Unit 8 My Forever Valentine
Text comprehension
I. B
II. FTFTF
III.
1. Valentine’s Day
2. He displayed his special love for her on every Valentine’s Day.
3. … decorated a “mailbox” to receive cards.
4. given by her father, her forever valentine; with a piece of red glass for a ruby.
5. her hopes and dreams on receiving cards and gifts from more important people than her father.
6. a card with her mother’s handwriting.
7. always keep in mind her father’s love and generosity through simple ac ts.
IV.
1. Only Valentine’s Day really delighted him.
2. I remember Dad brought me joy on Valentine’s Day for the first time when I was six.
3. The box and its contents reminded me of a series of things, both bitter and sweet.
4. As I was getting older, Dad sent me heart-shaped boxes as gifts, unlike the gifts before.
Structural analysis of the text:
1. Valentine’s Day was the time my father chose to show his love for the special people in his life. Over the years I fondly thought of him as my “Valentine Man”.
2. The author’s recounting of her Valentine Day memories in the second part of the text follows closely the chronological order. Try to pick out the three sentences in this part that indicate the progression of time.
The three sentences that indicate the progression of time are:
1) My first recollection of the magic he could bring to Valentine’s Day came when I was six. (Paragraph 3)
2) As I grew older, the gifts gave way to heart-shaped boxes filled with my favorite chocolates and always included a special card signed “Love, Dad.” (Paragraph 5)
3) My mailbox eventually had a rural address, and the job of hand-delivering candy and cards was relegated to the U.S. Postal Service. (Paragraph 7)
Vocabulary
I.
1. thought of him as= regarded him as
2. ushered in a succession of bittersweet memories= brought back to mind a series of experiences, both happy and unhappy, one after another
3. put a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes= aroused your strong emotion and made you cry
4. gave way to= were gradually replaced by
5. more of= to a greater degree
II.
1.legible;
2. timed;
3. surpassing;
4. sensed;
5. relegated;
6. signaled;
7. perfunctory;
8. generosity;
9. teasing; 10. mark
III. Word comparison
1. careful
2. create
3. eventually: in the end, after all
4. usher / guide
5. aging
6. continuing / persist
7. address / deliver / send
8. reminder / caution
IV.
1. form: v. 形成，构成，组成（从无到有）/ shape: v. 修正，完善，定型（从有到好）
a. formed;
b. shaping;
c. formed;
d. shaped.
2. contest: 具体的赛事，有规则、奖项、操作程序/ competition: general meaning, 竞争行为，既在赛事，也不一定要在赛事中。
a. contest;
b. competition;
c. competition;
d. contest.
3．recollection: n. 动词性，回想，复述/ memory: n. 名词性，记忆。
a. memories;
b. memory;
c. recollection;
d. recollection.
4．cheap: 便宜，廉价，低廉，价贱/ inexpensive: 不贵但不是便宜，更不是低贱。
a. cheap;
b. cheap;
c. inexpensive;
d. inexpensiv
e.
V. Give synonyms or antonyms of the word underlined in each sentence in the sense it is used.
1. Synonyms: well-prepared, complicated, complex
2. Antonyms: unpleasant, displeasing
3. Synonym: slacken, decelerate / accelerate
4. Antonyms: coldly, bitterly, hatefully, spitefully
5. Synonyms: lovely, lovable, attractive
6. Antonyms: shame, disgrace, humiliation
7. Synonyms: indifferent, half-hearted
8. Antonyms: selfishness, meanness
VI. Rephrase each of the following sentences with the word given in brackets.
1. We must have your answer tonight at the latest. (insist)
insist on / upon sth.
Key: We insist on having your answer tonight at the latest.
2. My father is going to lend me his car tonight. (borrow)
Key: My father is gong to let me borrow his car tonight.
3. We see it as a wonderful opportunity. (look)
look upon/on = regard as
Key: We look upon it as a wonderful opportunity.
4. You don’t mean to say you want a fifth ice cream, do you? (surely)
Key: You surely don’t want a fifth ice cream, do you?
5. There is almost nothing in the house to eat tonight. (hardly)
hardly adv. almost not 几乎不
Key: There is hardly anything in the house to eat tonight.
6. The bank now owns this block of flats. (belong)
belong to (prep.): be owned by 属于
Key: This block of flats now belongs to the bank.
7. Is it really advisable to freeze this sort of food? (should)
Should aux. will, need to应该，将要
Key: Should we really freeze this sort of food?
8. There’s no need to telephone me when you arrive. (bother)
bother to: (usually used in the negative form) to cause inconvenience or discomfort to 费心，麻烦……
Key: Don’t bother to telephone me when you arrive.
II. Grammar Exercises
1. freezes;
2. gain time;
3. stay at home;
4. vaporizes;
5. may leave;
6. goes up;
7. turns to water;
8. had better join the queue.
III.
IV. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tenses.
1. If the story hadn't been true, the newspaper ___________ (not print) it.
wouldn’t have printed (E) unreal
2. had read (E) unreal
3. What ____________ (happen) if I press this button?
will happen (C) real
4. will fall (C) real
5. comes (C) real
6. gets (C) real
7. I _____________ (not buy) things on the installment system if I were you.
wouldn’t buy (D) unreal
V. Highlight the underlined parts in the following sentences using “it + be + … + that.”
1.It is that special place in your heart that… (Unit 1)
2. I put them into the soil the day my first son was born. (Unit 1)
Key: It was on the day my first son was born that I put them into the soil.
3. We reached Istanbul by train.
Key: It was by train that we reached Istanbul.
4. It was the headmaster who…
5. He’s feeling unwell because he’s been working too hard.
Key: It is because he’s been working too hard that he’s feeling unwell.
6. It is his grandfather’s skills that…
7. It was in 1960 that…
8. It was at Waterloo that…
VI.
Never will I disregard the potential danger in routine business, nor will I in health.
Never have I anticipated unexpected reward, nor have I accepted unreasonable deprivation.
III. Translation exercises
I. English to Chinese:
1.然而，情人节是爸爸向在他的生活中具有特殊意义的人表达爱的日子。
2. 那只（盒子）以及其中的贺卡礼物勾起了我一连串酸甜苦辣的回忆：开始攀比收到贺卡的多少和人气的大小、有关男朋友女朋友的逗笑、班里那最可爱的男生赠给我的贺卡勾起我的温柔情思。
3. 长大后，我收到的礼物改成是心形的盒子，里面装满了我最喜欢的巧克力，还随附一很特别的卡片，上面写着“爱你的爸爸”。
4.那卡令我认识到为人之父可以多么出色、在那些年里感受深厚的父爱对我多么重要；父亲以慷慨大度的精神、善解人意的朴实言行和向他生活中的亲友传递幸福的能力实践着爱的传统。