Lesson Two supplementary reading Why I write

Why I write

A. Answer the following questions on the text .

1. What kind of books did Orwell want to write ?-- he wanted to write enormous naturalistic novels with

unhappy endings, full of detailed descriptions and arresting similes, and also full of purple

passages in which words were used partly for the sake of their own sound.

2. What are the four great motives for writing according to George Orwell ?--------Sheer egoism,Aesthetic

enthusiasm,Historical impulse,Political purpose

3. What was Orwell „s political stand ?--against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as he

understands it.

4. What are Orwell‟s views about the relationship between political content and aesthetic from in writing?----- And the

more one is conscious of one's political bias, the more chance one has of acting politically

without sacrificing one's aesthetic and intellectual integrity.

5. What was the political and social environment that shaped his political orientation? First he spent five years in

an unsuitable profession (the Indian Imperial Police, in Burma), and then he underwent poverty

and the sense of failure. This increased his natural hatred of authority and made he for the first

time fully aware of the existence of the working classes, and the job in Burma had given he some

understanding of the nature of imperialism...

6. Did Orwell propose to stick to one style only ?--no

7. What did Orwell think of purple passages ?---it is invariably where I lacked a political purpose that I

wrote lifeless books and was betrayed into purple passages, sentences without meaning,

decorative adjectives and humbug generally.

8. Do you agree with Orwell‟s theory of fusing political purpose and artistic form into one whole?---yes

B. Translate the following into Chinese:

1. I soon developed disagreeable mannerisms which made me unpopular throughout my schooldays.---我的言谈举止逐渐变得很不讨人喜欢，这使得我在上学期间不受欢迎。

2. As a very small child I used to picture myself as the hero of thrilling adventures . ---还是小孩子的时候，我总是把自己想象成惊险传奇中的主人公。

3. A yellow beam of sunlight , filtering through the muslin curtains , slanted on to the table . 一缕黄昏的阳光，透过薄纱窗帘，斜照在桌上。

4. His subject matter will be determined by the age he lives in . ---他写作的题材是由他所处的时代决定的。

5. I think there are four great motives for writing , at any rate for writing prose . 我认为写作有四种动机，至少小说和散文是这样的

6. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude . ---那种认为艺术与政治不相干的论点本身就是一种政治态度

7. This increased my natural hatred of authority and made me for the first time fully aware of the existence of the working class . --这使我对权势本能的嫉妒变得更强烈，我开始意识到工人阶级的存在

8. The Spanish war and other events in 1936-1937 turned the scale and thereafter I knew where I stood . --西班牙内战以及1936至1937年之间的其他事件扭转了这种状况，从此我知道了我的立场。

C. Fill in the blank in each sentence with the best word or expression from the box below , changing its form when

necessary :

Efface fluctuate outgrow outweigh perverse readable reconcile shiver slant thrilling undervalue unsuitable

Efface抹去，抹掉,

fluctuate vi. 波动；涨落；动摇vt. 使波动；使动摇

outgrow vt. 过大而不适于；出生；长大成熟而不再

outweigh vt. 比…重（在重量上）；比…重要；比…有价值

perverse adj. 堕落的，不正当的；倔强的；违反常情的

readable adj. 可读的；易读的；读起来津津有味的 reconcile vt. 使一致；使和解；调停，调解；使顺从

shiver n. 颤抖，战栗；碎片vi. 颤抖；哆嗦；打碎 vt. 颤抖；打碎

slant n. 倾斜；观点；偏见vi. 倾斜；有倾向vt. 使倾斜；使倾向于adj. 倾斜的；有偏见的

thrilling adj. 毛骨悚然的；令人兴奋的；颤动的

undervalue vt. 低估...之价值；看轻

unsuitable adj. 不适合的；不适宜的；不相称的

1. Part of the address on the letter has been--------- effaced.

2.The roof began to-------- leftward . slant

3.Can you imagine that the child has ---------- his clothes in three months ?outgrown

1. That fascist derived some kind of ---------- satisfaction from torturing people . thrilling

2. In the teeth of the cutting north wind we were all-----with cold . shivering

3. My love for freedom--------everything else . outweighs 4. The general and the minister had quarreled but later they were completely -----------.reconciled

5. She complained that the contributions she had made for the company were -------------undervalued

.D. Choose the right word or expression in the brackets to complete each of the following sentences:

1. We advise girls below twenty not to marry , because they are still emotionally ( naïve , immature).

2. Her feelings ( fluctuated , changed ) between excitement and fear .

3. The police will not hesitate to use ( force , compulsion ) if the bank robbers still refuse to surrender .

4. After twenty years of antagonism , the two countries were finally ( reconciled , friendly ) .

5. To call the air strikes against Yugoslavia peace-keeping is a ( downright , thorough ) lie .