Unit One Part One Before Reading 1.About the Authorand the Story Mona Gardner,an American woman writer.Most ofher short stories were written for the Saturday Evening Post magazine and Collier's Weekly magazine during the 1930s and 1940s.The Dinner Party first appeared in the Saturday Review of Literature,Vol.25,No.5,January 31. 1941 2.Cobra Cobras,found in some parts of Africa and Asia,are poisonous snakes.Most cobras bite their victims and their bite may cause death within a few hours. The king cobra,the largest of all poisonous snakes,may reach a length of 18 ft(5.5 m)and feeds chiefly on other snakes.When disturbed,it raises its hooded head to get a better view or to strike.Large individuals may raise themselves to a height ofabout 1 m(about 4 ft). The Indian cobra is usually 4-5 ft(1.2-1.6 m)long.The snake's color ranges from yellowish to dark brown.It has a mark like a pair of spectacles on the back of its hood.It preys on rats and is therefore often found in houses.The Indian cobra and the Egyptian cobra are often displayed by snake charmers.The cobras appear to respond to the music played by the charmer,but,like all snakes,they are deaf and only follow the movements ofthe charmer. 3.Discussion 1)Who do you think are braver,women or men?Please give examples to support your statement. 2)Do you have the same feeling when you see a woman screaming over an insect and a man screaming over an insect?Why or why not? 3)Do you think womencan do everything men can?Why or why not? 1
1 Unit One Part One Before Reading 1. About the Author and the Story Mona Gardner, an American woman writer. Most of her short stories were written for the Saturday Evening Post magazine and Collier’s Weekly magazine during the 1930s and 1940s. The Dinner Party first appeared in the Saturday Review of Literature, Vol. 25, No. 5, January 31, 1941. 2. Cobra Cobras, found in some parts of Africa and Asia, are poisonous snakes. Most cobras bite their victims and their bite may cause death within a few hours. The king cobra, the largest of all poisonous snakes, may reach a length of 18 ft (5.5 m) and feeds chiefly on other snakes. When disturbed, it raises its hooded head to get a better view or to strike. Large individuals may raise themselves to a height of about 1 m (about 4 ft). The Indian cobra is usually 4-5 ft (1.2–1.6 m) long. The snake’s color ranges from yellowish to dark brown. It has a mark like a pair of spectacles on the back of its hood. It preys on rats and is therefore often found in houses. The Indian cobra and the Egyptian cobra are often displayed by snake charmers. The cobras appear to respond to the music played by the charmer, but, like all snakes, they are deaf and only follow the movements of the charmer. 3. Discussion 1) Who do you think are braver, women or men? Please give examples to support your statement. 2) Do you have the same feeling when you see a woman screaming over an insect and a man screaming over an insect? Why or why not? 3) Do you think women can do everything men can? Why or why not?
4.Questions About the Text 1)How many persons are mentioned in this story except the servants? Who arethey? Twenty one.They are the host,hostessand their guests 2)What was the subject ofthe discussion between the young girl and the major? They had a heated discussionabout how womenreact to a crisis 3)How was the American naturalist aware ofthe existence ofa snake? He noticed what was happeningto the hostess and the boy 4)What did the American naturalist do to get over thecrisis? He said that he wanted to know how well they could control themselves and asked them to sit still until he counted up to three hundred. 5)What do you think of what the hostess did that day? (Open-ended.) 5.True or False 1)The setting of the story is in India and the time of the story is during the First World War It took place before the First World War. 2)The guests attending the party are the persons with high social status 3)The room where the party was held is very big and quite good 4)In the discussion,the young girl points out that women are braver than men. The girl only means women are now braver thanthey were in the past 5)When the American naturalist notices a strange expression coming over the hostess' face. he immediately knows that there is a snake in the room. It is not until he sees the boy place a bowl of milk on the veranda that he knows that. 6)After the American realizes what is happening in the room,he is very 2
2 4. Questions About the Text 1) How many persons are mentioned in this story except the servants? Who are they? Twenty one. They are the host, hostess and their guests 2) What was the subject of the discussion between the young girl and the major? They had a heated discussion about how women react to a crisis. 3) How was the American naturalist aware of the existence of a snake? He noticed what was happening to the hostess and the boy 4) What did the American naturalist do to get over the crisis? He said that he wanted to know how well they could control themselves and asked them to sit still until he counted up to three hundred. 5) What do you think of what the hostess did that day? (Open-ended.) 5. True or False 1) The setting of the story is in India and the time of the story is during the First World War. It took place before the First World War. 2) The guests attending the party are the persons with high social status 3) The room where the party was held is very big and quite good 4) In the discussion, the young girl points out that women are braver than men. The girl only means women are now braver than they were in the past 5) When the American naturalist notices a strange expression coming over the hostess’ face, he immediately knows that there is a snake in the room. It is not until he sees the boy place a bowl of milk on the veranda that he knows that. 6) After the American realizes what is happening in the room, he is very
astonished 7)The trick the American uses then shows that he is a cowardly man. He is a clever and calm man 8)LFrom the last sentence of the story,we can come to the conclusion that the hostess is calmer than the American. Part Two Language Points 1.heated:adj.angry;excited At a heated moment in the discussion,I lost my self-control Ed and I used to stay up all night,drinking wine and having heated arguments about politics. NB heated的名词形式为heat意为激烈，激动”。例如 In the heat of the argument,I became so excited that I shouted very loudly. 在激烈辩论中，我变得如此激动以至于大声叫了起来。 此外，还可以用在词组take the heat out of the situation中，意为让局 面缓和下来”。 2.track down:find(sb./sth.)by huntingor searching It was almost two weeks before they tracked down the facts they needed. 警察需要你来帮助追捕杀人犯。 The police need your help to track downthe murdere 3.bare: (1).adj.1)not covered;with no plants growingon it 如果我记得不错的话，在你家乡附近有座光秃秃的小山。 If my memory serves me,there was a bare hill near your hometown. 2)no morethan;mere The candidate won theelection by a bare majority. The candidate won theelection by a bare majority. (2).v.reveal The lady screamed as the snake bared its teeth. CF bare,bald,naked nude 3
3 astonished 7) The trick the American uses then shows that he is a cowardly man. He is a clever and calm man 8) LFrom the last sentence of the story, we can come to the conclusion that the hostess is calmer than the American. Part Two Language Points 1. heated: adj. angry; excited At a heated moment in the discussion, I lost my self-control Ed and I used to stay up all night, drinking wine and having heated arguments about politics. NB heated 的名词形式为 heat 意为“激烈, 激动”。例如 In the heat of the argument, I became so excited that I shouted very loudly. 在激烈辩论中，我变得如此激动以至于大声叫了起来。 此外，还可以用在词组 take the heat out of the situation 中，意为“让局 面缓和下来”。 2. track down: find (sb./sth.) by hunting or searching It was almost two weeks before they tracked down the facts they needed. 警察需要你来帮助追捕杀人犯。 The police need your help to track down the murderer 3.bare: (1). adj. 1) not covered; with no plants growing on it 如果我记得不错的话， 在你家乡附近有座光秃秃的小山。 If my memory serves me, there was a bare hill near your hometown. 2) no more than; mere The candidate won the election by a bare majority. The candidate won the election by a bare majority. (2). v. reveal The lady screamed as the snake bared its teeth. CF bare, bald, naked & nude
这几个形容词都含“赤裸的”之意。 bare指缺少必要的遮盖物。用于人时，多指身体的部分裸露。例如： He exposed a bare back to the sun 他把赤裸的背部暴露在日光下。 bald指头上无发，地上无草木，树上无叶等。例如： He was already bald at the age of 25. 他25岁就秃顶了。 naked指全身一丝不挂，暴露无遗。例如： They found the body lying half naked in the grass. 他们发现尸体半裸着躺在草丛中。 The children ran naked through the yard. 孩子们光着身子跑过院子。 nude主要指人体裸露，也可指房间无装饰。例如： The boys went swimming in the nude. 男孩们光着屁股去游泳 4.Why does the author say "though any naturalist would know it couldn't be?" Because cobras generally eat small animals such as rabbits and mice,a naturalist would tell us that milk is not a favorite food for the cobras 5.Translate this sentence into Chinese 席间，一位年轻的女士与一位少校展开了激烈的讨论。年轻的女士认 为，妇女已经有所进步，不再像过去那样一见到老鼠就吓得跳到椅子 上；少校则不以为然。 6.What'sthe meaning ofwhat really counts?" It means"something that is really important" 7.What's the meaning of"look"and"see"in this sentence? Look”means“to try to find something using your eyes”while "see” means"to use your eyes to look at things and know what they are." More examples: The twins looked at each other and smiled I can't see a thing without my glasses!
4 这几个形容词都含“赤裸的”之意。 bare 指缺少必要的遮盖物。用于人时，多指身体的部分裸露。例如： He exposed a bare back to the sun. 他把赤裸的背部暴露在日光下。 bald 指头上无发，地上无草木，树上无叶等。例如： He was already bald at the age of 25. 他 25 岁就秃顶了。 naked 指全身一丝不挂，暴露无遗。例如： They found the body lying half naked in the grass. 他们发现尸体半裸着躺在草丛中。 The children ran naked through the yard. 孩子们光着身子跑过院子。 nude 主要指人体裸露，也可指房间无装饰。例如： The boys went swimming in the nude. 男孩们 光着屁股去游泳 4.Why does the author say “though any naturalist would know it couldn’t be? ” Because cobras generally eat small animals such as rabbits and mice, a naturalist would tell us that milk is not a favorite food for the cobras. 5.Translate this sentence into Chinese 席间，一位年轻的女士与一位少校展开了激烈的讨论。年轻的女士认 为，妇女已经有所进步，不再像过去那样一见到老鼠就吓得跳到椅子 上；少校则不以为然。 6.What’s the meaning of “what really counts? ” It means “something that is really important” 7.What’s the meaning of “look” and “see” in this sentence? “Look” means “to try to find something using your eyes” while “see” means “to use your eyes to look at things and know what they are. ” More examples: The twins looked at each other and smiled I can’t see a thing without my glasses!
8.What'sthe meaning of"look'”and“see”in this sentence? Look”means"to try to find something using your eyes'”while“see' means"to use your eyes to look at things and know what they are." More examples: The twins looked at each other and smiled. I can't see a thing withoutmy glasses! 9.Paraphraseand analyze this part. 1)her muscles tightened almost unnoticeably 2)This is an absolute construction(独立主格结构)used as an adverbial ofbehavior or way.Instead ofv-ing form we can also use v-ed form,adjective,adverbial prepositional phrase,or even infinitive in this structure. More examples: He groaned and fell to the floor,blood streaming from his nose. He rushed into theroom,his face covered with sweat The girl entered the classroom,her nosered with cold. The attacker entered the dark room,gun in hand 10.What can we infer from this sentence? What the hostess tells the boy is so terrible that even a native boy feels astonished. 11.spring up:begin suddenly,increase or grow quickly and as if from nowhere 许多楼房已在原是一片沙漠的地带涌现出来。 Many buildings have sprung up in what wasa desert. A strange idea sprangup in her mind. 12.outgrow:vt.1)grow morethan 他长得比他哥哥还高。 He has outgrown his elder brother 2)growtoo large for The boy has outgrown this suit 3)lose or discard in the course of maturation
5 8.What’s the meaning of “look” and “see” in this sentence? “Look” means “to try to find something using your eyes” while “see” means “to use your eyes to look at things and know what they are. ” More examples: The twins looked at each other and smiled. I can’t see a thing without my glasses! 9.Paraphrase and analyze this part. 1) her muscles tightened almost unnoticeably. 2) This is an absolute construction（独立主格结构） used as an adverbial of behavior or way. Instead of v-ing form we can also use v-ed form, adjective, adverbial, prepositional phrase, or even infinitive in this structure. More examples: He groaned and fell to the floor, blood streaming from his nose. He rushed into the room, his face covered with sweat The girl entered the classroom, her nose red with cold. The attacker entered the dark room, gun in hand 10.What can we infer from this sentence? What the hostess tells the boy is so terrible that even a native boy feels astonished. 11.spring up: begin suddenly, increase or grow quickly and as if from nowhere 许多楼房已在原是一片沙漠的地带涌现出来。 Many buildings have sprung up in what was a desert. A strange idea sprang up in her mind. 12.outgrow: vt. 1) grow more than 他长得比他哥哥还高。 He has outgrown his elder brother 2) grow too large for The boy has outgrown this suit. 3) lose or discard in the course of maturation