INTENSIVE READING 1

Unit 7 The Sampler

I. Teaching Objectives and Requirements

1. Teaching Objectives: The teaching of the text aims to enable the students

① to master the new target words and useful phrases

② to learn something about some aspects of the American society. (Does everyone

enjoy the happiness of Chrismas?)

2. Requirements:

① Study and the key language points of the text

② Retell the story

③ Do the exercises in the textbook.

II. Introduction

1. Lead-in and Introductory Remarks

Here is a simple story with no complicated plot nor intriguing characterization. It

describes a brief encounter of a young man with an elderly gentleman in a store

during the Christmas season. In reading the story, however, we have a chance to see

one aspect of life in the West. If we read more carefully, we may even gain an

insight into the innermost feelings of some old people in the West.

2．Key or Difficult Language Points

① Lay out；② To one’s taste；③ Take advantage of；④ afford；⑤ break off；

⑥out of place/in place；⑦ mistake for/long for；⑧ the last … ；⑨ hear of

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INTENSIVE READING 2

3. Outline of the Story

The story describes a brief encounter of a young man with a poor elderly gentleman

in a pudding shop during the Christmas season, which at least offers us three points.

The first is that there is really the case that someone, who has no intention of

making a purchase, takes the advantage of the privilege. The second is that there is

not always the case that a good intention will get a good result – the poor old

gentleman refused the young man’s kind offering. The third is the story gives us a

chance to see one aspect of life in the West.

4. Procedure and Approach

Ask the students to preview the story before class. Then ask the students to

answer the introductory questions to check how well the students are prepared for

the lesson and also to help them to obtain a general idea of the story.

III. Detailed Study of the Story

1. In a certain store where they sell puddings, a number of these delicious things are

laid out in a row during the Christmas season: I a certain store, many tasty things

are arranged in a line during the Christmas season.

① certain: not named or described but taken as known

-There are certain laws about drinking and driving, you know!

-A certain Mr. Lee rang me up this morning but he had got the wrong number.

② Lay out: spread (something), as to view; arrange or spread out

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INTENSIVE READING 3

-The new books were laid out neatly on the table.

-The scenery was laid out before the travelers when they reached the top of the

hill.

Cf: lay – laid-laying

Lie – lay – lain – lying

Collective:

lay off : to dismiss (an employee), esp. temporarily because of slack business; to

cease or quit; stop :

--He promised to lay off drinking.

lay in: to store away for future use:

--We laid in a supply of canned goods.

lay into: Informal. to attack physically or verbally; assail:

--He laid into the opposition with fiery words

2. Here you may select the one which is most to your taste: In the store, you may

choose a pudding which is most delicious to your taste.

Select: vt. choose from a group; a. chosen

--In ancient times, book knowledge was limited to the select few.

--John became Mr. Smith’s select successor.

to one’s taste: for one’s liking or preference

--Is popular music always to everyone’s taste?

--This kind of soft drink is not to my taste.

3. and you are even allowed to sample them before coming to a decision: a customer

is even permitted to taste the puddings before buying.

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sample vt. test a part of; n. a small part representing the whole.

--I have sampled all the cakes and I like Jane's best.
--Samples are presented free in the company.
come to: reach (a total, condition, or time)

-How much does it come to?

-The two brothers quickly came to blows during their quarrel.

-The committee have not yet come to a decision.

4. I have often wondered whether some people, who had no intention of making a

purchase, would take advantage of this privilege: I often wanted to know if there

were really some people who would only taste the puddings with no intention to buy

any.

①Intention: a determination to act in a certain way

-Those who look at goods in shop windows with no intention of buying are called

window shoppers.

-Sometimes good intentions are ill received.

②take advantage of: make use of (sth. Or someone) for one’s own gain/benefit

-Such a skilled player knows how to take advantage of his opponent’s chief weakness.

-The old man took advantage of the good weather to do some gardening.

③privilege: special right given to a person

-Diplomats enjoy a lot of privileges in foreign countries.

5. One day I asked this question of the sho[p girl: One day I asked the shop girl this

question.

“To ask a question of sb.” is a formal expression. In daily conversation we prefer to

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INTENSIVE READING 5

say “to ask sb. a question”.

suspect vt. to doubt or mistrust

--I suspect his motives

Collective:

suspect sb. of sth. 疑心某人干某事

--suspect sb. of giving false information

n. a person who is suspected, esp. one suspected of a crime, offense, or the like

-- The police have taken the suspect to the police station.

6. Well, let him come if he wants it, and welcome to it: Well, he is allowed to come if

he wants to taste the pudding, and he can taste the pudding freely.

It: refers to “the gentleman comes to sample puddings”.

7. He looks as if he needed it all right: It seems as if he liked to sample the

puddings very much.

All right: beyond doubt; certainly

-He is ill all right.

8. I suppose they can afford it.

①In the West, the pronouns “they” and “them” are often used to refer to a group of

people opposed to “we” and “us”. For the common people, the word “they” often

refers to bosses or the government with a slight hue of hostility, cf. “an us vs. them

war.”

②”it” here refers to the cost of the free samples of the puddings.

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③afford: (with “can” or “be able to”) spare; be in a position to do sth.

-I’m busy. I can’t afford one hour for lunch.

-No one can afford to waste so much time.

9. Why, that’s the very gentleman I’ve been telling you about.

Very: (used for emphasis) same; identical

-At the very moment that bomb went off.

-Everyone says he is the very man for the job.

10. the elderly gentleman, who was poorly but neatly dressed, accepted the spoon

and began eagerly to sample one after another of the puddings, only breaking of

occasionally to wipe his red eyes with a large torn handkerchief: The poorly dressed

old man took the spoon and started keenly to taste the puddings one by one, only

stopping for a while to rub his red eyes with a large ragged handkerchief.

① break off

i. stop working for a short time

-Let’s break off work and have a cup of tea.

-You can not break off his teaching in class.

ii. stop speaking

-Jim broke off telling the story to answer the telephone.

-“How dare you __” he suddenly broke off when the teacher came in.

11. “This is quite good. This isn’t bad either, but a little heavy.”

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When we say some food is too heavy, we mean it is too rich and filling.

These remarks indicate that the old man had a strong sense of dignity. He

pretended to be quite serious about choosing a pudding though he did not really

intend to buy one.

Heavy: (of food, etc.) too rich to digest easily

-I’d like a cup of tea. The cake is too heavy for me.

12. All the time it was quite evident that he sincerely believed that he might

eventually buy one of these puddings.

①The narrator was watching the old man all the time. He was under the impression

that the old man himself believed that he would finally buy one of the puddings.

②Evident: clear to the eye or the mind

-It is evident that someone destroyed the paper on purpose.

③Eventually: finally

-His dreams have eventually come true.

13. Probably he had come down in the world and this sampling was all that was left

him from the time when he could afford to come and select his favorite pudding:

Maybe the old man had been reduced to a humbler standard of social level. His

sampling habit was resulted from his frequent coming to and sampling in pudding

store when he was once rich.

①come down in the world: lose a place of respect or honor; become lower as in rank

or fortune; be reduced to a humbler stand of living

-When their business failed, the family came down in the world.

-The stranger plainly had come down a long way in the world.

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14. Amidst the crowd of happy, prosperous looking Christmas shoppers, the little

black figure of the old man seemed pitiful and out of place, and in a burst of

benevolence, I went up to him and said: Among the Christmas shoppers who looked

happy and rich, the small old man gave us an impression of being pitiful and

unsuitable, and the sympathy came to me suddenly, I came over to him and said.

① amidst: among; in the middle of

② in/out of place: suitable/unsuitable; proper/improper

-I think an expression of thanks to our host would be in place.

_The old man felt out of place among the foreigners.

③burst: a sudden outbreak of (effort, etc.)

-There was a burst of applause after his speech.

④do a favour for sb: do sth for sb

--Could you do me a favour by shutting the window.

--He asked me to do him the favour of shutting the window.

15. He jumped back as if he had been stung, and the blood rushed into his wrinkled

face.

The old man did not expect that one of the customers would come up and offer to

buy him one of the puddings. Therefore, when “I” did so, he was taken aback and

took the kind offer for an insult.

The words “jumped back” and “stung” suggest that the old man was shocked as well

as hurt; and his wrinkled face turned red, simply because he felt humiliated,

resentful and even indignant.

① as if/though: seeming to show that

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-The baby smiled as if he understood what his mother said.

-The waves dashed on the rocks as if in anger.

16. “I don’t believe I have the pleasure of knowing you …”

the old man’s choice of words is rather impressive. In response to the narrator’s

offer, he switched to a higher level of speech, which was stiff and formal. This

suggests that he not only looked dignified but also might have a good educational

background.

have the pleasure of: have the enjoyment by doing something

-May I have the pleasure of the next dance with you?

17. Undoubtedly you have mistaken me for someone else: You’ve certainly taken me

for another one.

Mistake for: think wrongly that (sb. or sth.) is (sb. or sth. else)

-I mistook you for your brother, you have so much in common with your brother in

appearance.

-Friendship is easily mistaken for love.

18. How I longed for the power to unsay my tactless words!: I wish I had the ability

to take back my foolish words!

long for: wish very much for (someone or something)

-She seemed to be longing for me to say something.

-I long for a timely reply from you.

19. And that was the last I saw and heard of the old man.: Since then I have never

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seen or heard of the old man again.

① the last

i. the last can be used to indicate that something never happened again or no longer

existed after a particular time in the past, or will never happen or exist again in the

future.

-That was the last I ever saw of Northcliff.

ii. the last can be used to emphasize that you definitely do not want to do something

or that something is very unlikely to happen or be true.

-You’re the last person I’d want to talk to about it.

-I would be the last to suggest that the government’s policies are always right.

② hear of: learn about; gain information about

-She described herself as a famous singer, but no one in the town had heard of her.

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