现代大学英语精读4-Lesson-7-Spring-Sowing

现代大学英语精读4课文Spring sowing赏析作者：鲁美秀子来源：《青年时代》2019年第16期摘要：作为一名大学英语翻译专业的本科生，与其他英语专业的同学一样深知语言输入与输出的重要性，而现代大学英语精读教材是每一名本科英语相关专业的学生的必由之路，在语言的学习过程中，输入必不可少；本文将从不同的角度，选取现代大学英语系列教材中的其中一册的文章进行语篇解读，以帮助更多的初学者了解如何有效地学习和利用现代大学英语精读系列教材。

关键词：现代大学英语精读；语篇分析一、文章背景介绍（一）故事情节梗概本文描述了一对年轻夫妇在新婚不久后，迎来的第一次春播。

那个时代的爱尔兰还是一个靠农业为生的国度，就像是千千万万个面朝黄土背朝天的农民的生活一样，日出而作，日落而息。

虽然故事情节简单，但描述细致，以此刻画了一对年轻夫妇平凡劳动的生活景象、人物的品质以及当时那个年代农民的生活面貌。

文中很多细节，都能够刻画主人公的形象反映生活背景、用词得当，本文将依照时代背景在文中选取几个比较典型的例子进行赏析。

（二）时代背景本文以第一天春耕为切入点，而春耕的作物是土豆，这其实就是在暗示读者爱尔兰与土豆的渊源。

如果现在你来到爱尔兰的首都柏林，你还会看到利菲河畔的雕塑群---几个衣衫褴褛的难民，神情痛苦，其中一个背着饥饿的亲人。

这一画风就是在向世人讲述着19世纪爱尔兰的饥荒。

眼前的一切，如果追根溯源，都关乎一个东西----土豆。

我们对土豆这一作物并不陌生，但是如果谈起土豆所带来的复杂情感，没有哪个民族能像爱尔兰人民一样感同身受。

因为土豆，爱尔兰的人口在50年间，翻了一倍；同时，土豆也让爱尔兰的人口在7年内锐减了四分之一。

在爱尔兰有这样一句俗语：“世界上有两种东西不能开玩笑，一是婚姻，二是土豆。

”而这样的俗语来源于1845年的土豆饥荒，一种引发土豆枯萎病的真菌（Phytophthora infestans）在欧洲蔓延，导致土豆在地下直接枯死。

Lesson One Thinking as a HobbyAnswers:I. I have concluded that there were three grades of thinking since I was a child, while myself could not think at all. The subject of thinking was first brought up to me by my headmaster, in whose study I was shown the statuettes of Venus, leopard and the Thinker, which stands for love, nature and pure thought respectively. I was demanded to learn thinking there. People like Mr. Houghten provided me the image of Grade-three thinking, which is often full of unconscious prejudice, ignorance and hypocrisy. The grade-two thinker tends to find the deficiencies of the others, and may enjoy moments of delight, but it does not make for personal security. A still higher grade of thought demands people set out to find the truth and get it .Though these grade-one thinkers were few, I aspired to become one of them and devised a coherent moral and logical system for living. I stood to lose a great deal for my determination, but finally I dropped my hobby and turned professional in that.II.1 . C2 . C3 . D4 . D5 . C6 .B7 .C 8. D 9 .D 10. D 11. B 12 .D 13 .D 14 .B 15 . C 16 .D 17 .B 18 .D 19 . D 20 .CIII. OmittedLesson Two Waiting for the PoliceAnswers:Ⅰ.Oral workⅡ.Vocabulary⒈ Choose the right word and put it in the proper form1)earnest/serious serious serious earnest/serious earnest/serious2)make full use of took advantage of take advantage of make full use of take advantage of make some use of3)advise advised suggest proposed suggest propose suggest⒉Put the missing word2)will work is are reproduces deplete add3)can move don’t tear skin will never take areⅢ.Grammar workChoose the right expression1) in fact 2)especially at an advanced level2) it was that long ,I am sure 4)of course5)however 6)on the other hand7)I suppose 8)whether invited or notⅣ.Written work (omitted)Ⅴ.Translation1) It is miracle how our company has developed into a multinationalinsuch a short span of time2) The average life span of that country has increased from 42years to 50 years in matter of two decades.3) The conflict between the two countries has spanned more thanhalfA century4)There are four bridges spanning the river.5)I’m much obliged to you .Without your help, I would never have finished the book.6）No，you are not obliged to go to the party. You don’t have to go if youdon’t want to.7）She’s always ready to oblige when people come to her help. 8)In the valley is a small lack right between a meadow and a hill. It is aperfect spot for picnic.9)Sitting in that shady spot he soon dozed off.10)He criticized me on the spot when he saw me throw a plastic bag by the roadside.Lesson Three Why Historians DisagreeAnswersI. Oral workII. Vocabulary Test1. Choose the right word and put it in the proper form1) Historic historical2) Limited restricted3) Sensitive sensible2. Reading Comprehension1. P phenomenon2. B strength3. E tropical4. L bringing5. K starvation6. Jdestructive7. N worth 8. An estimate 9. O strikeIII. Grammar workComplete the following sentences with the most likelyanswer.1. C2.C3.A4.C5.CLesson Four A Drink in the PassageI. Oral work (omitted)II. Vocabulary Test:1 Translate1) into Chinese.(1)难以解决的两难困境(2)一本难以看懂的书(3)一个爱交际的女人(4)黑市(5)黑色幽默(6)害群之马2) into English(1)to celebrate its Golden Jubilee(2)to excite admiration(3)to touch the conscience(4)to win the prize(5)to receive a reprimand(6)to omit the words2. Study the difference between the following pairs or groups of words.1)(1)renounce (2)announce (3)renounce (4)denounced2)(1)avoid; prevent (2)prevent (3)avoid (4)averted/ avoided/ preventedIII. Grammar work1. Complete the following sentences with the right from of the verb in the brackets.(1) is (2) are (3)was (4)frightens2. Translate the sentences into English.1) Using “It is/ was said/ believed, etc.” to express general beliefs.(1)It’s widely rumored that Linda’s getting promoted.(2)It is estimated that the project will cost RMB three billion.(3)It is assumed that the Labor Party will remain in power.(4)It was proposed a few years ago that the president be elected for one term only.2) Paying special attention to subject-verb agreement.(1)The jury is having trouble reaching a verdict.(2)Whenever either of us is in a tight corner, we always come to each other’s help.(3)Statistics are facts obtained from analyzing information given in numbers.(4)Statistics is a branch of mathematics concerned with the studyof information that is expressed in numbers.3. Put in appropriate connectives.(1)as , where , that/which, if/ whether, but , if.4. Complete each of the following sentences with the most likely answer.(1) B (2)A (3)ALesson Five Man of the MomentAnswersI. Oral workII. Vocabulary１）ｉｎｔｏＣｈｉｎｅｓｅａ．假日别墅ｂ．著名的电视明星Ｃ．下流语言ｄ．黄色故事ｅ．银行抢劫ｆ．生产双沉玻璃的公司2) Into EnglishA .to trickle down her legsB .to puff like a whaleC .to melt down like snowD .to sum up the sceneE .to do their interviewF . to bear resentment3) Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions or adverbsa. down; up .b. inC. to; by; for d. back; to4)Tell the difference between the following pairs or groups of words.a. tormented/torturedb. torturec. tormenting/torturing2.a. murmuringb. mutterc. murmuringd. mutteringIII. Translatea. We need to increase our oil import in the coming years to meet the growingDemand for energyb. Our profit has increased by 20% in the past two years.c. The number of privately-owned cars has increased five times(fivefold ) in five years.d. The number of mobile phone owners in our city has increased from 20 thousandto about half a million in less than 5 years.e. S he propped her bike against a tree.Lesson Six Groundless BeliefsAnswersI. Oral Work:（1）T hey are based on mere tradition, or on somebody’s strong statement without the support of proof unsupported by even the slightest trace of proof.（2）B ut if they were exchanged when they were infants and brought up in different homes and under different influences, then the staunchest Roman Catholic would be the staunchest Presbyterian, and vice versa. This shows that our beliefs are largely influenced by our surroundings.Ⅱ.Vocabulary1.Translate1) into Chinese(1)非理性因素（2）过去的好日子（3）思想模式（4）陈旧的故事（5）思路（6）鲜明的对比（7）强烈发满足感（8）感情上的联想（9）一场恶吵（10）酸葡萄2) into English（1）to classify propositions (2) to hold an opinion (3) to establish convictions(4) to reverse the process (5) to question the truth (6) to adopt a new belief(7) to demonstrate the contrary (8)to credit the fact (9) to entertain an opinion(10) to acquire wealth2.Put appropriate prepositions or adverbs in the blanks1) out/over 2)on/upon 3)at; about 4)off 5)on; off3.Translate1) We will achieve this result at any cost.2)Our economy began to grow by leaps and bounds as a result of the reform and open policy.3)His repressive policies only resulted in his quick fall.4) Many of our present problems in a way to dispose of nuclear waste.5) The fact that you like somebody may dispose you to like hisideas also.４．Complete the following sentences.1) were brought up in a different country; think and behave like a native of that country.2) will produce ten million kilowatts of power annually.3) that she did not care for office work4)the boy stabbing his own father5) postpone my retirement for another yearⅢ.GrammarComplete the following sentences by translating the Chinese in brackets1) When young 2)unless forbidden 3)If cooked in tomato sauce 4) Once out of trouble 5) When urged2. Complete each of the following sentences with the most likely answer.1)A 2)A 3)C 4)C/D 5)BL esson Seven Spring Sowing AnswersⅠOral WorkⅡVocabulary test1 Show the difference between the following pairs or groups ofwords1)(1)bosom (2)chest (3)breast (4)breast(5)bosom (6)bosom (7)chest2)(1)scattered (2)spread (3)spread (4)scatterⅢGrammar1) Reading, called, printed, used, refers, presented, bedownloaded, used2) Had not passed ,was, was hidden, hung, suspended, walked,holding, worked, leading,came, be seenⅣWritten WorkWrite a short essay of 150-200words commending on the hardships and joys of farmers as described in the story.Hardships and Joys of FarmersThe farmers love the land appreciate and joys of agrarian living and they also have toEndure the hardships the agrarian living. They have strong wistfulness and ardor of the spring,because they are looking forward to the good results achieved from a spring sowing. In thespring, they are experiencing the hardworking, however, on to prove summer, in the autumn, thewill get a big harvest. Full of hope, the man try to prove their manhood by plowing the field 10hours a day to conquer the land . They feel afraid of the earth, the peasant’s slave master that would keep them chained to hard work and poverty all her life until they died and buried in the earth. Once in a while, they want to break the chains on them as peasants. But because of the developing conditions and background of the society then, they can’t choose their own destiny .In order to survive the society, they can but to work in the field day after day, year after year.ⅤTranslation1) Zhuge Liang pretended to be very calm and succeeded infooling Sima Yi who did not know that the city was really unguarded.2) If you compare American students with Chinese students,you’ll find some interesting similarities and differences.3) You can see that the students are bursting with question.4) Zhan Tianyou was a man of many talents. But he is bestremembered as the man who has helped to design and buildChina’s first railway line.Lesson Eight Globalization’s Dual PowerAnswers1 . Translateinto Chinese(1). 时髦字眼（2）债券融资（3）跨境兼并与收购额（4）国际收支（盈余）（5）规模经济（6）可怕的前景（7）民众强烈的反应（8）缺少共同的议事日程（9）申请加入（10）推广技术into English（1）national sovereignty （2）trade negotiations(3) ever-declining coasts (4) economic forecasts(5) in one critical respect (6) financial markets(7) an ensuing financial crisis (8) after adjusting for inflation(9) the Institute of International Finance(10) office buildingsII. Note the difference between the following pairs or groups of words:1)(1) surpass (2) exceeded (3) surpassed (4) exceeding (5) surpass(6) exceeding2)(1) threat (2) menace /thereat (3) threats (4) menace /thereat (5) threatIII. Grammar in the ContextComplete with the most likely answer1.D2.B3.C4.A5.CIV. Written worksWrite an essay of about 200words on the topic.What is your understanding of globalization? In what way do you think it will affect your career?In my opinion, Globalization describes the growth in international exchange and interdependence. With growing flows of trade and capital investment there is the possibility of moving beyond an inter-national economy. Each member of the world community becomes more and more integrated and inter-dependent. Globalization also refers to a process of removing government-imposed restrictions on movements between countriesin order to create an open, borderless world economy.Of course, Globalization, to a large extent, ensured that China’s economy would develop in a balanced way by keeping pace with the world economy. Increased globalization has brought the world vast investment space in China and thus boosted China’s economic growth. What the globalization brought to us is both opportunity and challenge.will affect my future career too. With the development of economic globalization and international communication, English becomes more and more important .The fast pace of globalization presents huge opportunities for those who participate proactively in this internationalization process. As a English major, I want to take par in this process. I want to be a qualified and excellent interpreter after graduation. Interpreters, like translators are bridges between different cultures. In the co ntext of today’s globalization, their roles are particularly important. Whether a business will succeed or how successful a business will be depends on them to a certain extent. I will do my best to matter English in order to help international businessman work more efficiently. I will be devoted to my study and future career. So globalization will have great effects on my career.V. Translate(1) O ur company projected an 8% growth rate next year.(2) China is projected to be the world’s workshop in 10 years. Butthat should not make us smug.(3) Y ou can project your slides on the wall.(4) H e tried to project himself as a strong man in the electioncampaign.(5) I sometimes try to project myself into the future when I shallbecome a mother myself.(6) T he building of the dam is a multibillion-dollar project.(7) W e have a strong team of six people working on this project.(8) I’m greatly relieved to hear the news.(9) O ne way to relieve your distress is to keep yourself busy.(10) Diogenes would relieve himself by the roadside just like adog.Lesson Nine The Most Dangerous Game AnswersI. Oral work.II. Vocabulary Test.Put the most appropriate words in the blanks.1)at bay/in check 2)away 3)out4)gave way 5)rolled; on 6)intent7)on; pressed/plunged/forced himself 8)rests9)struck; ran 10)stock 11)straightened12)froze; trigger 13)slid/climbed/tumbled14)replace 15)winding/leadingIII. Grammar workComplete the sentences using a where-clause.1) where you are2) where I can not agree with you3) where there is enough light4)where he came from; where two big rivers joined5)where his house had been/used to be6)where survival of many of its institutions of higher learningdepends much on overseas students7)where we could find the type of person our boss wants8)toward where her children are playing9)where he had gone10)the shop where he bought the medicineIV. Written work“The Most Dangerous Game” was written in 1924. The incidents described in the story take place shortly after WorldWar I and the Russian October Revolution. Zaroff was a Cossack general under the Czarist regime, which had been overthrown. After he flees his country, he spends all of his time hunting.Sanger Rainsford is a well-known American big-game hunter who fought in France during the war and has published works on hunting. Despite the dissimilarities in the backgrounds and personalities of these two men, their conception of hunting is alike. Rainsford think s that “the world is made up of hunters(and the hunted. Zaroff believes “life is for the strong”.Lesson Ten The TelephoneAnswers:I. Omitted.II. OmittedIV. Quiz1.D2.C3.D4.D5.AV. Written workThe InternetWhen I was a little child in a small village, I never knew what telephone was and what electricity was. At that time, when I wantedto contact with someone I just went to his family or cried out his name to make me heard. Then I went to a small town to study in a middle school a couple years later. In the text book and in the office of my teachers I saw a machine by which talked with somebody. At first I was amazed to see that and I wondered what it was. Through physics textbook, I know it was telephone. Maybe when I was in senior school, about in 1996, I first see computer with my own eyes but not in the picture.After 3 years, I went to a modern city to go to college. There I learned how to operate computer, how to store my own materials in a computer and how to use computer to do something that was difficult for human brain. We can also talked with a friend across oceans and we can search anything that we need, my classmates were crazy about it . That is Internet. But we can not spent too much time on it ,we should use it correctly.。

课时：2课时教学目标：1. 理解并掌握课文《Spring Sowing》的主要内容，把握文章的情节和主题。

2. 提高学生的阅读理解能力，培养学生的批判性思维。

3. 增强学生的词汇量和语法知识，提高学生的英语表达能力。

教学重点：1. 课文《Spring Sowing》的主要情节和主题。

2. 关键词汇和语法知识。

教学难点：1. 理解课文中的复杂句型和表达方式。

2. 运用所学知识进行有效的阅读理解和分析。

教学准备：1. 教材《现代大学英语精读4》。

2. 白板或投影仪。

3. 相关的背景资料和图片。

教学过程：第一课时一、导入1. 通过图片或简短的视频介绍爱尔兰作家Liam O'Flaherty及其作品。

2. 提问：同学们对爱尔兰的历史和文化有哪些了解？二、课文阅读1. 学生自读课文《Spring Sowing》，完成以下任务：a. 找出文章的主题句和段落主题句。

b. 标记生词和短语。

c. 思考文章的情节发展。

2. 小组讨论，分享阅读心得。

三、课文讲解1. 教师引导学生分析课文中的复杂句型和表达方式。

2. 介绍爱尔兰的社会背景，帮助学生更好地理解课文。

3. 分析课文中的主题和人物形象。

四、词汇和语法1. 教师讲解课文中的关键词汇和短语，并进行例句练习。

2. 学生练习语法填空，巩固所学知识。

第二课时一、复习导入1. 复习上一节课的内容，提问：同学们对课文《Spring Sowing》有哪些疑问？2. 学生提问，教师解答。

二、课堂讨论1. 学生分组讨论以下问题：a. 文章中的人物形象有何特点？b. 文章的主题是什么？c. 文章的语言风格有何特点？2. 各小组汇报讨论成果。

三、写作练习1. 教师布置写作任务：以《Spring Sowing》为主题，写一篇短文，表达自己的观点。

2. 学生完成写作任务，教师批改并给予反馈。

四、总结与作业1. 教师总结本节课的主要内容，强调重点和难点。

2. 布置课后作业：a. 复习课文，掌握关键词汇和短语。

Spring SowingIt was still dark when Martin Delaney and his wife Mary got up. Martin stood in his shirt by the window, rubbing his eyes and yawning, while Mary raked out the live coals that had lain hidden in the ashes on the hearth all night. Outside, cocks were crowing and a white streak was rising form the ground, as it were, and beginning to scatter the darkness. It was a February morning, dry, cold and starry.The couple sat down to their breakfast of tea, bread and butter, in silence. They had only been married the previous autumn and it was hateful leaving a warm bed at such and early hour. Martin, with his brown hair and eyes, his freckled face and his little fair moustache, looked too young to be married, and his wife looked hardly more than a girl, red-cheeked and blue-eyed, her black hair piled at the rear of her head with a large comb gleaming in the middle of the pile, Spanish fashion. They were both dressed in rough homespuns, and both wore the loose white shirt that Inverara peasants use for work in the fields.They ate in silence, sleepy and yet on fire with excitement, for it was the first day of their first spring sowing as man and wife. And each felt the glamour of that day on which they were to open up the earth together and plant seeds in it. But somehow the imminence of an event that had been long expected loved, feared and prepared for made them dejected. Mary,with her shrewd woman's mind, thought of as many things as there are in life as a woman would in the first joy and anxiety of her mating. But Martin's mind was fixed on one thought. Would he be able to prove himself a man worthy of being the head of a family by dong his spring sowing well？In the barn after breakfast, when they were getting the potato seeds and the line for measuring the ground and the spade, Martin fell over a basket in the half-darkness of the barn, he swore and said that a man would be better off dead than.. But before he could finish whatever he was going to say, Mary had her arms around his waist and her face to his. "Martin," she said, "let us not begin this day cross with one another." And there was a tremor in her voice. And somehow, as they embraced, all their irritation and sleepiness left them. And they stood there embracing until at last Martin pushed her from him with pretended roughness and said: "Come, come, girl, it will be sunset before we begin at this rate."Still, as they walked silently in their rawhide shoes through the little hamlet, there was not a soul about. Lights were glimmering in the windows of a few cabins. The sky had a big grey crack in it in the east, as if it were going to burst in order to give birth to the sun. Birds were singing somewhere at a distance. Martin and Mary rested their baskets of seeds on a fence outside the village and Martin whispered to Mary proudly: "We are first, Mary." And they both looked back at the little cluster of cabins that was the centre of their world, with throbbing hearts. For the joyof spring had now taken complete hold of them.They reached the little field where they were to sow. It was a little triangular patch of ground under an ivy-covered limestone hill. The little field had been manured with seaweed some weeks before, and the weeds had rotted and whitened on the grass. And there was a big red heap of fresh seaweed lying in a corner by the fence to be spread under the seeds as they were laid. Martin, in spite of the cold, threw off everything above his waist except his striped woolen shirt. Then he spat on his hands, seized his spade and cried: "Now you are going to see what kind of a man you have, Mary.""There, now," said Mary, tying a little shawl closer under her chin. "Aren't we boastful this early hour of the morning Maybe I'll wait till sunset to see what kind of a man I have got."The work began. Martin measured the ground by the southern fence for the first ridge, a strip of ground four feet wide, and he placed the line along the edge and pegged it at each end. Then he spread fresh seaweed over the strip. Mary filled her apron with seeds and began to lay them in rows. When she was a little distance down the ridge, Martin advanced with his spade to the head, eager to commence."Now in the name of God," he cried, spitting on his palms, "let us raise the first sod!""Oh, Martin, wait till I'm with you !" cried Mary, dropping her seeds onthe ridge and running up to him .Her fingers outside her woolen mittens were numb with the cold, and she couldn't wipe them in her apron. Her cheeks seemed to be on fire. She put an arm round Martin's waist and stood looking at the green sod his spade was going to cut, with the excitement of a little child."Now for God's sake, girl, keep back!"said Martin gruffly. "Suppose anybody saw us like this in the field of our spring sowing, what would they take us for but a pair of useless, soft, empty-headed people that would be sure to die of hunger Huh!" He spoke very rapidly, and his eyes were fixed on the ground before hm. His eyes had a wild, eager light in them as if some primeval impulse were burning within his brain and driving out every other desire but that of asserting his manhood and of subjugating the earth."Oh, what do we care who is looking" said Mary; but she drew back at the same time and gazed distantly at the ground. Then Martin cut the sod, and pressing the spade deep into the earth with his foot, he turned up the first sod with a crunching sound as the grass roots were dragged out of the earth. Mary sighed and walked back hurriedly to her seeds with furrowed brows. She picked up her seeds and began to spread them rapidly to drive out the sudden terror that had seized her at that moment when she saw the fierce, hard look in her husband's eyes that were unconscious of her presence. She became suddenly afraid of that pitiless, cruel earth, thepeasant's slave master that would keep her chained to hard work and poverty all her life until she would sink again into its bosom. Her short-lived love was gone. Henceforth she was only her husband's helper to till the earth. And Martin, absolutely without thought, worked furiously, covering the ridge with block earth, his sharp spade gleaming white as he whirled it sideways to beat the sods.Then, as the sun rose,the little valley beneath the ivy-covered hills became dotted with white shirts, and everywhere men worked madly, without speaking, and women spread seeds. There was no heat in the light of the sun, and there was a sharpness in the still thin air that made the men jump on their spade halts ferociously and beat the sods as if they were living enemies. Birds hopped silently before the spades, with their heads cocked sideways, watching for worms. Made brave by hunger, they often dashed under the spades to secure their food.Then, when the sun reached a certain point, all the women went back to the village to get dinner for their men, and the men worked on without the women returned,almost running, each carrying a tin can with a flannel tied around it and a little bundle tied with a white cloth, Martin threw down his spade when Mary arrived back in the field. Smiling at one another they sat under the hill for their meal .It was the same as their breakfast, tea and bread and butter."Ah," said Martin, when he had taken a long draught of tea form his mug,"is there anything in this world as fine as eating dinner out in the open like this after doing a good morning's work There, I have done two ridges and a half. That's more than any man in the village could do. Ha!" And he looked at his wife proudly."Yes,isn't it lovely," said Mary, looking at the back ridges wistfully. She was just munching her bread and butter .The hurried trip to the village and the trouble of getting the tea ready had robbed her of her appetite. She had to keep blowing at the turf fire with the rim of her skirt, and the smoke nearly blinded her. But now, sitting on that grassy knoll, with the valley all round glistening with fresh seaweed and a light smoke rising from the freshly turned earth, a strange joy swept over her. It overpowered that other felling of dread that had been with her during the morning. Martin ate heartily, reveling in his great thirst and his great hunger, with every pore of his body open to the pure air. And he looked around at his neighbors' fields boastfully, comparing them with his own. Then he looked at his wife's little round black head and felt very proud of having her as his own. He leaned back on his elbow and took her hand in his. Shyly and in silence, not knowing what to say and ashamed of their gentle feelings, they finished eating and still sat hand in hand looking away intothe distance. Everywhere the sowers were resting on little knolls, men,women and children sitting in silence. And the great calm of nature in spring filled the atmosphere around them. Everything seemed to sitstill and wait until midday had passed. Only the gleaming sun chased westwards at a mighty pace, in and out through white clouds.Then in a distant field an old man got up, took his spade and began to clean the earth from it with a piece of stone. Therasping noise carried a long way in the silence. That was the signal for a general rising all along the little valley. Young men stretched themselves and yawned. They walked slowly back to their ridges.Martin's back and his wrists were getting sore, and Mary felt that if she stooped again over her seeds her neck would break, but neither said anything and soon they had forgotten their tiredness in the mechanical movement of their bodies. The strong smell of the upturned earth acted like a drug on their nerves.In the afternoon, when the sun was strongest, the old men of the village came out to look attheir people sowing. Martin's grandfather, almost bent double over his thick stick stoppedin the land outside the field and groaning loudly, he leaned over the fence.“God bless the work,"he called whe ezily."And you, grandfather," replied the couple together, but they did not stop working.'Ha!" muttered the old man to himself. "He sows well and that woman is good too. They are beginning well."It was fifty years since he had begun with his Mary, full of hope and pride,and themerciless soil had hugged them to its bosom ever since, each spring without rest. Today, theold man, with his huge red nose and the spotted handkerchief tied around his skull underhis black soft felt hat, watched his grandson work and gave him advice."Don't cut your sods so long,"he would wheeze,"you are putting too much soil on yourridge."''Ah woman! Don't plant a seed so near the edge. The stalk will come out sideways."And they paid no heed to him."Ah,"grumbled the old man,"in my young days, when men worked from morning tillnight without tasting food, better work was done. But of course it can't be expected to bethe same now. The breed is getting weaker. So it is."Then he began to cough in his chest and hobbled away to another field where his sonMichael was working.By sundown Martin had five ridges finished. He threw down his spade and stretched himself. All his bones ached and he wanted to lie down and rest. "It's time to be going home, Mary," he said.Mary straightened herself, but she was too tired to reply. She looked atMartin wearily and it seemed to her that it was a great many years since they had set out that morning. Then she thought of the journey home and the trouble of feeding the pigs, putting the fowls into their coops and getting the supper ready, and a momentary flash of rebellion against the slavery of being a peasant's wife crossed her mind. It passed in a moment. Martin was saying,as he dressed himself:"Ha! It has been a good day's ridges done, and each one of them as straight as a steel rod. By God Mary, it's no boasting to say that you might well be proud of being the wife of Martin Delaney. And that's not sayingthe whole of it ,my girl. You did your share better than any woman in Inverara could do it this blessed day."They stood for a few moments in silence, looking at the work they had done. All her dissatisfaction and weariness vanished form Mary's mind with the delicious feeling of comfort that overcame her at having done this work with her husband. They had done it together. They had planted seeds in the earth. The next day and the next and all their lives, when spring came they would have to bend their backs and do it until their hands and bones got twisted with rheumatism. But night would always bring sleep and forgetfulness.As they walked home slowly, Martin walked in front with another peasant talking about the sowing, and Mary walked behind, with her eyes on the ground, thinking. Cows were lowing at a distance.。

现代大学英语精读4LESSON 7 课后答案Pre-class Work2. List all the useful idioms and phrases in the text that are new to you and look up their proper usage in the dictionary.9) a cluster of 10) to spit on11) in the name of God 12) to be on fire13) to assert one’s manhood14) to turn up the soil 15) to drive out fear16) to be unconscious of 17) to be dotted with18) to cock one’s head sideways19) out in the open20) to rob sb of his/her appetite21) (of joy) to sweep over sb.22) to walk hand in hand9) 一群；一组；一串10) 向…吐唾沫11) 用上帝的名义12)失火，着火13）表现自己的男子气概14) 把地翻起15) 排除恐惧16) 不知道，未察觉17) 点缀着18) 侧身把头歪19) 在公开 ; 在野外20)使人失去胃口21)（某种情绪）掠过心头22) 携手同行ⅡVocabulary1.translate1)i nto Chinese.（1）火尚未熄灭的煤块（2）他那满是雀斑的脸（3）浅色的胡子（4）在后面/后部（5）粗糙的土布衣服（6）春播（7）事件的逼近（8）一个精明的妇女（9）一家之主（10）生牛皮鞋（11）砰砰直跳的心（12）村落（13）一小块地（14）突然一股反抗的心理（15）一块狭长的地（16）条纹毛料衬衫（17）嘎吱嘎吱/沙沙的声音（18）奴隶主（19）热切而严厉的神色（20）头脑简单的人2)Into English.(1)to rake out the live coals(2) to scatter the darkness(3) to open up the earth(4) to prepare for spring sowing(5) to fall over a basket(6) to put (have) one’s arms around sb’s waist(7) to give birth to (8) to rest sth on some place(9) to take hold of sth (10) to manure the field(11) to spit on one’s hands(12) to peg a line at each end(13) to spread sth over a place(14) to assert one’s manhood(15) to subjugate the earth (16) to till the land(17) to take a long draught of(18) to munch bread and butter(19) to bend one’s back(20) to vanish from one’s mind(21) to cross one’s mind (22) to feed the pigs(23) to straighten oneself(24) to rob sb of his/her appetite(25) to blow at the fire (26) to sweep over sb(27) to carry a long way(28) to overpower other feelings3. Translate.1) Zhuge Liang pretended to be very calm and succeed in fooling Sima Yi who didn’t know that the city wasreally unguarded.2) He pretended that nothing had happened.3) She pretended to be listening, but actually her mind had already wandered far away.4) I don’t want to pretend that I’m an expert on this subject.5) How would you compare your life today with your life before the reform started?6) If you compare American students with Chinese students, you’ll find some interesting similarities and differences.7) Social Darwinists believe that we can compare our human society to the animal world.8) These mass-produced chickens do not compare with the chickens we used to raise at home.9) Our experts to that region increased by 30% compared with the same period the previous year. 10) The water-pipe has burst. We must get it fixed immediately.11) It sounded like the bursting of a balloon.12) As usual, the Giant Panda House was bursting with children.13) You can see that the students are bursting with questions.14) There were about 800 people watching a play when some thirty armed terrorists burst into the theatre.15) The man was bursting to tell his fellow-traveler why he had pitched his suitcase out of the train window. 16) When the prisoners burst into song/ burst out singing, the prison warden was frightened.17) The spaceship left launching-pad and rose majestically, soon becoming a little dot.18) The whole area is now dotted with factories.19) The company has camp-sites dotted around the country.20) Young people are more likely to rebel against old traditions.21) He was quite a rebel at home even when he was a boy.22) He declared that all the rebels would be pardoned if they laid down their arms.4. Put the most appropriate words in the blanksBBAAC DADCA AD5. Show the difference between the following pairs or groups of words1) (1) bosom (2) chest (3) breast (4) breast (5) bosom (6) bosom (7) chest2) (1) verge (2) verge (3) border (4) edge (5) brim (6) rims (7) edge3) (1) swear (2) curse; curse (3) cursing/ abusing/ swearing at (4) swore (5) abuse4) (1) scattered (2) spread (3) spread (4) scatter5) (1) soil (2) dirt (3) mud (4) earth; earth (5) land (6) earth6) (1) hop; leap; jump (2) hopping (3) jumped (4) jumped/ sprang (5) leap (6) sprang/ jumped (7) jumping6. Choose the appropriate adverb(s) given in the brackets to complete the sentence1) heartily greedily hungrily2) ferociously furiously fiercely3) wearily tiredly4) gruffly sharply sourly rudely5) proudly boastfully6) innocently7) mercilessly cruelly brutally8) oddly strangely9) calmly coolly10) triumphantly11) reasonably persuasively convincingly12) completely entirely13) dramatically greatly enormously14) clearly obviously evidently plainly ; clearly15) ultimately16) precisely simply17) uncritically blindly18) hastily hurriedly7. Choose the best word or phrase for each blank from the four supplied in brackets(1) advantage of (2) offering (3) hurry (4) fun (5) which (6) interests (7) role (8) typical (9) opportunity (10) on (11) might (12) passengers (13) in (14) will have figured (15) actuallyⅢ.Grammar3. Translate the sentences using “as”1) Everything at the interview worked out as I had expected.2) He was highly respected both as a leader and as a man.3) I’m speaking to you not as an instructor, but as a friend.4) The heavy weight champion lifted the safe as easily as we lifea chair.5) As the newspaper reports, the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to North Korea is of great significance.6) As everyone knows, China is a developing country, and only as such will she enter the WTO.7) The United States of America is often described as the land of the almighty dollar.8) Their houseguest who was introduced as a distant relative of the family was actually a plain-clothes FBI agent.9) As an outsider, I think (that) the business of artists is to show the world as they see it, not to make it better in their works.4. Complete the following sentences with an absolute construction.1) The next day’s lecture prepared, the students’ essays graded2) the living-room decorated with lanterns, a great variety offood being prepared3) some playing basketball, others running around the track, still others doing warming-up exercises4) his voice ringing with conviction5) The hostages saved, the terrorists overcome6) his cigar lit, his whiskey glass filled7) her courage remaining unwavering before the fodder chopper8) the five-star red flag being hoisted, the March of the V olunteers being played9) her shoulders bent low, her hair streaming in the wind10) the 3phones ringing at the same time, people coming in and out, messages flashing on the computer screen.5. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form.1) was marked; have had moving; has become; has facilitated2) Reading; called; printed; used; refers; presented; be downloaded; used3) had not passed; was; was hidden; hung; suspended; walked; holding; worked; leading; came; be seen6. Complete each of the following sentences with the mostlikely answer.CDADA DBBAB ACDBA C。

Lesson Seven Spring SowingAnswersⅠOral WorkⅡVocabulary test1 Show the difference between the following pairs or groups of words1)(1)bosom (2)chest (3)breast (4)breast(5)bosom (6)bosom (7)chest2)(1)scattered (2)spread (3)spread (4)scatterⅢGrammar1)Reading, called, printed, used, refers, presented, be downloaded, used2)Had not passed ,was, was hidden, hung, suspended, walked, holding, worked, leading, came, be seenⅣWritten WorkWrite a short essay of 150-200words commending on the hardships and joys of farmers as described in the story.Hardships and Joys of FarmersThe farmers love the land appreciate and joys of agrarian living and they also have toEndure the hardships the agrarian living. They have strong wistfulness and ardor of the spring, because they are looking forward to the good results achieved from a spring sowing. In the spring, they are experiencing the hardworking, however, on to prove summer, in the autumn, the will get a big harvest. Full of hope, the man try to prove their manhood by plowing the field 10 hours a day to conquer the land . They feel afraid of the earth, the peasant’s slave master that would keep them chained to hard work and poverty all her life until they died and buried in the earth. Once in a while, they want to break the chains on them as peasants. But because of the developing conditions and background of the society then, they can’t choose their own destiny .In order to survive the society, they can but to work in the field day after day, year after year.ⅤTranslation1)Zhuge Liang pretended to be very calm and succeeded in fooling Sima Yi who did notknow that the city was really unguarded.2)If you compare American students with Chinese students, you’ll find some interestingsimilarities and differences.3)You can see that the students are bursting with question.4)Zhan Tianyou was a man of many talents. But he is best remembered as the man who hashelped to design and build China’s first railway line.。

现代大学英语精读4-Unit2-Spring-Sowing原文Spring SowingIt was still dark when Martin Delaney and his wife Mary got up. Martin stood in his shirt by the window, rubbing his eyes and yawning, while Mary raked out the live coals that had lain hidden in the ashes on the hearth all night. Outside, cocks were crowing and a white streak was rising form the ground, as it were, and beginning to scatter the darkness. It was a February morning, dry, cold and starry.The couple sat down to their breakfast of tea, bread and butter, in silence. They had only been married the previous autumn and it was hateful leaving a warm bed at such and early hour. Martin, with his brown hair and eyes, his freckled face and his little fair moustache, looked too young to be married, and his wife looked hardly more than a girl, red-cheeked and blue-eyed, her black hair piled at the rear of her head with a large comb gleaming in the middle of the pile, Spanish fashion. They were both dressed in rough homespuns, and both wore the loose white shirt that Inverara peasants use for work in the fields.They ate in silence, sleepy and yet on fire with excitement, for it was the first day of their first spring sowing as man and wife. And each felt the glamour of that day on which they were to open up the earth together and plant seeds in it. But somehow the imminence of an event that had been long expected loved, feared and prepared for made them dejected. Mary, with her shrewd woman's mind, thought of as many things as there are in life as a woman would in the first joy and anxiety of her mating. But Martin's mind was fixed on one thought. Would he be able to prove himself a man worthy ofbeing the head of a family by dong his spring sowing well?In the barn after breakfast, when they were getting the potato seeds and the line for measuring the ground and the spade, Martin fell over a basket in the half-darkness of the barn, he swore and said that a man would be better off dead than.. But before he could finish whatever he was going to say, Mary had her arms around his waist and her face to his. "Martin," she said, "let us not begin this day cross with one another." And there was a tremor in her voice. And somehow, as they embraced, all their irritation and sleepiness left them. And they stood there embracing until at last Martin pushed her from him with pretended roughness and said: "Come, come, girl, it will be sunset before we begin at this rate."Still, as they walked silently in their rawhide shoes through the little hamlet, there was not a soul about. Lights were glimmering in the windows of a few cabins. The sky had a big grey crack in it in the east, as if it were going to burst in order to give birth to the sun. Birds were singing somewhere at a distance. Martin and Mary rested their baskets of seeds on a fence outside the village and Martin whispered to Mary proudly: "We are first, Mary." And they both looked back at the little cluster of cabins that was the centre of their world, with throbbing hearts. For the joy of spring had now taken complete hold of them.They reached the little field where they were to sow. It was a little triangular patch of ground under an ivy-covered limestone hill. The little field had been manured with seaweed some weeks before, and the weeds had rotted and whitened on the grass. And there was a big red heap of fresh seaweed lying in a corner by the fence to be spreadunder the seeds as they were laid. Martin, in spite of the cold,threw off everything above his waist except his striped woolen shirt. Then he spat on his hands, seized his spade and cried: "Now you are going to see what kind of a man you have, Mary." "There, now," said Mary, tying a little shawl closer under her chin."Aren't we boastful this early hour of the morning? Maybe I'll wait till sunset to see what kind of a man I have got."The work began. Martin measured the ground by the southern fence for the first ridge, a strip of ground four feet wide, and he placed the line along the edge and pegged it at each end. Then he spread fresh seaweed over the strip. Mary filled her apron with seeds and began to lay them in rows. When she was a little distance down the ridge, Martin advanced with his spade to the head, eager to commence."Now in the name of God," he cried, spitting on his palms, "let us raise the first sod!" "Oh, Martin, wait till I'm with you !" cried Mary, dropping her seeds on the ridge and running up to him .Her fingers outside her woolen mittens were numb with the cold, and she couldn't wipe them in her apron. Her cheeks seemed to be on fire. She put an arm round Martin's waist and stood looking at the green sod his spade was going to cut, with the excitement of a little child."Now for God's sake, girl, keep back!" said Martin gruffly. "Suppose anybody saw us like this in the field of our spring sowing, what would they take us for but a pair of useless, soft, empty-headed people that would be sure to die of hunger? Huh!" He spoke very rapidly, and his eyes were fixed on the ground before hm. His eyes had a wild, eager light in them as if some primeval impulse were burning within his brain and driving out every other desire but that of asserting his manhood and of subjugating the earth."Oh, what do we care who is looking?" said Mary; but she drew back at the same time and gazed distantly at the ground. Then Martin cut the sod, and pressing the spade deep into the earth with his foot, he turned up the first sod with a crunching sound as the grass roots were dragged out of the earth. Mary sighed and walked back hurriedly to her seeds with furrowed brows. She picked up her seeds and began to spread them rapidly to drive out the sudden terror that had seized her at that moment when she saw the fierce, hard look in her husband's eyes that were unconscious of her presence. She became suddenly afraid of that pitiless, cruel earth, the peasant's slave master that would keep her chained to hard work and poverty all her life until she would sink again into its bosom. Her short-lived love was gone. Henceforth she was only her husband's helper to till the earth. And Martin, absolutely without thought, worked furiously, covering the ridge with block earth, his sharp spade gleaming white as he whirled it sideways to beat the sods.Then, as the sun rose, the little valley beneath the ivy-covered hills became dotted with white shirts, and everywhere men worked madly, without speaking, and women spread seeds. There was no heat in the light of the sun, and there was a sharpness in the still thin air that made the men jump on their spade halts ferociously and beat the sods as if they were living enemies. Birds hopped silently before the spades, with their heads cocked sideways, watching for worms. Made brave by hunger, they often dashed under the spades to secure their food.Then, when the sun reached a certain point, all the women went back to the village to get dinner for their men, and the men worked on without stopping. Then the women returned, almost running, each carrying a tin can with a flannel tied around it anda little bundle tied with a white cloth, Martin threw down his spade when Mary arrived back in the field. Smiling at one another they sat under the hill for their meal .It was the same as their breakfast, tea and bread and butter."Ah," said Martin, when he had taken a long draught of tea form his mug, "is there anything in this world as fine as eating dinner out in the open like this after doing a good morning's work? There, I have done two ridges and a half. That's more than any man in the village could do. Ha!" And he looked at his wife proudly."Yes, isn't it lovely," said Mary, looking at the back ridges wistfully. She was just munching her bread and butter .The hurried trip to the village and the trouble of getting the tea ready had robbed her of her appetite. She had to keep blowing at the turf fire with the rim of her skirt, and the smoke nearly blinded her. But now, sitting on that grassy knoll, with the valley all round glistening with fresh seaweed and a light smoke rising from the freshly turned earth, a strange joy swept over her. It overpowered that other felling of dread that had been with her during the morning.Martin ate heartily, reveling in his great thirst and his great hunger, with every pore of his body open to the pure air. And he looked around at his neighbors' fields boastfully, comparing them with his own. Then he looked at his wife's little round black head and felt very proud of having her as his own. He leaned back on his elbow and took her hand in his. Shyly and in silence, not knowing what to say and ashamed of their gentle feelings, they finished eating and still sat hand in hand looking away into the distance. Everywhere the sowers were resting on little knolls, men, women and children sitting in silence.And the great calm of nature in spring filled the atmosphere around them. Everything seemed to sit still and wait until midday had passed. Only the gleaming sun chased westwards at a mighty pace, in and out through white clouds.Then in a distant field an old man got up, took his spade and began to clean the earth from it with a piece of stone. The rasping noise carried a long way in the silence. That was the signal for a general rising all along the little valley. Young men stretched themselves and yawned. They walked slowly back to their ridges.Martin's back and his wrists were getting sore, and Mary felt that if she stooped again over her seeds her neck would break, but neither said anything and soon they had forgotten their tiredness in the mechanical movement of their bodies. The strong smell of the upturned earth acted like a drug on their nerves.In the afternoon, when the sun was strongest, the old men of the village came out to look at their people sowing. Martin's grandfather, almost bent double over his thick stick stopped in the land outside the field and groaning loudly, he leaned over the fence.“God bless the work, "he called wheezily."And you, grandfather," replied the couple together, but they did not stop working.'Ha!" muttered the old man to himself. "He sows well and that woman is good too. They are beginning well."It was fifty years since he had begun with his Mary, full of hope and pride, and the merciless soil had hugged them to its bosom ever since, each spring without rest. Today,the old man, with his huge red nose and the spotted handkerchief tied around his skull under his black soft felt hat, watched his grandson work and gave him advice."Don't cut your sods so long," he would wheeze, "you areputting too much soil on your ridge."''Ah woman! Don't plant a seed so near the edge. The stalk will come out sideways." And they paid no heed to him."Ah," grumbled the old man," in my young days, when men worked from morning till night without tasting food, better work was done. But of course it can't be expected to be the same now. The breed is getting weaker. So it is."Then he began to cough in his chest and hobbled away to another field where his son Michael was working.By sundown Martin had five ridges finished. He threw down his spade and stretched himself. All his bones ached and he wanted to lie down and rest. "It's time to be going home, Mary," he said.Mary straightened herself, but she was too tired to reply. She looked at Martin wearily and it seemed to her that it was a great many years since they had set out that morning. Then she thought of the journey home and the trouble of feeding the pigs, putting the fowls into their coops and getting the supper ready, and a momentary flash of rebellion against the slavery of being a peasant's wife crossed her mind. It passed in a moment. Martin was saying, as he dressed himself:"Ha! It has been a good day's work. Five ridges done, and each one of them as straight as a steel rod. By God Mary, it's no boasting to say that you might well be proud ofbeing the wife of Martin Delaney. And that's not saying the whole of it ,my girl. You did your share better than any woman in Inverara could do it this blessed day."They stood for a few moments in silence, looking at the work they had done. All her dissatisfaction and weariness vanished form Mary's mind with the delicious feeling of comfort thatovercame her at having done this work with her husband. They had done it together. They had planted seeds in the earth. The next day and the next and all their lives, when spring came they would have to bend their backs and do it until their hands and bones got twisted with rheumatism. But night would always bring sleep and forgetfulness.As they walked home slowly, Martin walked in front with another peasant talking about the sowing, and Mary walked behind, with her eyes on the ground, thinking. Cows were lowing at a distance.。