Unit 2Active reading (1)Danger! Books may change your lifeCulture pointsLewis Carroll (1832–1898) is the pen-name of Charles Dodgson. He was a priest, a mathematician whotaught at Oxford University, a photographer, humorist and writer of children’s l iterature. Alice’s Adventuresin Wonderland (1865) was immediately successful, a masterpiece which revolutionized children’s literature,giving coherence and logic through wit and humour to unlikely or impossible episodes in which imaginarycreatures embody recognizable human characteristics. He is also known for Through the Looking Glass andwhat Alice found there (1871) and nonsense poems, such as The Hunting of the Snark (1876).William Cowper (1731–1800): a notable English poet, writer of hymns and letter-writer. He wrote gentle,pious, direct poems about everyday rural life and scenes of the countryside which have been seen asforerunners of the Romantic movement: Coleridge called Cowper “the best modern poet”. He translatedHomer’s Greek epics. The Odyssey and The Iliad into English. Another example of his verses which havebecome common sayings is “God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform…”John Steinbeck (1902–1968): American novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is a well-known, long tragic novel about an American family of farmers who aredriven off their land in Oklahoma by soil erosion in the famous “dust bowl” era. They flee to California towhat they hope will be a better life. The book won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a film in 1940. Otherwell-known novels include Of Mice and Men (1937), Cannery Row (1945), The Pearl (1947), East of Eden(1952) and an account of a personal rediscovery of America, Travels with Charlie (1962).John Irving (1942– ): American novelist and screenwriter who taught English at college and was a wrestlingcoach. The Fourth Hand (2001) is a comic-satirical novel about a TV journalist, Wallington, whose hand isseen by millions of viewers to be bitten off by a circus lion. A surgeon gives him a hand transplant (a thirdhand) but the wife of the dead donor wants to visit her husband’s hand and have a child by Wallington, whofeels where his original hand used to be (the fourth hand).Audrey Niffenegger (1963– ): American college professor who teaches writing to visual artists and showsstudents how to make books by hand. Her first novel, The Time Traveller’s Wife (2003) – filmed in 2009 – is ascience fiction and romance bestseller about a man who travels uncontrollably in time to his own history andvisits his wife in her childhood, youth and old age. His wife needs to cope with his absences and dangerouslife while he travels. The story is a metaphor for distance and miscommunication in failed relationships.Paul Torday (1946–): a British businessman who worked for a company that repaired ship’s engines formany years. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2007) was his first novel. It is a political satire and comedy abouta dull civil servant who becomes involved in a plan to populate the desert with Scottish salmon. Politiciansmanage the media to “spin” this as a plan they support in order to divert attention from problems in theMiddle East. There are themes of cynicism and belief, and East-West culture clashes.Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008): a Russian writer who was imprisoned in Soviet labour camps in1945; after eight years, he was exiled to Kazakhstan and not freed until 1956, when he became a teacher.In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature but not receive it until 1974. He went to Germany,Switzerland and the USA, returning to Russia in 1994. His best known novels were based on his experiencesas a prisoner and include: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962), Cancer Ward (1968), The GulagArchipelago (1974–1978). His later works were about Russian history and identity.Graham Greene (1904–1991): a British novelist, short-story writer, playwright, travel writer and essayist.He wrote a number of thrillers (he called them ‘entertainments’) whichdramatize an ambiguous moraldilemma, often revealing guilt, treachery, failure and a theme of pursuit. Greene was also a film critic andall of these novels have been made into films: Brighton Rock (1938), The Power and the Glory (1940),The Heart of the Matter (1948), The Third Man (1950), The Quiet American (1955), and Our Man inHavana (1958).E. M. Forster (1879–1970): a British novelist and writer of short stories and essays. He lived at differentperiods in Italy, Egypt and India and taught at Cambridge University. His best known novels include A Roomwith a View (1908), Howard’s End (1910), A Passage to India (1924) which have all been made into films.His writing about reading and writing includes a book of lectures, Aspects of the Novel (1927).Thomas Merton (1915–1968): an American Catholic writer, who was a Trappist monk in Kentucky. Hewrote over 70 books, including many essays about Buddhism and a translation into English of the Chineseclassic, Chuang Tse. He had a great deal to say about the meeting of Eastern and Western cultures and wrotemany letters to writers, poets, scholars and thinkers. He read a lot in English, Latin, French and Spanish andsaid he always had at least three books which he was reading at any one time.William Blake (1757–1827): a British poet, artist and mystic, who read widely in English, French, Italian,Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He made many engravings to illustrate the work of such writers as Virgil, Danteand Chaucer, as well as his own poems. He stressed that imagination was more important than rationalismand the materialism of the 18th century and criticized the effects of the industrial revolution in England, buthis work was largely disregarded by his peers. He is best known for his poetry in Songs of Innocence (1787)and Songs of Experience (1794). His belief in the oneness of all created things is shown in his much-quotedverse, “To see the world in a grain of sand / And a heaven in a flower, / Hold infinity in the palm of yourhand / And eternity in an hour.”Clifton Fadiman (1904–1999): an American writer, radio and TV broadcaster and editor of anthologies. Forover 50 years he was an editor and judge for the Book-of-the-Month Club.In 1960 he wrote a popular guideto great books for American readers, The Lifetime Reading Plan, which discusses 133 authors and their majorwork: the 1997 edition includes 9 authors from China.J. K. Rowling (1965–): British writer of the seven Harry Potter fantasy books. She studied French andClassics at Exeter University, before teaching English in Portugal and training to teach French in Scotland.The main idea about a school for wizards and the orphan Harry Potter came on a delayed train journeyfrom Manchester to London in 1990. She began to write as soon as she reached London. Twelve publishersrejected the first book before Bloomsbury, a small London publisher, agreed to publish it. Later books have repeatedly broken all the sales records (as have some of the films). She is one of the richest women in the UKand a notable supporter of many charities.Language points1 Variety’s the very spice of life, / That gives it all its flavour … (Para 2)Spices are made from plants and added to food to give it its particular flavour or taste. The English proverb“Variety is the spice of life” (the proverb comes from Cowper’s poem) therefore means that variety giveslife extra value and allows you to appreciate life in particular ways.2 We learn to look beyond our immediate surroundings to the horizon and a landscape far away fromhome. (Para 3)This means that through reading we learn to look beyond our immediate experience or familiarenvironment to things beyond our immediate experience, ie to completely different things that we canimagine and experience through books.3 W hen a baseball player hits a home run he hits the ball so hard and so far he’s able to run round thefour bases of the diamond, and score points not only for himself but for the other runners alreadyon a base. (Para 9)In the American game of baseball, the field of grass is diamond-shaped and has four bases (specific pointsmarked around the diamond), round which players must run to score points. One team bats (ie teammembers take turns to hit the ball and run round the bases) and the members of the other team throw (pitch)the ball and, when it is has been hit, try to catch it or get it quicklyto one of the four bases. If a battingplayer can hit the ball hard enough, he can run round all four bases before the other team can get the balland thus score maximum points –with a home run. In the passage, a really good book is a home run.3 Choose the best answer to the questions.1 Why are we like Alice in wonderland when we read a book?(a) Because, like Alice, we often have accidents.(b) Because reading makes us feel young again.(c) Because reading opens the door to new experiences.(d) Because books lead us into a dream world.2 According to the writer, what is the advantage of reading over real life?(a) There is more variety in books than in real life.(b) We can experience variety and difference without going out of the house.(c) The people we meet in a book are more interesting than real people.(d) It’s harder to make sense of real life than a book.3 What do the seven novels listed in Paragraph4 have in common?(a) Their titles stimulate imagination.(b) They represent the best writing by British and American novelists.(c) They have become classics.(d) You can find all of them in any local library.4 At what moment in our lives do books become important?(a) As soon as we start reading.(b) When we start buying books to fill our shelves at home.(c) When we start listening to bedtime stories.(d) Only when we are ready for books.5 What claim did Merton make about the poems of William Blake?(a) They were similar to the works of the Greek writers and thinkers.(b) They helped him understand the meaning of life.(c) They created a sense of confusion.(d) They taught him a lot about modern culture.6 What is meant by a home-run book?(a) A book which is so good you are unable to put it down.(b) A book that the whole family can enjoy.(c) A children’s book that is read and appreciated by adults.(d) A book that hits hard like a home run in the game of baseball. Dealing with unfamiliar words4 Match the words in the box with their definitions.1 to make someone feel that they do not belong to your group (exclude)2 to fail to do something that you should do (neglect)3 to mention something as an example (cite)4 to be strong enough not to be harmed or destroyed by something (withstand)5 in most situations or cases (normally)6 to be about to happen in the future (await)5 Complete the paragraph with the correct form of the words in Activity 4.When I lived in Britain, one of my favourite radio programmes was called “Desert Island Discs”. Theformat was always the same: Guest celebrities were asked to imagine they had been washed ashore on adesert island, and had to choose nine books – (1) excluding the Bible and Shakespeare, which they werealready provided with – to take with them to the island, to help them (2) withstand the physical and mentalisolation. I sometimes like to think which books I would take. (3) Normally, like most people, I don’thave much time for reading, and I could (4) cite dozens of books which I have never read but which Iwould like to. It’s an opportunity I have (5) awaited all my life, in fact. But what would I choose? Mostlynovels, probably, but I wouldn’t (6) neglect to include a volume or two of poetry. My first choice, I think,would be Tolstoy’s War and Peace. I’ve never read it, but I’m ready to believe that it is one of the mostmarvelous books ever written.6 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box.1 In a good novel, the writer and reader communicate with each other. (interact)2 I have to face up to the problem sooner or later. (confront)3 I read the book in one sitting and Mary did too. (likewise)4 E. M. Forster was one of the most important and respected British novelists of the 20th century.(influential)5 Do you believe that a work of literature can actually lead to social changes? (induce)6 Robert Burns was a great poet who wrote in the language variety spoken in Scotland. (dialect)7 The Time Traveller’s Wife is the story of a man who has a strange and inexplicable genetic disorder.(mysterious)7 Answer the questions about the words.1 If you have had a disconcerting experience, do you feel a bit (a) tired, or (b) confused?2 If you have a vista of something, can you (a) see or imagine it, or (b) go and visit it?3 Would you express great wrath by (a) smiling at someone, or (b) shouting at them?4 If you feel enchanted by a book, do you (a) like it a lot, or (b) not like it at all?5 Is a writer who is supremely talented (a) very good, or (b) quite good at his job?6 If reading fosters an understanding of certain problems, does it (a) help understanding, or (b) prevent it?7 If you are desperately trying to get a job, are you (a) trying very hard to get it, or (b) caring littlewhether you get it or not?8 Is a sensation (a) a certainty, or (b) just a feeling?Reading and interpreting8 Check ( ) the writer’s main purpose in writing the passage.1 To show the reader how to read fiction.2 To suggest that fiction is more powerful than non-fiction.√ 3 To persuade the reader that reading can be a life-changing experience.4 To claim that books provide the meaning to life.5 To recommend some major novels to read.9 Work in pairs. Look at the statements from the passage and discuss the questions.1 … when we pick up a book we are about to enter a new world.Do you agree with this statement? Is this true of every book?I agree with this up to a point, but it is not true of every book because with some books you mayalready be very familiar with the world of those particular books so although you might read them, theywouldn’t take you to a new world.2 We’ll have experiences which are new, sometimes disconcerting, maybe deeply attractive, possiblyunpleasant or painful, but never less than liberating from the real world we comefrom.How can reading be a “painful” experience? In what sense does reading “liberate” us from the realworld?It is easy to imagine how reading could be a painful experience for some people: It depends on the bookand on the reader’s background and personality. For instance, I can see that a story about bullying, mightbe painful to read if you were bullied when you were a child – it would remind you of the experience ofbeing hurt.Reading can liberate us because in books we can have all sorts of wonderful and interesting experienceswhich would be impossible for us in the real world: we can travel to distant places or go anywhere intime, we can meet all sorts of people we probably wouldn’t meet anywhere else except in books.3 Reading books allows us to enjoy and celebrate this variety and difference in safety, and provides uswith an opportunity to grow.How does this idea contrast with the title of the passage? In what way can a book help us “grow”?The word “Danger” in the title contrasts with this idea that reading is a safe experience. However,this is not a contradiction because experiences that would be dangerous in real life are quite safewhen we read about them in books. The author seems to think that we grow in our minds with abetter understanding and enriched imagination when we meet a wide variety of people and differentsituations in books. This vicarious experience in reading is a safe way to grow mentally andemotionally.4 To interact with other people’s lives in the peace and quiet of our homes is a privilege which onlyreading fiction can afford us.Do you agree? Is fiction really different from other types of writing? Well, I think this is true because in fiction we do interact with the characters, both positively (withcharacters we can identify with) and negatively (with characters we do not like or admire). Butthis doesn’t mean that we don’t interact with the writer in non-fiction. Surely all of us have theexperience of feeling that we do interact with writers in newspaper ormagazine articles and insome kinds of non-fiction which may be about science, for example. I suppose it depends on thestyle of the writing and on the personality of the writer (and of characters in fiction) and on us, asreaders.5 We even understand … that we have more in common with other readers of books in other cultures thanwe might do with the first person we meet when we step out of our front doors.This suggests that people who read are different from people w ho don’t read. Do you agree?Well, I am not sure. I guess that people who read similar books, fiction or non-fiction, would share somecommon knowledge, experience and maybe feelings and they would probably talk about these whenthey know about each other’s reading habits. Of course, they wouldn’t necessarily have other things incommon, just this particular connection with a certain kind of culture through reading. Maybe people inthe street do not have to share this reading experience, so in that respect they are different, but they maybe quite similar and share many cultural experiences in other ways –after all they live in the same place,probably speak the same language. So, I think it’s all a question of what sort of common experiencesyou are talking about. The more I think about it, the less I agree!6 From the bedtime story read by a parent to their child all the way through to the sitting room lined withbooks in our adult homes, books define our lives.What do you understand by “books define our lives”?I suppose they would be those books – not many, surely? – which have made a great impact and remainso strong in our memories that do have a function of defining something in our lives. However, I thinkthe author has exaggerated here. Books are not the only things that define our lives. People, placesand special events define our lives too, so books are only one part which for some people have a greatinfluence but for others maybe very little or none at all. We have to remember that some people simplydon’t read books. Even some students only read what they have to read, nothing more than that!7 We cannot withstand the hunger to visit another world, to meet different people, to live other lives andto reflect on ourselves.Do you agree that we “live other lives” when reading? Or is this an exaggeration?I agree that we have strong imaginative experiences when we read. Maybe you can call this “livingother lives” sometimes, but for me, anyway, this simply doesn’t happen very often and when it doeshappen it is only for a short time. I think the writer is exaggerating here to make the point that readinghas importance in our imagination.8 Books may change your life.Is this a suitable title –and ending – for the passage? Why / Why not? Yes, I think it OK as a catchy title –it gets our attention, after all, and repeating it at the end makes akind of coda like the ending of a piece of music which echoes something near the beginning. Also ifyou look carefully, it does have a note of caution by using “maybe” instead of “will”, so this title isn’t adefinite promise, it’s more of an attractive idea, that your life may be changed through books, but mightnot be.Now discuss which of the above statements would have been more effective if backed up byexample(s).In fact, it seems that any of them could effectively be illustrated by examples, but if all of them wereto be backed up with examples, the whole passage would be a lot longer and maybe too heavy withexamples.If I had to choose just two statements which need supporting examples, I would say numbers three andsix because I’d say the ideas about ‘growing’ through books and books ‘defining’ our lives are too vaguewithout examples.Active reading (2)They were alive and they spoke to meBackground informationThis is from The Books in My Life by Henry Miller (1861–1980), an American novelist, writer and painter.Miller was born in New York, lived in Paris 1930–1939, and then inCalifornia. His best-known works blendfiction, autobiography, social criticism and mysticism: Tropic of Cancer (1934 published in France) describeshis life and loves in Paris and because of its sexual frankness it was not published in the USA till 1961;Black Spring (1936) has ten autobiographical stories; Tropic of Capricorn (1939) is about his years with theWestern Union Telegraph Company; The Colossus of Maroussi (1941), considered by some critics to be hisbest work, is a travel book about people from his stay in Greece.In The Books in My Life (1969) Miller looks at 100 books that influenced him. His list includes children’sbooks written originally for adults (eg Alice in Wonderland, The Arabian Nights, Greek Myths and Legends,Robinson Crusoe, The Three Musketeers); many French novels and poetry (eg by Balzac, Hugo, Giono,Nerval, Proust, Rimbaud, Huysmans, Maeterlinck), German novels (by Mann, Hesse, Dreiser) and theChinese Lao Tse and Fenollosa’s The Chinese Written Character as a Medium for Poetry, besides workby American writers (Twain, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman), Dostoievshy, Nietzsche, Joyce and writers onspiritual topics.Culture pointsAugust Strindberg (1849–1912): A Swedish playwright and a prolific writer of novels, short stories,satires, essays and poems, and a photographer, who tried various jobs before becoming assistant librarianat the Royal Library in Stockholm and established an experimental theatre. He is best known for his plays,including The Father (1887) and Miss Julie (1888), and for his vitality, vigour, and brilliant use of language.Miller c ites Strindberg’s autobiographies, The Confession of a Fool (vol.2), a passionate love story andaccount of problems in his marriage, and The Inferno (vol.3), a study of his religious conversion, delusionsand neuroses which reflect Strindberg’s periods of mental instability. Blaise Cendrars (1887–1961) is the pen name of Frédéric Sauser, a Swiss-born French novelist, shortstorywriter, poet, and film-maker, who led a life of constant travel (he was born in an Italian railway train)doing various jobs in Russia, Europe, North and South America and Asia – he is said to have shoveled coalon steam trains in China. He lost his right arm fighting for France in World War I. His prose includes vivid,witty, action-packed novels, like Moravagine (1926), which describe travel and adventure, or works directlyinspired by his own experience, like The Astonished Man (1945) and The Cut Hand (1946), and four volumesof memoirs. Miller admired his work and lists ‘virtually the complete works’ of Cendrars as influentialreading.Rémy de Gourmont (1858–1915): a French writer of 50 books: essays, novels and poetry, with a stronginterest in medieval Latin literature; as a critic he was admired by T. S. Eliot. He was a librarian at theNational Library in Paris; later, a painful skin disease kept him largely at home. He was influential in thesymbolist movement in literature. He claimed that a work of art exists only through the emotion it gives us.He asserted the need to get away from the unquestioning acceptance of commonplace ideas and associationsof ideas, and believed it was necessary for thought to proceed by imagery rather than by ideas.Julius Caesar (110 BC–44 BC): a Roman statesman, known as a great military strategist. As a general hewas famous for the conquest of Gaul (modern France and Belgium) which he added to the Roman Empire.He also made two expeditions to Britain, was governor of Spain and traveled in North Africa and Egypt. Hewas a good speaker and he wrote several books of commentaries and memoirs on Roman wars and militarycampaigns. Caesar’s writing is often studied today by those who learn Latin.The Julius Caesar of literature: this phrase compares Cendrars with Caesar: both were men of action,travelers, adventurers, explorers, who somehow found time to read a lot and write books.Language points1 The fact, however, that in the past I did most of my work without the aid of library I look upon asan advantage rather than a disadvantage. (Para 1)This is irony. Miller is writing about the importance of reading and about key books in his life, but thereis a paradox: Only recently has he been able to get all the books he has wanted all his life (ie he nowhas money, as a best-selling writer, to buy books) and, as a writer, he wrote books without the help of alibrary. He says that not having books was an advantage. The explanation is probably that Miller’s earlywriting was a mixture of autobiography and fiction, so he didn’t need to read other books or refer tothem to do his own writing. The irony is that he is saying this in a book about the books the influencedhim.2 A good book lives through the passionate recommendation of one reader to another. (Para 3)Miller thinks that a good part of the ‘life’ of a book is how one reader recommends it to anotherwith enthusiasm, ie books are about sharing experience, not just the author’s experience in the bookand the reader’s experience of reading it, but also the experience of word-of-mouth or face-to-facerecommendation by other readers.3 And the better the man the more easily will he part with his most cherished possessions. (Para 4)This continues Miller’s thought that books are for sharing. A good person will share things he or sheloves. In this case, such a person will give or lend favourite books and such generosity makes friends:When you give books you get friendship.4 If you are honest with yourself you will discover that your stature has increased from the mereeffort of resisting your impulse. (Para 6)Miller’s argument here is that you should not r ead everything, but that you should choose very carefullyand selectively. This means you should resist the temptation to read some things which are not reallygoing to add to your knowledge or enjoyment (not every book will do this, only some). Here, he saysthat in this way, we grow (we “increase our stature”). That is, we grow by not reading many books.The implication is that if we choose the very best books and read these few really carefully we will getthe best from them – and grow by such selection. Miller discusses 100 books which he things are suchbooks.5 All on the side, as it were. (Para 7)Cendrars was a man of action who spent most of his time on travels and adventures. Surprisingly (youwould think he did not have time), he read a lot in different languages and even wrote many books –this was in addition to his main activities.6 For, if he is anything, Cendrars, he is a man of action, an adventurer and explorer, a man who hasknown how to “waste” his time royally. (Para 7)Cendrars had a huge reputation as a man of action, travelling, having adventures and exploring differentcountries and yet he read a lot (he knew how to use the little time available to read). “Waste” is in quotesto show irony (reading isn’t a waste of time), that he read s in a royal manner (ie very thoroughly). Thesentence structure here is quite French with the repetition of “he”. Reading and understanding2 Choose the best answer to the questions.1 What does Miller consider to have been an advantage during his writing career?(a) To have been able to read all the books he wanted.(b) To have grown up in a room full of books.(c) To have written without the aid of a library.(d) The fact that he never wanted to own any books.2 What did three stars on a book mean in the public library in Miller’s youth?(a) Young people weren’t allowed to read them.(b) They were the most popular books in the library.(c) They were intended for children.(d) They were more exciting than one-star books.3 Why does Miller hope the star system still exists in public libraries?(a) It is an efficient system which works well.(b) It discourages people from reading inappropriate books.(c) It makes people interested in reading.(d) It makes it easier for people to recognize books.4 Why do peop le lend books, in Miller’s opinion?(a) Because they feel the need to share their feelings.(b) It’s the best way to make a friend.(c) It’s less risky than lending money.(d) Because it’s not possible to possess a book for ever.5 According to Miller, what should you do when you find a book you want to read?(a) Pick it up and start reading.(b) Ask a friend for advice about the book.(c) Think about whether you really need to read it.。
![新标准大学英语综合教程2_unit4_active_reading_2_[1]](https://img.taocdn.com/s1/m/40f00cb8f121dd36a32d82d9.png)
