Just put it on. All right? Please.
If you don’t want to marry me, Jimmy, I don’t
want to be married to a guy who doesn’t want
to get married.
Audiovisual Supplement
Cultural Information
1. Proposal of Marriage
• The proposal of marriage is an
event where one person in a
relationship asks for the
other’s hand in marriage.
• If accepted, it marks the
initiation of engagement.
• It often has a ritual quality,
sometimes involving the presentation of an engagement
ring and a formalized asking of a question such as “Will
you marry me?”
• Often the proposal is a surprise.
• In many Western cultures, the tradition has been for
the man to propose to the woman.
Audiovisual Supplement
Cultural Information
2. Engagement
• An engagement is a promise to marry,
and also the period of time between
proposal and marriage — which may be
lengthy or trivial.
• During this period, a couple is said to
be affianced, betrothed, engaged to
be married, or simply engaged.
• Future brides and grooms are often referred to as fiancée
or fiancés respectively (from the French word “fiancé”).
• The duration of the courtship varies vastly.
Audiovisual Supplement
Cultural Information
• Long engagements were once common in formal
arranged marriages.
• In 2007, the average engagement time in the United
States was 17 months, but the figure around the
world varies greatly depending on culture and
customs.
Text Analysis
Structural Analysis
The short story is a fable of love with a strong sarcastic
tone. The protagonist, Alan Austen, wants to find an easy
solution to the problem of love by purchasing a love potion.
However，it’s not the love potion that the old man intends
to sell primarily, but “life cleaner”.
The theme of “The Chaser” is the cynicism of
experience, portrayed on a field of Alan’s youthful naivety
and the old man’s pessimistic certainty.
The title of this short story is somehow a pun. “A
chaser” can be a person that pursues someone like in “a
woman chaser”. In addition, it can refer to a weaker
alcoholic drink taken after a strong one. A whisky, like the
potion, intoxicates. A beer chaser, like the “life cleaner”,
mollifies the harshness of the spirits. The potion and the
poison go together like a strong alcoholic drink and a
chaser.
Text Analysis
Structural Analysis
This short story, which combines elements of horror
and love, is built almost entirely through dialogue
between a young man, Alan Austen, who is deeply in love
and wants to possess his lover entirely, and an unnamed
old man who believes in a life free of romantic
involvement.
In “The Chaser” John Collier uses:
the dramatic irony of the title to initialize a cynical
landscape;
and the understatement of the ending to enclose the
cynical world of the old man, a world which Alan is
entering.
Text Analysis
Structural Analysis
Paragraph 1: In this part, the protagonist, Alan Austen,
has been introduced.
Paragraphs 2-12: The old man is trying to sell his
mixture.
Paragraphs 13-45: Austen got to know about the love
potion and in the end bought it.
Detailed Reading
The Chaser
John Collier
1 Alan Austen, as nervous as a kitten, went up
certain dark and creaky stairs in the neighborhood of
Pell Street, and peered about for a long time on the
dim hallway before he found the name he wanted
written obscurely on one of the doors.
Detailed Reading
2
He pushed open this door, as he had been told to do,
and found himself in a tiny room, which contained no
furniture but a plain kitchen table, a rocking-chair, and
an ordinary chair. On one of the dirty buff-coloured walls
were a couple of shelves, containing in all perhaps a
dozen bottles and jars.
3 An old man sat in the rocking-chair, reading a
newspaper. Alan, without a word, handed him the card he
had been given. “Sit down, Mr. Austen,” said the old man
very politely. “I am glad to make your acquaintance.”
Detailed Reading
4 “Is it true,” asked Alan, “that you have a certain
mixture that has … er … quite extraordinary effects?”
5 “My dear sir,” replied the old man, “my stock in trade
is not very large — I don’t deal in laxatives and teething
mixtures — but such as it is, it is varied. I think nothing
I sell has effects which could be precisely described as
ordinary.”
6 “Well, the fact is …” began Alan.
7 “Here, for example,” interrupted the old man,
reaching for a bottle from the shelf. “Here is a liquid as
colourless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible
in coffee, wine, or any other beverage. It is also quite
imperceptible to any known method of autopsy.”
Detailed Reading
8 “Do you mean it is a poison?” cried Alan, very much
horrified.
9 “Call it a glove-cleaner if you like,” said the old man
indifferently. “Maybe it will clean gloves. I have never
tried. One might call it a life-cleaner. Lives need cleaning
sometimes.”
10 “I want nothing of that sort,” said Alan.
11 “Probably it is just as well,” said the old man. “Do
you know the price of this? For one teaspoonful, which is
sufficient, I ask five thousand dollars. Never less. Not a
penny less.”
12 “I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive,” said
Alan apprehensively.
Detailed Reading
13 “Oh dear, no,” said the old man. “It would be no
good charging that sort of price for a love potion, for
example. Young people who need a love potion very
seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they
would not need a love potion.”
14 “I am glad to hear that,” said Alan.
15 “I look at it like this,” said the old man. “Please a
customer with one article, and he will come back when
he needs another. Even if it is more costly. He will save
up for it, if necessary.”
16 “So,” said Alan, “you really do sell love potions?”
Detailed Reading
17 “If I did not sell love potions,” said the old man,
reaching for another bottle, “I should not have
mentioned the other matter to you.
It is only when
one is in a position to oblige that one can afford to be
so confidential. ”
18 “And these potions,” said Alan. “They are not
just … just … er …”
19 “Oh, no,” said the old man. “Their effects are
permanent, and extend far beyond the mere casual
impulse. But they include it. Oh, yes they include it.
Bountifully, insistently. Everlastingly.”
20 “Dear me!” said Alan, attempting a look of
scientific detachment. “How very interesting!”
Detailed Reading
21 “But consider the spiritual side,” said the old man.
22 “I do, indeed,” said Alan.
23
“For indifference,” said the old man, “they
substitute devotion. For scorn, adoration. Give one tiny
measure of this to the young lady — its flavour is
imperceptible in orange juice, soup, or cocktails — and
however gay and giddy she is, she will change altogether.
She will want nothing but solitude and you.”
24 “I can hardly believe it,” said Alan. “She is so fond
of parties.”
25 “She will not like them any more,” said the old
man. “She will be afraid of the pretty girls you may
meet.”
Detailed Reading
26 “She will actually be jealous?” cried Alan in a rapture.
“Of me?”
27 “Yes, she will want to be everything to you.”
28 “She is, already. Only she doesn’t care about it.”
29 “She will, when she has taken this. She will care
intensely. You will be her sole interest in life.”
30 “Wonderful!” cried Alan.
31 “She will want to know all you do,” said the old man.
“All that has happened to you during the day. Every word
of it. She will want to know what you are thinking about,
why you smile suddenly, why you are looking sad.”
32 “That is love!” cried Alan.
Detailed Reading
33 “Yes,” said the old man. “How carefully she will
look after you! She will never allow you to be tired, to
sit in a draught, to neglect your food. If you are an hour
late, she will be terrified. She will think you are killed,
or that some siren has caught you.”
34 “I can hardly imagine Diana like that!” cried Alan,
overwhelmed with joy.
35 “You will not have to use your imagination,” said
the old man. “And, by the way, since there are always
sirens, if by any chance you should, later on, slip a
little, you need not worry. She will forgive you, in the
end. She will be terribly hurt, of course, but she will
forgive you — in the end.”
36 “That will not happen,” said Alan fervently.
Detailed Reading
37 “Of course not,” said the old man. “But, if it did,
you need not worry. She would never divorce you. Oh,
no! And, of course,
she will never give you the least,
the very least, grounds for — uneasiness.”
38 “And how much,” said Alan, “is this wonderful
mixture?”
39 “It is not as dear,” said the old man, “as the glovecleaner, or life-cleaner, as I sometimes call it. No. That
is five thousand dollars, never a penny less. One has to
be older than you are, to indulge in that sort of thing.
One has to save up for it.”
40 “But the love potion?” said Alan.
Detailed Reading
41 “Oh, that,” said the old man, opening the drawer in
the kitchen table, and taking out a tiny, rather dirtylooking phial. “That is just a dollar.”
42 “I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” said Alan,
watching him fill it.
43 “I like to oblige,” said the old man. “Then customers
come back, later in life, when they are better off, and
want more expensive things. Here you are. You will find it
very effective.”
44 “Thank you again,” said Alan. “Good-bye.”
45 “Au revoir,” said the man.
Detailed Reading
What is the image of Alan Austen in the first part?
Alan Austen is depicted as a timid, skeptical and
hesitant character. Through descriptions like “as
nervous as a kitten,” “peering about for a long
time on the dim hallway”, the writer creates a
sense of apprehension.
Detailed Reading
Why do you think the old man told Austen about the lifecleaner before selling the love potion?
The sophisticated old man had encountered many
young men who had been in the grip of romantic desire
before, but who eventually got tired of the possessive
love they had experienced. He knew for sure that
Austen’s possessive love wouldn’t last long. It would
eventually bore and repel him. He expected that when
his enthusiastic passion changed into hatred, Austen
would come to him again, because he had already seen
those disillusioned customers return to buy the
“chaser” so that they could be free from the women
for whom they had previously bought the love potion.
Detailed Reading
What is the implied meaning of the old man’s remark,
“Young people who need a love potion very seldom have
five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a
love potion”
What the old man means is that a young man who falls
in love one-sidedly is seldom rich enough to win a girl’s
heart; if he were rich enough, it would be much easier
for him to win the girl’s hand. His words imply that
money is one of the crucial factors for love. If a man is
not rich, he can rarely expect to be loved by a girl.
Detailed Reading
What is Austen’s understanding of love?
Austen was filled with illusions and unrealistic
expectations of love. To him, love meant the entire
possession of the lover. When the old man talked about
the magic effect of the love potion and described the
expectant possessive love, Austen cried “That is love!”,
which suggests that he was overwhelmed with joy.
Detailed Reading
What does the old man’s remark in Paragraph 39 “… one
has to be older than you are, to indulge in that sort of
thing” mean?
Young people tend to be over-passionate for love,
sometimes senselessly and irrationally, while the old,
just like the old man who sells the mixtures, would
take a cool and sensible, sometimes even cynical
attitude toward love.
Detailed Reading
Class Activity
Role play
Work in pairs and role play the dialogue.
Make sure you’ve tried your best to learn the lines by
heart.
You can also ask a fellow student to supply a prompt.
Then discuss with each other how you understand the
two roles in the story.
Detailed Reading
peer v.
look very carefully or hard, especially as if not able to see
clearly
e.g. She sat next to me, peering through the windscreen.
Comparison: peer & peep
peep: look at sth. quickly and secretly, esp. through a
hole or other small opening
e.g. His door was ajar and she couldn’t resist peeping
in.
Detailed Reading
make sb’s acquaintance
meet sb. for the first time
e.g. That evening he made the acquaintance of a young
actress.
Detailed Reading
laxatives and teething mixtures
Laxatives (or purgatives) are foods, compounds, or drugs
taken to induce bowel movements, most often taken to
treat constipation.
Teething mixture is a preparation which consists of a syrup
designed to cure the teething pain.
Detailed Reading
imperceptible a.
that cannot be noticed or felt because so small, slight or
gradual
e.g. an imperceptible change in temperature
Martha’s hesitation was almost imperceptible.
Derivation:
perceive (v.), perception (n.), perceptible (a.),
imperceptible (a.), imperceptibly (ad.)
Detailed Reading
autopsy n.
the examination of a dead body to determine the cause of
death
e.g. Since the family opposed an autopsy, the death was
officially listed as drowning.
They carried out/performed an autopsy.
Synonym:
post-mortem
Detailed Reading
apprehensively ad.
full of anxiety about the future
e.g. They looked at each other apprehensively.
Derivation:
apprehensive (a.), apprehension (n.)
Detailed Reading
Practice:
每次儿子骑摩托车出门，她都会担心儿子的安全问题。
She was apprehensive about/for her son’s safety
every time he went out on his motorcycle.
学生们正在焦急地等待着他们的期末考试成绩。
Students are waiting with apprehension for their
final examination results.
Detailed Reading
love potion
a magical potion, drug or charm that
supposedly has the power to make a
person fall in love with another or
excite sexual passion especially
toward a particular person, notably
the one who gives it to the imbiber
Detailed Reading
oblige v.
1. do sb. a favor; fulfill the wishes of
e.g. She asked him to lend her his car, and he willingly
obliged (her).
I should/would be obliged if you could speak louder.
2. make it necessary for sb. to do sth.
e.g. The heavy snow obliged me to abandon the car and
continued on foot.
Eric felt obliged to resign after such an unpleasant
quarrel with the vice president.
Detailed Reading
detachment n.
the state of not reacting or being involved in sth. in an
emotional way
e.g. She studied the blood with detachment.
Derivation:
detach (v.), detached (a.)
Detailed Reading
substitute v.
put sth. or sb. in place of another
Comparison:
substitute A for B = replace B with A
e.g. They were expected to substitute violence for
dialogue.
The doctor advised him to substitute low-fat
cheese for butter.
substitute for: replace
e.g. As the pianist suddenly fell ill the day before the
concert, we had to find someone to substitute for
him.
Detailed Reading
substitute n.
sb. or sth. that takes the place of another
e.g. If dairy milk disagrees with your stomach, soya
milk could be a good substitute.
Detailed Reading
giddy a.
not serious; too interested in amusement
e.g. Isabel’s giddy young sister-in-law
Detailed Reading
rapture n.
great joy and delight
e.g. They stared with rapture at the new opera house.
Smith was in / went into raptures at / about the
news.
Derivation:
rapturous (a.), rapturously (ad.)
Detailed Reading
draught n.
a current of air blowing through a room
e.g. Heavy curtains at the windows cut out draughts.
Detailed Reading
overwhelm v.
1. give sb. a particular feeling very strongly
e.g. The family of the victim was overwhelmed by / with
grief.
The need to talk to someone, anyone, overwhelmed
me.
2. make powerless by using force
e.g. Government troops overwhelmed the rebels.
The attacker overwhelmed the young man by
squeezing his throat.
Detailed Reading
Derivation:
overwhelming (a.): very large or very great
e.g. The overwhelming majority of small businesses go
broke within the first twelve months.
Detailed Reading
fervently ad.
with deep sincere feelings
e.g. It is a cause for which we have campaigned
fervently these past four years.
We fervently believe in the peaceful reunification
of the motherland.
Derivation:
fervent (a.), fervency (n.)
e.g. a fervent desire to win
There is a growing sense of national fervency in
the state.
Detailed Reading
phial n.
a small bottle, especially for liquid medicines
e.g. a phial of blood
Detailed Reading
I think nothing I sell has effects which could be
precisely described as ordinary.
Paraphrase:
I think everything I sell could be well deemed as
extraordinary.
Detailed Reading
It is only when one is in a position to oblige that one
can afford to be so confidential.
Paraphrase:
Just because I have decided to do you a favour / sell
you the love potions, I feel safe telling you so much
about my other medicines.
Detailed Reading
Their effects are permanent, and extend far beyond
the mere casual impulse.
Paraphrase:
They have much more everlasting effects than only
the momentary impulse.
Detailed Reading
“For indifference,” said the old man, “they substitute
devotion. For scorn, adoration.”
Paraphrase:
“They, the love potions,” said the old man, “will
help change the girl’s attitude towards you. She will
no longer hold you in contempt. Instead, She will
begin to give you her deep-felt love and care.”
Detailed Reading
She will never give you the least, the very least,
grounds for uneasiness.
Paraphrase:
You will never find any reason on her part to feel
uneasy or worried.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Word Derivation
Phrase Practice
Synonym / Antonym
Writing
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Fill in the blank in each sentence with an appropriate
phrasal verb or collocation from the text.
1) He _____________
reached for
the telephone as soon as it rang.
2) He occasionally _____________
indulges in
deals in
3) The gallery only _________
that sort of luxuries.
modern paintings.
substituted for
4) In the past, oil has ________________
materials.
5) They are ___________
better off
the manager.
certain natural
since the husband was made
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
reach for: extend one’s hand or arm in an attempt to
touch or grasp sth.
我伸手去拿离自己最近的文件
e.g.
夹。
I reached for the nearest folder.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
indulge in: allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of sth.;
become involved in (an activity, typically one
that is undesirable or disapproved of)
e.g. 我们不妨做些白日梦吧。
Let us indulge in a little daydreaming.
他整日沉湎于交谈和饮酒。
He indulged heavily in conversation and drink.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
deal in: buy and sell particular goods as a business
e.g.
他们主要经营珍稀书籍。
They mainly deal in rare books.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
substitute for: perform the same job as another thing or
to take its place
e.g.
我找了人来顶替我。
I found someone to substitute for me.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
better off: having more money than you had in the past or
more money than most other people
e.g. 现在由于两个人都工作，经济状况有了明显的改善。
Obviously we’re better off now since we’re
both working.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
1) obscure a. → obscurity n. → obscurely ad.
e.g. 她来自中国一个偏僻的小山村。
She came from an obscure Chinese mountain
village.
他二十多岁时成名，之后就一直默默无闻。
He was briefly famous in his twenties but then
sank into obscurity.
总统的声明言辞晦涩。
The president’s statement was obscurely
worded.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
2) acquaintance n. → acquainted a. → acquaintanceship
n.
e.g.
我是在新年聚会上第一次认识他的。
It was at the New Year party that I first made his
acquaintance.
“你认识那个穿黑衣服的人吗？”“不，我们不认识。”
“Do you know the man in black?” “No, I’m afraid
we’re not acquainted.”
我们的交往仅限于工作关系。
Ours was a strictly professional acquaintanceship.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
3) perceive v. → perceptible a. → perception n. →
perceptive a.
e.g. 人们往往认为女性杂志很肤浅。
Women’s magazines are often perceived to be
superficial.
去年一年工作标准方面有了显著的提高。
The past year has seen a perceptible
improvement in working standards.
这些照片会影响到人们对战争的看法。
These photographs will affect people’s
perceptions of war.
他是一位富有洞察力的批评家。
He is a perceptive critic.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
4) apprehensive a. → apprehension n. → apprehend v.
e.g. 我邀请了许多人来参加这次聚会，但是又有些担心
最后没人会来。
I’ve invited a lot of people to the party, but I’m
a bit apprehensive that no one will come.
在开始从事一份新的工作之前，通常都会感到一些
焦虑。
It’s normal to feel a little apprehension
before starting a new job.
我们往往并没有真正了解有关变化的性质。
We often fail to apprehend the real nature of
change.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
5) indifference n. → indifferent a. → indifferently ad.
e.g. 许多母语是英语的人并不关心语法。
Many native speakers of English show indifference
to grammatical points.
他发现班上的孩子们都毫无兴趣，想要教这样一个
班很难。
He found it very hard teaching a class full of
indifferent teenagers.
马克对我淡然一笑，即匆匆离去。
Mark smiled at me briefly, indifferently, and
hurried away.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
6) rapture n. → rapt a. → rapturous a.
e.g. 首相的支持者们对她的演讲反应热烈。
The prime minister’s supporters greeted her
speech with rapture.
她坐着读书时表情全神贯注。
She sat with a rapt expression reading her book.
队伍受到了热烈的欢迎。
The team received a rapturous welcome.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
7) overwhelm v. → overwhelming a. →
overwhelmingly ad.
e.g. 政府军已经成功镇压了叛乱者并控制住了首都的局势。
Government troops have overwhelmed the rebels
and seized control of the capital.
她感到一种难以抑制的冲动，想要将刚刚发生的事情告
诉什么人。
She felt an overwhelming urge to tell someone
about what had just happened.
我们队在昨天的比赛中完败给了对手。
Our team were overwhelmingly defeated in
yesterday’s game.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
8) oblige v. → obliging a.
Ant. disoblige v. → disobliging a.
e.g. 我们需要一个向导，他也很乐意帮忙。
We needed a guide and he was only too happy to
oblige.
他找到了一位热心的医生，为他提供了所需的药品。
He found an obliging doctor who gave him the
drugs he needed.
她一向和同事们关系不和，还经常对他们出言不善。
She never got on with her colleagues, and often
made disobliging remarks about them.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
1. “Here is a liquid as colourless as water, almost
tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, wine, or any
other beverage …”
Antonym: perceptible, perceivable, noticeable
2. “… It is also quite imperceptible to any known method
of autopsy.”
Synonym: postmortem
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
3. “I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive,” said
Alan apprehensively.
Synonym: anxiously, fearfully
4. “Oh, no,” said the old man. “Their effects are
permanent, and extend far beyond the mere casual
impulse …”
Antonym: temporary, transient
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
5. Give one tiny measure of this to the young lady — its
flavour is imperceptible in orange juice, soup, or
cocktails — and however gay and giddy she is, she will
change altogether.
Antonym: grave, cheerless
6. “She will, when she has taken this. She will care
intensely. You will be her sole interest in life.”
Synonym: profoundly, rigorously, strongly
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
7. “That will not happen,” said Alan fervently.
Antonym: apathetically, indifferently
8. “… She would never divorce you. Oh, no! And, of course,
she will never give you the least, the very least,
grounds for — uneasiness.”
Synonym: reason
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Fronting & Postponement
as … as
not as / so … as
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
In English, the first element in a declarative
sentence is usually the subject, but if we want to
emphasize another element, we can put it first instead.
We can put the object, the complement, the predicate
verb at the initial position. Fronting is common in
parallel structures.
For example:
They have promised to finish the work, and [finish it]
they will. (predicate verb)
[His face] not many admired, while [his character] still
fewer could praise. (object)
[A professor] he was, but in name only. (complement)
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice
Emphasize the underlined part by moving it to the initial
position of the clause.
1. You will growl, and you must go. (predicate verb)
Growl you will, and go you must.
2. He might have agreed under pressure; he would never
willingly. (adjunct)
He might have agreed under pressure; willingly he
would never.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
3. We have already discussed this question at some
length. (object)
This question we have already discussed at some
length.
4. His name is Wilson. (complement)
Wilson, his name is.
5. My sister Flora was sitting at her desk in deep
concentration. (predicate)
Sitting at her desk in deep concentration was my sister
Flora.
6. We plunged into the stifling smoke. (adjunct)
Into the stifling smoke we plunged.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
We can postpone the object in SVOO, SVOC, SVOA clause
patterns in order to follow the principle of end weight.
(S=subject; V=verb; O=object; C=complement; A=adjunct)
For example:
They pronounced guilty [every one of the accused].
(SVOC)
Send the parcel to [my father] not to [my mother].
(SVOO)
I saw on my way home yesterday [a man with a scar
across his face trying to escape with a bag he had
snatched from a lady]. (SVOA)
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice
Improve the following sentences by changing the word
order.
1. He had called the man on whose judgment he now had
to rely an idiot.
He had called an idiot the man on whose judgment he
now had to rely.
2. The problem of what contribution the public should pay
then arose.
The problem then arose of what contribution the public
should pay.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
3. He gave the sergeant who occupied the trench opposite
the parcel.
He gave the parcel to the sergeant who occupied the
trench opposite.
4. The story of her phenomenal success in Australia is told.
The story is told of her phenomenal success in
Australia.
5. She rapidly spotted the book that I had been desperately
searching for all morning right on my desk.
She rapidly spotted the book right on my desk that I
had been desperately searching for all morning.
6. I confessed all my defects to him.
I confessed to him all my defects.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
If you want to say that a thing or person has much of
a quality as something or someone else, you can use a
structure based on the word “as” in front of an adjective
/ adverb. Usually this adjective / adverb is then followed
by a phrase or clause which also begins with “as”.
For example:
You’re just [as bad as your sister].
Conversation was nearly [as slow as I feared it would
be].
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice
Make sentences with the given words and phrases and
you have to make sure you use the “as … as” structure.
1. as hard; would; without this; ten times; rearing our
children; be; as it is.
Without this rearing our children would be ten times as
hard as it is.
2. as a heat burn; be; sunburn; just; can; as severe
Sunburn can be just as severe as a heat burn.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
3. as they expected; the; result; as bad; was; just
The result was just as bad as they expected.
4. as good; are; ten years ago; the village gardens; as
they were
The village gardens are as good as they were ten years
ago.
5. nearly; a huge bird; as big; had seen; as a man; never;
I; which; was; such
I had never seen such a huge bird which was nearly as
big as a man.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
6. as they want; has eaten; everyone; as much
Everyone has eaten as much as they want.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
The negative form of “as … as” is “not as … as” or “not
so … as”. But so may not be used (1) after the contracted
form such as isn’t, don’t, (2) when there are other lexical
items in between the negative word and as … as construction.
However, when adverbs with negative meanings, such as not
nearly, not quite, are used directly before the comparative
construction, so is usually acceptable.
For example:
John isn’t as tall as his father.
John is not as / so tall as his father.
Michael does not swim as well as Paul.
Michael does not swim nearly as / so well as Paul.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice
Turn the following into the negative statements.
1. The film is as good as the book.
The film is not as / so good as the book.
2. This is nearly as complicated as it sounds.
This is not nearly as / so complicated as it sounds.
3. Is there anything quite as lonely as illness?
There is nothing quite as / so lonely as illness.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
4. I’m as good a cook as she is.
I’m not as / so good a cook as she is.
5. Is there anything quite as satisfying as undergoing a
difficult process and after long hard work discovering
the true nature of that process?
There is nothing quite as / so satisfying as undergoing a
difficult process and after long hard work discovering
the true nature of that process.
6. Is it quite as straightforward a problem as it might at
first seem?
It’s not quite as / so straightforward a problem as it
might at first seem.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Translate the following sentences into English.
1. 他们为这次意外的成功而感到欣喜若狂。(go into
raptures)
If you go into raptures, you express extreme
pleasure and happiness or excitement.
They went into raptures over the unexpected
success.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice:
得知自己成功的消息后，她感到欣喜万分。
She went into raptures at the news of her success.
她为自己首次巴黎之行而感到欣喜若狂。
She went into raptures about her first visit to Paris.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
2. 我感到十分惊讶，他用一种超然冷静的态度分析着威胁
他们所有人的危险形势。(detachment)
Detachment is a feeling of not being emotionally
involved
Much to my surprise, he analyzed with extraordinary
detachment the dangerous situation that threatened
all of them.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice:
对于正在发生的一切，他感到与自己毫无干系。
He felt a sense of detachment from what was
going on.
他气质超脱。
He has an air of detachment.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
3. 她躲在窗帘后面窥望陌生人。(peer)
If you peer at something, you look carefully at it,
especially when you have difficulty in seeing
something.
She peered at the stranger from behind the curtain.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice:
没有人来开门，她透过窗户费力地向屋内张望，看看有没
有人在。
When no one answered the door, she peered through
the window to see if anyone was there.
司机为了想要看清路牌，费力地向远处张望。
The driver was peering into the distance trying to
read the road sign.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
4. 听到他去世的噩耗，她不胜悲哀。(be overwhelmed)
If you are overwhelmed by something, you are
caused to feel sudden strong emotion.
When she learnt the news of his death, she was
overwhelmed with grief.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice:
我为收到的所有鲜花以及声援信而感到万分激动。
I was quite overwhelmed by all the flowers and
letters of support I received.
我内心充满了愧疚。
I was overwhelmed with guilt.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
5. 我不赞成用分期付款的方式买房子，恰恰相反，我认
为，我们每一个人都应该为不时之需存点钱。(save up)
If you save up, you keep money so that you can buy
something with it in the future.
I’m not in favor of buying a house on the installment
plan; instead, I maintain that every one of us should
save up for a rainy day.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice:
我花了很长时间才攒够去欧洲旅行的钱。
It took me ages to save up enough money to go
traveling in Europe.
他正在攒钱，想要买辆新自行车。
He’s saving up for a new bike.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Dictation
Cloze
Oral Activities
Writing
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Dictation
You will hear a passage read three times. At the first
reading, you should listen carefully for its general
idea. At the second reading, you are required to write
down the exact words you have just heard (with
proper punctuation). At the third reading, you should
check what you have written down.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Dictation
Rumor is the most primitive way of spreading stories /
by passing them on from mouth to mouth. / But civilized
countries in normal times / have better sources of news
than rumor. / They have radio, television, and
newspapers. / In times of stress and confusion, however,
/ rumor emerges and becomes widespread. / At such
times the different kinds of news are in competition: /
the press, television, and radio versus the grapevine. /
Rumors are often repeated / even by those who do
not believe the tales. / There is a fascination about them.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
/ The reason is that the cleverly designed rumor /
gives expression to something deep in the hearts of
the victims: / the fears, suspicions, forbidden hopes,
/ or daydreams which they hesitate to voice directly.
/ Pessimistic rumors about defeat and disasters show
/ that people who repeat them are worried and
anxious. / Optimistic rumors about record
production or peace are soon coming / point to
complacency or confidence / — and often to
overconfidence.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE word
you think appropriate.
if I
“She said that she would dance with me (1) ___
brought her red roses,” cried the young student, “but in all
my garden there is (2) ___
no red rose.”
From her nest in the holm-oak tree the nightingale
through the leaves,
heard him, and she looked out (3) _________
and wondered.
“No red rose in all my garden!” he cried, and his
with
beautiful eyes filled (4)
_____ tears. “Ah, on what little
_____
things (5)
does happiness depend! I have read all (6)
that the wise men have written, and all the secrets of
_____
philosophy are mine, yet for (7) ______
want of a red rose is
my life made wretched.”
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
“(8)
______
Here at last is a true lover,” said the
Nightingale. “Night after night have I (9) ______
sung of him,
though I knew him not; night after night have I told his story
to the stars, (10) _____
and now I see him. His hair is dark as
the hyacinth-blossom, and his lips are red as the rose of his
desire; (11)
_____
but passion has made his face like pale
______
upon his brow.
ivory, and sorrow has set her seal (12)
precious
Surely love is a wonderful thing. It is more (13) __________
than emeralds, and dearer than fine opals. It may not be
purchased of the merchants, (14)
____
nor can it be weighed
out in the balance for gold.”
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Would expresses the conditional mood indicating the
consequence of an imagined event I brought here red
roses. This sentence lacks a conjunction introducing a
conditional clause.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
After but, a negation is naturally expected. And the first
sentence of the third paragraph repeats the same idea.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Here following looked out, a preposition is expected.
The leaves hint at a word to mean “not looking directly
at something”.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
After filled, which means “caused to become full of
something”, we need a preposition.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
To emphasize what little things, the normal order of
words is reversed, which should be “happiness depends
on what little things.” And here in the inversion
structure we need an auxiliary verb to indicate the
simple present tense.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
After the pronoun all, which means “everything” here,
we need a relative pronoun to introduce an attributive
clause.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
After preposition for, we need a noun to form a phrase
meaning “a lack or deficiency of something” to echo the
idea no red rose in all my garden.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
The sentence indicates the situation is happening that
we at last have a true lover.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
The simple past tense used in the adverbial clause
though I knew him not indicates that have is a marker of
present perfect tense. And we need the past participle
of a verb which shares a similar meaning as told his
story in the parallel structure after the semicolon.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
This part of the sentence shares a similar structure with
the other part in front of the semicolon. Judging from
the logic of this sentence, we need a conjunction to
connect two clauses when the second now I see him
refers to something that happens after the first night
after night have I told his story to the stars.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
We need a conjunction to introduce an idea contrasting
with dark hyacinth-blossom and red rose.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Sorrow has set her seal means “sorrow has made her
mark”, after the phrase we won’t hesitate to expect
“where”.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
And is used here to connect two identical ideas. We
need an adjective that shares the same meaning with
dear, and at the same time its comparative has to be
MORE X.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
We need a conjunction before the second of the two
alternatives, the first being introduced by a negative
not, to indicate that they are both untrue.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Giving a Talk
Making a Dialogue
Writing
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
1. Giving a Talk
Topic: What is Love?
Viewpoints for reference:

Many people believe love is a sensation that
magically generates when Mr. or Ms. Right appears.

Love is that feeling you get when you meet the right
person.

Love is the attachment that results from deeply
appreciating another’s goodness.

Love is a choice. By focusing on the good, you can
love almost anyone.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing

Love is care, demonstrating active concern for the
recipient’s life and growth.

Love is responsibility, responding to the recipient’s
expressed and unexpressed needs (particularly, in an
adult relationship, emotional needs).

Love is respect, “the ability to see a person as he [or
she] is, to be aware of his [or her] unique
individuality,” and, consequently, wanting that
person to “grow and unfold as he [or she] is.”
Vocabulary

Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
“Love is a behavior.” A relationship thrives when
partners are committed to behaving lovingly through
continual, unconditional giving — not only saying, “I
love you,” but showing it.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
2. Making a Dialogue
A possible situation: Austen and Diana had been married
for ten years. Diana was expecting their third baby.
Unluckily, Austen lost his job in the recent financial crisis.
He got drunk and came back home late this evening …
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Essay Writing: How to Write a Persuasive Essay
Purpose: To convince
The structure of Your Arguments:
the point of argument,
the explanation of the argument,
facts/evidence that support the idea/thesis, and
a small summary leading to the next argument.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Sample: A persuasive essay
Drilling For Oil: To Be or Not to Be?
①The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to
some rare animals and migratory birds. Some influential
people in the oil business consider the refuge an ideal
site for the search of oil, and some government officials
also believe that Americans will benefit from the oil
that lies under the snow-covered surface of the refuge.
In their view, the oil will help scale down soaring fuel
prices and reduce the import to meet our need for oil.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
②I believe the cost of such drilling is too high. I agree
with environmentalists who fear that drilling will disturb
the migration of more than 130,000 caribou. Each spring,
the caribou travel 400 miles to give birth on the coastal
plain. In this area of the refuge, there are fewer predators.
In addition, experts say that the oil in the area adds up to
less than a six-month supply. Is such a small amount of oil
worth the risk drilling poses to these animals?
③Americans are the largest consumers of oil. Instead
of drilling for oil, we should decrease our need for foreign
oil simply by using less. We must all work together to cut
back on the oil we use in order to conserve the wildlife of
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Sample Analysis
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
The sample is a three-paragraph essay.
The title questions the reader whether drilling should
take place or not.
Paragraph① raises an issue and includes the opposite
view regarding it.
Paragraph② leads us to the thesis. And the writer
supports his opinion with strong ideas and evidences.
Paragraph③ concludes by suggesting a solution to the
raised problem.
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Practice
Write a persuasive essay on the given topic:
Think and prove that living in a big city is better than
living in a small town (or vice versa).
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
Sample
Different kinds of people have different tastes as to
where to live. There are two basic choices for a place to
live: in a small town or in a big city. While both have their
own advantages, I would prefer to live in a big city. I base
my preference on the fact that big cities are more
convenient than small towns, and in big cities there are
more chances to experience cultural events and
entertainment.
To begin with, living in a big city is much more
convenient than living in a small town. People living in
small towns often have difficulties getting from place to
place because of a lack of transportation. If travelers miss
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
a scheduled bus or train, they may have to wait for a long
time before they can catch the next one. However, in big
cities a variety of transportation choices, including buses,
subways and taxis, are available. A great variety of
shopping choices are also available to big cities, such as
department stores and outdoor markets. People living in
urban areas can buy anything they need at any time of
the day, but in rural areas the shopping choices are very
limited and people usually have to go to other towns or
cities in order to purchase particular items.
Another advantage of living in a big city is that
people have more opportunities for cultural experiences
than in a small town. In terms of cultural events and
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
entertainment, it is often of better quality in big cities
than in small towns. This is because there are more
patrons, which means the performances have higher
budgets to put on better shows. Big cities also provide a
greater variety of events, from newly released movies to
cultural festivals. Because of the abundance of
entertainment venues, big cities have more events
compared to small towns, which have fewer places to
hold events. Furthermore, it is easy to attend the cultural
events in big cities due to the better modes of
transportation.
In conclusion, though there are certainly advantages
to living in a small town, I prefer to live in a big city. This
Vocabulary
Grammar
Translation
Integrated Skills
Oral Activities
Writing
is because big cities are convenient in terms of
transportation and shopping and they provide me with
a greater variety of cultural events. While it is nice to
visit rural areas for fresh air and to get away from
crowds, I prefer to live in a big city for the previously
mentioned reasons.
Text II
Memorable Quotes
A Lead-in Question
Text
Questions for Discussion
Text II
Memorable Quotes
A Lead-in Question
Considering its time-honored history, Chinese culture
tends to be compared to an old man in his eighties or
even nineties. And it is very intriguing to find out that
Chinese people as a whole are tolerant, practical, lack
courage to take risks, which just resemble the characters
of the elderly proposed by Aristotle in his Youth and Old
Age. What do you think of Chinese people’s national
character?
Text II
Memorable Quotes
Youth and Old Age
Aristotle
1 Young men have strong passions, and tend to gratify
them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the
sexual by which they are most swayed and in which they
show absence of self-control. They are changeable and
fickle in their desires, which are violent while they last,
but quickly over: their impulses are keen but not deeprooted, and are like sick people’s attacks of hunger and
thirst. They are hot-tempered and quick-tempered, and
apt to give way to their anger; bad temper often too
gets the better of them, for owing to their love of honor
they cannot bear being slighted, and are indignant if
they imagine themselves unfairly treated.
Text II
Memorable Quotes
While they love honor, they love victory still more; for
youth is eager for superiority over others, and victory is
one form of this. They love both more than they love
money, which indeed they love very little, not having
yet learnt what it means to be without it — this is the
point of
Pittacus’ remark about Amphiaraus. They
look at the good side rather than the bad, not having
yet witnessed many instances of wickedness. They trust
others readily, because they have not yet often been
cheated. They are sanguine; nature warms their blood
as though with excess of wine; and besides that, they
have as yet met with few disappointments. Their lives
are mainly spent not in memory but in expectation; for
expectation refers to the future, memory to the past,
Text II
Memorable Quotes
and youth has a long future before it and a short past
behind it: on the first day of one’s life one has nothing
at all to remember, and can only look forward. They are
easily cheated, owing to the sanguine disposition just
mentioned. Their hot tempers and hopeful dispositions
make them more courageous than older men are; the
hot temper prevents fear, and the hopeful disposition
creates confidence; we cannot feel fear so long as we
are feeling angry, and any expectation of good makes us
confident. They are shy, accepting the rules of society
in which they have been trained, and not yet believing
in any other standard of honor. They have exalted
notions, because they have not yet been humbled by
life or learnt its necessary limitations;
Text II
Memorable Quotes
moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think
themselves equal to great things — and that means having
exalted notions. They would always rather do noble deeds
than useful ones: their lives are regulated more by moral
feeling than by reasoning; and whereas reasoning leads us
to choose what is useful, moral goodness leads us to
choose what is noble. They are fonder of their friends,
intimates, and companions than older men are, because
they like spending their days in the company of others,
and have not yet come to value either their friends or
anything else by their usefulness to themselves. All their
mistakes are in the direction of doing things excessively
and vehemently. They disobey
Chilon’s precept by
overdoing everything; they have much and hate too much,
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and the same with everything else. They think they
know everything, and are always quite sure about this,
in fact, is why they overdo everything. If they do wrong
to others, it is because they mean to insult them, not
to do them actual harm. They are ready to pity others,
because they think every one is an honest man or
anyhow other that he is: They judge their neighbor by
their own harmless natures, and so cannot think he
deserves to be treated in that way. They are fond of
fun and therefore witty, wit being well-bred insolence.
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2
Such, then, is the character of the Young. The
character of the Elderly — those who are
past their
prime — may be said to be formed for the most part of
elements that are the contrary of all these. They have
lived many years; they have often been taken in, and
often made mistakes; and life on the whole is a bad
business. The result is that they are sure about nothing
and under-do everything. They “think”, but they never
“know”; and because of their hesitation they always add
a “possibly” or a “perhaps”, putting everything this way
and nothing positively. They are cynical; that is, they
tend to put the worse construction on everything. Further,
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their experience makes them distrustful and therefore
suspicious of evil. Consequently they neither love warmly
nor hate bitterly, but following the
hint of Bias they
love as though they will some day hate and hate as
though they will some day love. They are small-minded,
because they have been humbled by life: their desires
are set upon nothing more exalted or unusual than what
will help them to keep alive. They are not generous,
because money is one of the things they must have, and
at the same time their experience has taught them how
hard it is to get and how easy to lose. They are cowardly,
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and are always anticipating danger; unlike that of the
young, who are warm-blooded, their temperament is
chilly; old age has paved the way for cowardice; fear is,
in fact, a form of chill. They love life; and all the more
when their last day has come, because the object of all
desire is something we have not got, and also because
we desire most strongly that which we need most
urgently. They are too fond of themselves; this is one
form that small-mindedness takes. Because of this, they
guide their lives too much by considerations of what is
useful and too little by what is noble — for the useful is
what is good for oneself, and the noble what is good
absolutely. They are not shy, but shameless rather;
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caring less for what is noble than for what is useful, they
feel contempt for what people may think of them. They
lack confidence in the future; partly through
experience — for most things go wrong, or anyhow turn
out worse than one expects; and partly because of their
cowardice. They live by memory rather than by hope; for
what is left to them of life is but little as compared with
the long past; and hope is of the future, memory of the
past. This, again, is the cause of their loquacity; they are
continually talking of the past, because they enjoy
remembering it. Their fits of anger are sudden but feeble.
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Their sensual passions have either altogether gone or
have lost their vigor: consequently they do not feel their
passions much, and their actions are inspired less by
what they do feel than by the love of gain. Hence men
at this time of life are often supposed to have a selfcontrolled character; the fact is that their passions have
slackened, and they are slaves to the love of gain. They
guide their lives by reasoning more than by moral feeling;
reasoning being directed to
utility and moral feeling
to moral goodness. If they wrong others, they mean to
injure them, not to insult them. Old men may feel pity,
as well as young men, but not for the same reason.
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Young men feel it out of kindness; old men out of
weakness, imagining that anything that befalls any one
else might easily happen to them, which, as we saw, is a
thought that excites pity. Hence they are querulous, and
not disposed to jesting or laughter — the love of
laughter being the very opposite of querulousness.
3
Such are the characters of the Young and the Elderly.
People always think well of speeches adapted to, and
reflecting, their own character: and we can now see how
to compose our speeches so as to adapt both them and
ourselves to our audiences.
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About the author and the text: Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)
was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of
Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects,
including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music,
logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and
zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates (Plato’s
teacher), Aristotle is one of the most important founding
figures in Western philosophy. He was the first to create a
comprehensive system of Western philosophy,
encompassing morality and aesthetics, logic and science,
politics and metaphysics. The text Youth and Old Age is an
excerpt from Aristotle’s Rhetoric (Book II, Chapter 12).
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Pittacus’ remark about Amphiaraus (Paragraph 1): Pittacus
(640-568 BC) was the son of Hyrradius and one of the Seven
Sages of Greece. He was a native of Mytilene and the
Mytilenaean general who, with his army, was victorious in
the battle against the Athenians and their commander
Phrynon. In consequence of this victory the Mytilenaeans
held Pittacus in the greatest honour and presented the
supreme power into his hands. After ten years of reign he
resigned his position and the city and constitution were
brought into good order. Some authors mention that he had
a son called Tyrrhaeus. The legend says that his son was
killed and when the murderer was brought before Pittacus,
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he dismissed the man, saying, “Pardon is better than
repentance.” Of this matter, Heraclitus says that he had
got the murderer into his power and then he released
him, saying, “Pardon is better than punishment.”
In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus was the son of
Oecles and Hypermnestra, and husband of Eriphyle.
Amphiaraus was the King of Argos along with Adrastus —
the brother of Amphiaraus’ wife, Eriphyle — and Iphis.
Amphiaraus was a seer, and greatly honored in his time.
Both Zeus and Apollo favored him, and Zeus gave him his
oracular talent. In the generation before the Trojan War,
Amphiaraos was one of the heroes present at the
Calydonian Boar Hunt.
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Chilon’s precept (Paragraph 1): Chilon of Sparta was a
Lacedaemonian, son of Damagetus and one of the Seven
Sages of Greece. He was elected an ephor in Sparta in
556/5 BC. It is recorded that he composed verses in
elegiac metre to the number of two hundred. Chilon was
also the first person who introduced the custom of
joining the ephors to the kings as their counselors,
though Satyrus attributes this institution to Lycurgus
Chilon is said to have helped to overthrow the tyranny at
Sicyon, which became a spartan ally. He is also credited
with the change in Spartan policy leading tot the
development of the Peloponnesian League in the sixth
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century BC. Chilon’s teachings flourished around the
beginning of the 6th century B.C. A legend says that he
died of joy in the arms of his son, who had just gained a
prize at the Olympic games. His sayings include “Nothing
in Excess”, which is the precept that Aristotle refers to.
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utility (Paragraph 2): Usefulness, or gain as referred
to above:“I have always doubted the utility of these
conferences on disarmament” (Winston S. Churchill).
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They are sanguine; nature warms their blood as
though with excess of wine (Paragraph 1): They are
cheerful and literally red-faced, as if they have drunk
too much wine. Literally, sanguine refers to a reddish,
often tending to brown, color of chalk used in drawing.
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past their prime (Paragraph 2): past the best of one’s
life. The prime, or the prime time, is the age of ideal
physical perfection and intellectual vigor.
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hint of Bias (Paragraph 2): Bias is a Greek philosopher,
and considered the wisest of all the Seven Sages of
Greece. His famous sayings include: “All men are
wicked.” “Choose the course which you adopt with
deliberation; but when you have adopted it, then
persevere in it with firmness.” “Cherish wisdom as a
means of traveling from youth to old age, for it is
more lasting than any other possession.”
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1. How does Aristotle define expectation and memory
respectively? How do you interpret expectation and
memory?
Aristotle holds that a young man is a man of
expectation, for he has a long future ahead of him,
and an elderly man is a man of memory, for he has a
long past behind him. So a young man tends to be
confident, for a bright and promising future is always
inspiring and an elderly is likely to be cautious, for
he has gone through many ups and downs in life. A
young man is less burdened, for he is not burdened
with too many memories, and an elderly man is
liable to be more burdened, for he has too many
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memories to indulge in. A young man is apt to
commit errors and run into blunders, for he is not a
dear teacher of rich experiences himself and an
elderly man is less liable to commit grave mistakes,
for he must have learnt so many lessons in life.
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2. How are two types of people, the first type being
those driven by reasoning and the other type
motivated by moral goodness, normally respond to
circumstances?
Those who like to reason tend to be deep and
sophisticated, so they are normally slow and cautious
in their response to circumstances, for they take into
careful account what consequences their response
may lead to while those who give top priorities to
moral goodness tend to be quick in their response to
circumstances for anything noble and great can get
their positive response promptly and anything lowly
and ignoble can cause their negative response in no
time.
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3. What is the possible chief cause behind hesitation
and indecision of the elderly?
The elderly might have experienced many frustrations
in life, many of which were beyond their expectation.
As a result, they are less sure about life. Therefore,
when faced with a choice in life, they tend to show
hesitation and indecision.
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4. What special characteristics are the elderly apt to
display in actualities?
The elderly are engaged more in contemplation
rather than action, for they prefer to reason than to
feel; they are more cynical and distrustful, for they
have seen too often the worse side of human nature;
they are moderate in life attitude, so they display
neither intense love nor intense hate in normal
circumstances.
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Love lives on hope, and dies when hope is dead.
— Pierre Corneille
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The love we give away is the only love we keep.
— Elbert Hubbard
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Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; And
therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
— William Shakespeare
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A Topic for Debate: Love is blind.
Guidance
Proposition side:
① Many people know little about their partners when
they fall in love with them.
② Many other people choose to ignore their
differences in social background, age, educational
level or even their partners’ serious problems in
personality.
③ Many people’s miserable marriages are a result of
blind love.
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Opposition side:
① Synonyms for love can be passion, impulse,
compulsion, love not necessarily being blind.
② People will not just take a liking to someone
similar to them, and they are often attracted by a
person totally different from them. Only when
people look beyond differences they have a better
chance to find their true love.
③ Marriage doesn’t have to be a result of love, so
there can be many other reasons behind the
failure of a marriage.
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Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) has been
called “the founder of French tragedy”
and he was one of the three great
seventeenth-century French dramatists,
along with Molière and Racine.
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Elbert Green Hubbard (1856-1915)
was an American writer, publisher,
artist, and philosopher. He was an
influential exponent of the Arts and
Crafts movement and is, perhaps,
most famous for his essay A Message
to Garcia.
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William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was
an English poet and playwright, widely
regarded as the greatest writer in the
English language and the world’s preeminent dramatist.
Notation (type here)