A Dill Pickle

文字资料来源：龚丽勇 图片资料来源：寇茜 策划人：王燕燕 制作人：李洪堃

About the author• Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) -

Pseudonym of Kathleen Murry, original name Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp  

• New Zealand's most famous writer, who was closely associated with D.H. Lawrence and something of a rival of Virginia Woolf. Mansfield's creative years were burdened with loneliness, illness, jealousy, alienation - all this reflected in her work with the bitter depiction of marital and family relationships of her middle-class characters. Her short stories are also notable for their use of stream of consciousness. Like the Russian writer Anton Chekhov, Mansfield depicted trivial events and subtle changes in human behavior.

Background information

About “ Volga River”

• The Volga River is the longest river in Europe, about 2,300 miles (3,700 km). It originates at an elevation of only 740 feet (225 m) in the Valday Hills northwest of Moscow, connects with the Rybinsk Reservoir. The river heads east past Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. From there it turns south past Samara and Volgograd. Since the initial elevation is so low, the river flows slowly, and finally enters the Caspian Sea, below sea level in a wide delta near Astrakhan. Canals connect the river with the Baltic Sea via the Rybinsk Reservoir. The Moscow Canal connects it with the Moscow River and the Oka River. At Volgograd, it links, through canals, with the Don River and Black Sea. The Volga carries about half of all river freight in Russia. Numerous dams (bypassed by locks) provide hydroelectricity and water for irrigation. The river, known in Russian folklore as Mother Volga, has played an incalculable part in the life of the Russian people.

Word Studygrimace n.• an ugly twisted expression on the face to cause laughter or to show

pain, disgust, etc• e.g. Bernie gave a grimace of disgust and left the room.• grimace vi ~ (at sb/sth)• e.g. She grimaced in/with distaste a the thought of it.pagoda n.• religious building on Asia, usu a tall tower with several stories each

of which has its own overhanging roofinfuriate: vt.• make sb extremely angry• e.g. I was infuriated by/with their constant criticism.• It infuriated me to think of the money we’ve wasted.• infuriating adj. very annoying• e.g. It was infuriating to be so close and get unable to contact them.

Word Studymelancholy: adj.• very sad, causing sadness• e.g. A funeral is a melancholy occasion.impulsive adj. • (of people or their behavior) marked by sudden action that

is undertaken without careful thought• e.g. an impulsive man, comment, decision• In a burst of impulsive generosity, I offered to pay.• impulse n. (on impulse)• impulsive adj. • impulsion n.• impulsiveness n.barbarian: n.• a person who is primitive or uncivilized• barbaric/barbarous adj.• barbarism n.• barbarity n

Word Studydecorate: vt. to put things in a room or house to make it more beautiful,• e.g. We decorated the Christmas tree with tinsel lights.• decorator n.• decorative adj.• decoration n.loathe: hate sth very much• Expansion: the synonyms of a word which are • in meaning, e.g.• to dislike (to loathe); to like (to adore); small (tiny);• big (huge, enormous, immense, colossal); • sure (positive); possible (probable);• to surprise (to stun; to shock); angry (furious); • hungry (famished); tired (exhausted);• pleased (overjoyed); interesting (fascinating);• many (numerous); fine (excellent; superb); • poor (destitute); old (ancient

Phrases

You were saying: • an expression used to encourage someone you just i

nterrupted to continue to speakthis thick of his:• more emphatic than “ his trick”, • e.g. “ look at that son of yours,” the husband shouted • at his wife, “ he stinks!” for all: in spite of all, • e.g. (1). For all our efforts, we still couldn't’t save his lif

e.• (2). For all his power,he is still the most despised p

erson.

Phrases

out of all proportion to the occasion:• (1).completely uncalled for; totally

unnecessary under the circumstances• (2).a reaction, result, emotion, etc that is

out of proportion is too strong or great, compared to the situation in which it happen.

• e.g. The fear of violent crime has now out of proportion to the actual risk.

Phrases

Pick up one’s ears:if you pick up you ears or your ears pick

up,you listen carefully because you

have heard something interesting.

Exp:He picked up his ears when them

began to talk about him.

Be wrapped up in sb/sth:to give so much of your attention

to sth that you do not have time

for anything else.

Exp:She was wrapped up in thought.

Paraphrase

1.But now,as he spoke,that memory faded. His was the truer. (para 15)

But now, as he spoke, that memory about the ridiculous scene gradually disappeared. After all, his memory was the truer one. They did have a good time on the whole that afternoon.

Paraphrase

2. He had lost all that dreamy vagueness and indecision.

Now he had the air of a man who has found his place in life.At that time, the man was much younger, full of dreams,very unpractical, very unclear about what he should do with his life. But now he looked like a man sho has found a successful career.

Paraphrase• 3.She shivered,hearing the boatman’s song break out ag

ain loud and tragic ,and seeing the boat floating on the darkening river with melancholy trees on either side……

• She quivered,hearing that the boatman sang songs loudly and tragically again,and seeing the floating on the darkening river ,on either side of the bank stands up the trees which seem melancholy.

The Figure of Speech

• Simile （明喻）• He didn’t know her. She smile, he frowned.

She came towards him. He closed his eyes an instant, but opening them his face lit up as though he had struck a match in a dark room.

The Figure of Speech

• Metaphor （暗喻）• She felt the strange beast that had slumbe

red to long within her bosom stir, stretch itself, yawn, prick up its ears, and suddenly bound to its feet, and fix its longing, hungry stare upon those fat away place.

The Figure of Speech

• Metaphor （暗喻）• She shivered, hearing the boatman’s song

break out again loud and tragic, and seeing the boat floating on the darkening river with melancholy trees on either side……

In-class Discussion

• What was Vera and the man’s relationship six year’s ago?

• What happened to Vera and the man respectively during the past six years?

Quotes

• The greatest thing you'll ever learn Is to love and be loved in return. ~ From "Unforgettable with Love" by Natalie Cole

Quotes

• You will never know true happiness until you have truly loved, and you will never understand what pain really is until you have lost it. ~ by Anonymous ~

Quotes

• So dear I love him that with him, All deaths I could endure. Without him, live no life. ~ by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet ~