No Signposts in the Sea

词汇(Vocabulary):a post bearing a sign；guidepost广告柱；路标----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:able to bend and move easily and nimbly；lithe；limber柔软的；可塑的；能轻易弯曲的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:cause(time)to pass without being noticed消磨(时间----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:showing deference；very respectful表示敬意的，恭敬的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:holding unreasonably or obstinatedly to one’s own opinions固执己见的；固守成见的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:inclined to eat too much and greedily贪食的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------: present but invisible or inactive；lying hidden and undeveloped within a person or thing，as a quality or power；potential潜在的；潜伏的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:not intended；unintentional无意的；非有意的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:haughty or contemptuous傲慢的，目中无人的；轻蔑的，轻视的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------: operated by the movement and force of liquid水力的；液压的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:regarding as belonging to or coming from someone归属；归因、；归咎----------------------------------------------------------------------------------: of characteristic of adolescence；youthful，exuberant，immature，unsettled，young，etc．青春期的，青年的；发育未全的；未成熟的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:immature love that adolescent boys and girls may feel for each other；puppy love雏恋，幼恋----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:break up and move in different directions;scatter分散，散开；散去----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:the doctrine that God is not a personality(as in Christianity)but thata11 laws，forces. manifestations, etc.，of the self-existing universe are God泛神论----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:active ill will；desire to harm another or to do mischief；spite敌意；怨恨----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:giving a fine delight to the senses; giving a satisfying feeling of restand enjoyment令人舒服的；安逸的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:showing religious devotion and zealous in the performance of religious obligations虔诚的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:a small，enclosed place in a church. where a priest hears confessions(教堂中神父听取忏悔的)忏悔室----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:remission(of sin or penalty for it)：specif., in some churches，such remission formally given by a priest in the sacrament of penance(罪或惩罚的)赦免----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:the rail around the stern of a ship or boat船尾栏杆----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:cause to ripple使起细浪；使波动(或飘动)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:a small horse矮种马；小马----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:a kind or very fine smooth cloth mainly of silk. which is shiny on the front and dull on the back缎子----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:stain or color to look like mottled or streaked marble把……弄上大理石花纹----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:a person who writes illegibly or carelessly 笔迹潦草的人----------------------------------------------------------------------------------: dangerously steep：frighteningly high above the ground陡峭的；险峻的；悬崖峭壁般的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:a high，steep，broad—faced bank or cliff陡坡；悬崖----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:(of land or a country)having so little rain as to be very dry and unproductive(土地等)干旱的；贫脊的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:(cause to)become white or whiter(使)变白，漂白----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:take 0r carry away by force；rape强抢；强夺；强奸----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:(often pl.)a secluded，withdrawn，or inner place(常用复数)深处；幽深之处----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:having a severe or stern look，manner，etc．；forbidding严厉的，严峻的；严肃的；苛刻的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:happening，then stopping，then happening again，with pauses inbetween；not continuous断断续续的，间断的----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:a peak or high land that juts out into a body of water；headland岬(角)；海角----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:a pale purple colour淡紫色----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:any of various large strong，mostly white seabirds famous for their ability to fly long distances信天翁----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:knowledge or wisdom，especially of an unscientific kind，about a certain subject学问；知识(尤指某门学科知识)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:stand，move，sit，lie，etc．in a relaxed or lazy way；loll(懒散地)站(走，坐，躺)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:the quality or state of being serene；calmness；tranquillity宁静；晴朗----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:catch sight of；make out；spy；descry(偶尔)看见；发现；探出；窥见----------------------------------------------------------------------------------:a type of toothed sea—animal 2-3 metres long，which swims about very quickly in groups。

国际关系学院学报1997年4期No Signposts in t he Sea教学笔记冯幼民 摘　要　N o S ignposts i n the Sea(《海上无航标》)是大三精读课中的难点。

课文使用日记体手法,细腻地描述了一位著名记者在生命走向尽头时的心路历程。

文中众多的对比、比喻、象征手法,以及跳跃性的叙述方式,对历届学生都是挑战。

为了使学生能够较好地理解课文所表达的深刻涵义,必须进行多个层次的仔细全面分析,其中包括解析课文深层内涵,分析和挖掘对比、比喻、象征手段的作用,讨论课文、特别是主人公思想逻辑的发展,探求课文题目的的含义等,最终达到使学生在领略优美的,理解主人公巨大的思想变化,以及他对人生和大自然的眷恋,对真善美的永恒追求。

关键词　英语教学　课文解析　对比和比喻　思想逻辑引言N o S ignposts i n the Sea(《海上无航标》) (《高级英语》第1册第15课)是大三精读课中比较有难度和深度的课文之一。

日记体的课文从头到尾是主人公在自言自语,既不像小说,也不是说理,有思维的跳跃,却缺少各部分的连接和连续的故事情节。

学生在预习中,往往只能读出一丝忧愁几多浪漫,对课文所要表达的真实意义却不知所云。

标题是什么意思?众多的对比、比喻和象征有什么内涵?面对梦呓般的课文和非常有限的背景材料,学生的茫然是可想而知的。

怎样让学生理解这篇流畅美丽的文章所表达的对自然美和人生美的热爱和追求?怎样让学生对主人公的命运和思想变化有深刻理解?结合几年的教学经验,本文对课文从含义、对比、比喻和思想逻辑等方面进行一些探讨。

作者、写作背景与主人公课文节选自英国现代多产的诗人和小说家维多利亚・玛丽・萨克维尔-韦斯特(1892 -1962)的同名小说。

这是她写于1961年的最后作品。

作家在创作这部小说时,已经身患绝症,所以从某种意义上说,它是作家对生命、爱情、工作等人生最重要内容的总结。

作者借主人公埃得蒙・卡的日记,叙述人生最后阶段的种种感受与体验。

Lesson Fifteen:No Signposts in the Sea___By V. Sackville -westI. Additional Background Knowledge1. About the author:( 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962 )Victoria MarySackville-west was anEnglish poet and novelist.She was born in KnoleHouse, Kent, UK. She wasa descendant of LordTreasurer ThomasSackville, who is the cousinof Queen Elizabeth I.In 1913 she married diplomat Harold Nicolson (1886-1968), and they traveled extensively during his years in the foreign office. In London she was a member of the Bloomsbury group of literary and artistic friends including Virginia Woolf. Lytton Strachey, E.M. Foster and others.In the 1920s Sackville-West became romantically involved with the writer, Virginia Woolf, who celebrated this love affair in the novel Orlando(1928). Dedicated to Sackville-West, the book traces the history of the youthful, beautiful, and aristocratic Orlando, and explores the themes of sexual ambiguity. This was followed by her novels, The Edwardians(1930), All Passion Spent(1931) and The Dark Island(1934).She was famous for herexuberant aristocratic life,her strong marriage, andher passionate affair with novelist Virginia Woolf. Sackville-West's first published works were a collection of poems, Powers of West and East(1917). Her long poem The Land won the Hawthornden Prize in 1927. She also wrote the novel Heritage (1919)Personal life, marriage and bisexuality (Bit of profligacy )In 1913, Sackville-West married Harold Nicolson, and the couple moved to Cospoli, Constantinople(君士但丁堡of Turkey). Nicolson was at different times a diplomat, journalist, broadcaster, Member of Parliament, author of biographies and novels and also bisexual in what would now be called an open marriage. Both Sackville-West and her husband had consecutive same-sex relations.(gay, lesbian)These were no impediment(obstacle) to a true closeness between Sackville-West and Nicolson, as is seen from their nearly daily correspondence (published after their deaths by their son Nigel), and from an interview they gave for BBC radio after World War II. Nicolson gave up his diplomatic career partly so that he couldlive with Sackville-West in England, uninterrupted by long solitary postings to missions abroad.They returned to England in 1914 and bought Long Barn, in Kent.The couple had two children:Nigel, also a politician and writer; and Benedict, an art historian. In the 1930s, the family acquired and moved to Sissinghurst Castle, near Cranbrook, in Kent.Her main writings(Prolific Writer)1) The land(1926): It‟s a long poem,which was praised as one of themost beautiful bucolic/idyllic inEnglish literature ant wonHawthorndon prize.2) The Garden(1946), won theHeinemann prize3) The Edwardians (1930), a novel.（爱德华时代的人）4) All passion spent (1931), a novel(激情耗尽)5) The Eagle and the Dove (1943)6) Another World than This (1945)(an anthology)7) No Signposts in the Sea (1961)2. Styles and Influence:1) Sackville–west’s novels are more widely known, yet her poetry may prove to be more enduring: there is a depth of feeling and perception in the best of her poems, a quality at once stately and moving. Her prose is of consistently in high quality, supple clear, and craftsman-like, viewed as one of Britain‟s p romising young writers in the 1920‟s. She is now regarded famous for her personality as much as for her writing.She is a prolific writer, the author of 15 novels, as well as biographies and travel books.2) About the novel:“No Signposts in the Sea”(1) The novel with144-pages is in theform of a journal kept by a man calledEdmund Carr, 50 years old, aninfluential political columnist and abachelor. He learns that he has alimited time to live___ a few weeks, amonth or two at most. How will hespend them? In this dilemma/(quandary, predicament), he met awidow_ Ms. Laura by chance,whohas booked on a cruise / trip to theFar East. Laura, the widow‟s warmth,and intelligence struck him. Therefore,he decided to board the ship.(2) While sailing at sea, Carr was full ofemotions, such as: the undercurrentsadness, the idyllic feelings, therelease from pressure, the dullrhythms of ship life, the enticing /(luring) scenery. Later he fell in lovewith the Window Laura.(3) Edmund Carr grows love for Laurathough he knows it is impossible toget her. Simultaneously, a handsomecolonel also shows great interest inLaura, which makes Carr feel jealous,despairing, and an outburst ofdisappointment against his “rival”.3) Styles: This story (a short novel) showsa romantic love affair. The cruise onthe sea is full of imagination, lyric,and idyllic.(1) Attitudes: __ more critical than praise/commendation;__ more pessimistic than optimistic. (2) Diary __ prose.3. Rhetorical Devices:1. transferred epithet;2. personification3. simile4. Pre-reading Questions1) What pleasure does Edmund Carr getby observing Laura without her knowing it?2) Does Carr appreciate natural beauty?3) Why does Carr like islands?4) What kind of coastline does he like?II. : Detailed study of the text1. She wears soft rich colours.__ It means her dress is in deep, intense colors such as dark red, olive green. Rich: = banquet (luxurious, sumptuous ) ~ wine (full of strength & flavor )~ odors (very fragrant;Cf: flagrant =notorious)~ soil (fertile , yielding in abundance ) 2. The Colonel, who is not too offensively an Empire-builder, sometimes tries to talk to me about public affairs.___The Colonel, an Empire-builder who is not too disgustingly aggressive,sometimes tries to talk to me aboutpublic affairs.3.He says he used to read me(metonymy), and is ……charming deferential= to read my writings /articles metonymy: I like Shakespeare(his works ).__I find Saul Bellow very difficult tounderstand.= ( a U.S novelist. 1915- )4. (1) ill-informedeg. ill-bred, (considered, defined , mannered , treated,)(2) and just about ……anybody could go--- just about as conservative as anybody could be . (极端保守)5. I observe with amusement how totally the concerns of the world, which once absorbed me to the exclusion of all else …to the extent of a bored distaste. __I was once so completely absorbed in the important affairs of the world, anddevoted all my attention to it so that I only have one rest by reading poetry and listening to music. But now, I found amusingly that the world affaires are just some boring distaste.To the exclusion of=To do sth. only; without concerningother things.Eg: __ He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.__ Never concentrate all your attention on one or two problem, to theexclusion of others.Trans:我有趣的发现，自己过去偶尔借诗歌或音乐消遣放松一下，一心专注的世界大事现在不仅索然无味，而且到了令人厌烦的地步。

In the dining-saloon I sit at a table with three other men; Laura sits some way oft with a married couple and their daughter。

I can observe her without her knowing, and this gives me pleasure，for it is as in a moving picture that I can note the grace of her gestures, whether she raises a glass of wine to her lips or turns with a remark to one of her neighbours or takes a cigarette from her case with those slender fingers。

I have never had much of an eye for noticing the clothes of women，but I get the impression that Laura is always in grey and white by day，looking cool when other people are flushed and shiny in the tropical heat；in the evening she wears soft rich colours, dark red, olive green，midnight blue, always of the most supple flowing texture. I ventured to say something of the kind to her, when she laughed at my clumsy compliment and said I had better take to writing fashion articles instead of political leaders.在餐厅里，我同另外三个男人围坐在一张桌子旁，而劳拉同一对夫妇及他们的女儿一块儿坐在离我不远的地方。

No Signposts in the Sea一、In the dining-saloon I sit at a table with three other men, Laura sits some way off with a married couple and their daughter. I can observe her without her knowing and this gives me pleasure, for it is as in a moving picture that I can note the grace of her gestures,①whether she raises a glass of wine to her lips or②turns with a remark to one of her neighbors or takes a cigarette from her casewith those slender fingers（loose sentense松散句）.I have never had much of an eye for noticing the clothes of women, but I get the impression Laura is always in grey and white by day, looking cool when other people are flushed and shinyin the tropical heat; in the evening, she wears soft rich colors（metonymy借代）, dark red, olive green, midnight blue, always of the most supple flowing texture. I ventured to say something of the kind to her, when she laughed at my clumsy compliment and said. I had better take to writing fashion articles instead of political leaders.PS：①soft：ADJ Something that is soft is very gentle and has no force. For example, a soft sound or voice is quiet and not harsh. A soft light or colour is pleasant to look at because it is not bright. (声音、光线或色彩) 柔和的；②rich:Rich smells are strong and very pleasant. Rich colours and sounds are deep and very pleasant. 浓郁的(气味); 浓厚的(色彩)因此soft和rich这里的修辞手法是：oxymoron n. （修词中的）矛盾修饰法在餐厅里我同另外三个男人围坐在一张桌子旁，而劳拉同一对夫妇及他们的女儿一块儿坐在离我不远的地方。

No Signposts in the Sea一、In the dining-saloon I sit at a table with three other men, Laura sits some way off with a married couple and their daughter. I can observe her without her knowing and this gives me pleasure, for it is as in a moving picture that I can note the grace of her gestures,①whether she raises a glass of wine to her lips or②turns with a remark to one of her neighbors or takes a cigarette from her casewith those slender fingers（loose sentense松散句）.I have never had much of an eye for noticing the clothes of women, but I get the impression Laura is always in grey and white by day, looking cool when other people are flushed and shinyin the tropical heat; in the evening, she wears soft rich colors（metonymy借代）, dark red, olive green, midnight blue, always of the most supple flowing texture. I ventured to say something of the kind to her, when she laughed at my clumsy compliment and said. I had better take to writing fashion articles instead of political leaders.PS：①soft：ADJ Something that is soft is very gentle and has no force. For example, a soft sound or voice is quiet and not harsh. A soft light or colour is pleasant to look at because it is not bright. (声音、光线或色彩) 柔和的；②rich:Rich smells are strong and very pleasant. Rich colours and sounds are deep and very pleasant. 浓郁的(气味); 浓厚的(色彩)因此soft和rich这里的修辞手法是：oxymoron n. （修词中的）矛盾修饰法在餐厅里我同另外三个男人围坐在一张桌子旁，而劳拉同一对夫妇及他们的女儿一块儿坐在离我不远的地方。