INTENSIVE READING I 1

Unit 8 A Magician at Stretching a Dollar

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.

2. Requirements:

① Study and the key language points of the text

② Retell the story

③ Do the exercises in the textbook.

II. Global-reading task

ⅰBackground information

Christmas

Christmas is the name for the festival service of worship held on December 25 to

commemorate the birth of Jesus. Although it is accepted that Jesus was born in the

small town of Bethlehem a few miles south of Jerusalem, there is no certain

information on the date of His birth, not even of the year.

The word comes from the Old English term Cristes maesse, meaning "Christ's mass."

The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. This tradition began in the

early Christian church. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name. It was

frequently used as a holy symbol. Over the centuries a significant number of

customs and traditional observances have emerged to make the Christmas season

one of the most colorful and festive times of the year. Probably the most universal

custom is gift giving, frequently associated with the person of Santa Claus. Other

customs have to do with decorations (including evergreen trees, lights, wreaths, and

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holly), going to church, the sending of cards, good and plentiful food and drink, and

the singing of carols and other songs.

Baker, Russell (1925- ):

He is one of America’s notable humorists and political satirists. He first worked as a

reporter for the Baltimore Sun from 1947-1954, then joined the New York Times in

1954. In 1962 he began writing his “Observer” column for the New York Times and

continued to write that column for 36 years. Baker won a Pulitzer Prize for

commentary in 1979, and another in 1983, for the first volume of his autobiography,

Growing Up. In addition, he has published more than a dozen other books, including

fictions and children’s books.

Rooney, Mickey (1920- ):

He is an American actor, singer and dancer. Rooney made his film debut at age six

and, from 1927 to 1933, starred in over 50 episodes of the comedy series, Mickey

McGuire. His roles in The Human Comedy (1943) and National Velvet (1944)

confirmed his status as the nation’s most popular film star. Rooney established

himself as a solid character actor in the postwar period. He has received an Emmy, a

Tony and 2 Oscars, appeared in over 200 feature film.

ii Part Division of the text

Part I ( line 1- 16 ) I happened to find my Christmas present in my mother’s bedroom

and was deeply moved.

Part II (line 17 – 43 ) In order not to make mother know the fact, I tried to

compose and test exclamations of delight.

Part III ( line 44 – 63 ) Mother brought the special present to me and I found

feelings of love flowed naturally between us.

iii True or False

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I went into my mother‘s bedroom in search of my Christmas intentionally.( F )

2. I had been dreaming of having this bicycle for a certain time.( T )

3. My mother paid $15 for this second-hand bicycle.( F )

4. I felt sorry for happening to know my mother’s secret. ( T )

It was nothing important to my mother though I burst into her room and found the

present. ( F )

III. Detailed-reading task

1. stretch: v. extend, spread, or place (something) so as to reach from one point or

place to another; to lengthen, widen, distend, or enlarge by tension

--Has Iraq stretched the US military to the breaking point?

-- The enemy camps stretched for ten miles.

2. in search of Also, in quest of. Looking for, seeking

--They went to California in search of gold

--I went to the library in quest of a quiet place to read.

3. admire To regard with pleasure, wonder, and approval; To have a high opinion of;

esteem or respect 欣赏，赞美

--He admired the picture.

--The tourist admired the view from the tower.

4. something like : about; approximately

--One US dollar currently buys something like 8 RMB.’

--The Hawaiian song we heard last night goes something like “ nah lah lah…”

5. scrape together: manage to gather money, etc. despite difficulties

-- She had scraped together enough money for college.

--This past July, I scraped together enough air miles to get myself a free return

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trip to LA.

6. rob (of) : to take something from (someone) by unlawful force or threat of

violence; to deprive (someone) of some right or something legally due

--They robbed her of her inheritance.

--The war robbed him of his wife and children.

7. come upon: to find or encounter, esp. by chance; to meet or find unexpectedly

--We suddenly came upon a deer while walking in the woods.

8. absolute: complete

--absolute loyalty; absolute silence; absolute truth; absolute alcohol.

绝对忠诚；绝对沉默；绝对真实；纯酒精

Cf: absolutely ad.

--He is absolutely wrong.

--Absolutely impossible/positive/necessary

绝对不可能; 绝对有把握; 绝对必要的

9. reveal: to make known; disclose; to lay open to view; display; exhibit

--Time reveal everything.

-- The director revealed his new movie plot to the press.

10. avoid: to keep away from; to prevent from happening

--to avoid a person; to avoid taxes; to avoid danger

--to avoid falling

CF: escape V.S. avoid

escape 指“脱离或避开即将来临或近在眼前的伤害、危险、灾祸等事物”常作借喻用, 如:

--escape death

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脱离死亡。

avoid 强调“有意识地躲避不愉快的或可能发生危险的事物或情况”, 如:

--I cannot avoid meeting her.

我怎么也避不开她。

11. privacy: the state of being private; retirement or seclusion

--In such matters, privacy is impossible

--We must respect other's privacy

12. spontaneous : a. coming or resulting from a natural impulse or tendency; without

effort or premeditation; natural and unconstrained; unplanned:

--a spontaneous burst of applause

spontaneously ad.

13.Line 28 … speech and escaped me:

… I was unable to speak.

14.gratitude: thanks, thankfulness, appreciation, gratefulness

Collective:

express one's gratitude to sb. for sth 为某事对某人表示感谢

devoid of all gratitude 忘恩负义

with gratitude 感谢

out of gratitude 出于感激

-- I am full of gratitude to you for helping me.

15. Line 30 …the actor managed to cry a few quiet tears:

… the actors tried very hard and succeeded in letting tears well up without crying

aloud

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16.slap

-- He gave her a slap on the cheek. 他打了她一耳光。

--She slapped the book down on the table. 她把书随便地扔在桌上。

CF:

slap in the face 一记耳光

slap on the back 鼓励

17.acquire

-- She acquired a knowledge of the English by careful study.

她认真学习而精通英语。

--Some people go back for their education to acquire another degree or diploma to

impress the society.

有些人回到学校去接受教育,是想再取得一个学位或一张文凭,以增强自己在社会上的地位。

18.indicate: to point out or point to; direct attention to; to be a sign of

-- to indicate a place on a map

-- The committee indicated that it might take action.

19. Para 6 It looks like Santa Claus didn’t do too well by you this year…

It seems that Santa Claus hasn’t been very the present itself …

It’s the thought that counts…: what important is that you cared enough to buy me a

present, not the present itself…

20. breed: train ; educate; bring up

-- A television announcer with a well-bred voice was reading the news.

-- He told us that we were bred to be leaders on the leaders on the football field

and in the military.

21. hold back: control or restrsin

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-- Hold back one's emotions

-- He could no longer hold back his tears.

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