Unit 11

Cultivating a Hobby

By Winston Churchill

1.About Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

A public man having a most colorful political career: early career as a solider, war time correspondent at 27, (in 1901) as Conservative MP office held including:

a. President of the Board of Trade （商务部长 )

b. Home Secretary （内政部长） c. First Lord of the Admiralty

(英国海军大臣） d.Chancellor of the Exchequer (1922-24)

（财政部长）

a political outcast (for a decade between late 1920’s to 1940’s ） , not holding any office (The Conservative government failed to cope with the economic crisis and lost power in 1929.)

returning to public life, (on the outbreak of World War II), serving as the First Lord of the Admiralty

becoming the Prime Minister(1940-1945), becoming a symbol of British resistance in the darkest days of the conflict, as a War Leader, fighting against Nazism

defeated in the General Election of 1945 returning to office in 1951 resigned at the age of 80 in 1955   

2)A man of versatile talents

a powerful orator man of letter (awarded Nobel Prize for literature

in 1953) an amateur painter (paintings were displayed in

the galleries of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1958)

Learning objectives

To use metaphorical language in exposition.

To use synonymous expressions that add to the vividness and effectiveness of exposition.

To appreciate Churchill’s style of writing, focusing on parallelisms in particular.

Warm-up questions

Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How did you cultivate those hobbies?

Do your hobbies do you any good? In what ways?

Can you recall to your mind other pieces of classical works by famous politicians or statesmen?

Organization of the text

Section 1 (Para. 1-2): Raising the topic: what worry is and the importance of a hobby in attenuating worry.

Section 2 (Para. 3-5): Classification of human beings and the importance of hobbies to them

Paragraph 1 explain the notion of “worry”, but something else is

implied by “insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp” and “illumination of another field of interest”

Question: The theme of the argument is the importance and significance of cultivating a rightly chosen hobby. But Churchill starts his argument by giving a definition of “worry”, which seems irrelevant to the subject matter of “hobby”. How do you explain the connection between the definition of “worry” and the point for argument?

More questions

How would you define “worry” and how does Churchill define “worry”?

What phrases are used in the first paragraph to refer to the annoying state of the mind?

What expressions are used to refer to “hobbies”?

Para. 2

thesis statement: “The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man”.

Find out the metaphor used in this paragraph to describe the cultivation of a hobby. And explain it.

Para. 3-4

the classification of human beings into three classes: those who are toiled to death;

those who are worried to death; those who are bored to death.

(Para. 4: For the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, the most

hopeful path is discipline in one form or another.)

Questions for this part

Why does Churchill classify as unfortunate those people who can command everything they want?

How can people who have everything they want find relief from boredom?

Do you think Churchill's attitude towards those people is really one of sympathy? How do you know?

Para. 5

the classification of rational, industrious, useful human beings into two classes and the need of hobbies to them:

those whose word is work and whose pleasure is pleasure, and

those whose work and pleasure are one.

Question

Why is it particularly important for people whose work is their pleasure to cultivate a hobby?

Language points

spasm: n. e.g. - a spasm of the stomach - mascular spasm -a spasm of anger/coughing/grief/excitement …

insinuate - to insinuate (to sb.) that a man is a liar

c.f. allude to/ refer to/ insinuate/ proclaim

allude to She didn’t say Mr. Smith’s name, but it is clear that she

was alluding to him.

insinuate - an insinuating remark.

refer to - He referred to Paris in his speech about

travel.- If you don’t know what it means, refer to the

dictionary.- The new law does not refer to land used for

farming.- The store referred the complaint to the

makers of the product

proclaim - to proclaim the news of the end of the war- A national holiday was proclaimed.

Convulsion

- a convulsion of nature ( such as an earthquake)

- civil convulsion

- political convulsion

undue

- with undue haste

- undue influence upon sb

- undue use of force

- an undue loan

recuperate

- A good night’s sleep was all I need to recuperate from the stresses of the day.

hobby

c.f. pastime/sport/ recreation

pastime

- His painting was merely a pastime.

sport

- country sports

recreation

- Football is the boys' usual recreation after school.

improvise

- When an actor forgets his lines, he has to improvise.

- The gifted pianist improvised an accompaniment to the song.

- I made an improvised meal for the unexpected guests.

c.f. unrehearsed, improvised ( used in musical or theatrical contexts)

unplanned, spontaneous, impulsive

sedulously

- The teacher proceeded so rapidly that only the most sedulous student can follow him.

c.f. industrious, persevering

vivify

- A smile may vivify a face.

at hand: near, within reach;

- He lives at hand.

- The exams are at hand.

aggravate

- His bad temper was aggravated by his headache.

- Threats will only aggravate her.

be tired out; to tire sb out

- I must sit down and rest. I’m tired out.

- Going to school all day soon tires little children out.

trifle

- to quarrel over trifles

- It is no trifling matter. It is serious.

command: v.

(a) to be in a position to use; have sth at one’s service

- He commands great sums of money.

(b) to deserve and receive as due; exact;

- The great man commands our respect.

(c) have authority over or authority over; rule;

- Who commands the army?

(d) to direct with authority; give orders to;

- The officer commanded his men to fire.

- God commands and man obeys.

gratify: v.

- to gratify a person’s fancies

- to gratify a child’s thirst for knowledge

- His achievement gratified his father.

caprice

- He acted not from reason, but from caprice.

c.f. capricious adj. changing one’s mind or behavior unexpectedly

satiate

- be satiated with food or pleasures

satiety (or satiation): n

- to indulge in pleasure to (the point of) satiety

satiable adj.

- a satiable appetite

avenge

- He wanted to avenge his brother’s death

clatter

- The students stopped their chatter when the teacher came into the classroom.

- Pots and pans were clattering in the kitchen.

- Don’t clatter your knives and forks. That’s poor table manner

Sustenance

- There is more sustenance in cocoa than in tea.

- We derive our sustenance from the land.

.

grudge

- The cruel master grudged him even the food he ate.

- to bear a grudge against sb

banish

- He was banished from the realm.

Text II A Debt to DickensPearl S. BuckLearning Objectives

Learn to identify any shift in tense in narration and see the implication in so doing.

Learn to use descriptive words accurately.

Organization and development of the text

Section 1 (para. 1): Stating the writing purpose: to express a feeling of warm gratitude to Charles Dickens

Section 2 (para. 2-3): Explaining factors that contributed to her feeling of loneliness and alienation

Para. 2: living environment of the seven-year-old child

Para. 3: her feeling of being foreign, and her longing to know more about her own folk

Organization and development of the text

Section 3 (para. 4-7): Explaining how she had benefited from reading Dickens

Para. 4: an extraordinary accident – the discovery of Dickens’ works and thus the discovery of her playmates

Para. 5: the discovery meant to that small, lonely child: she entered into her own heritage by reading Dickens

Para. 6-7: The reading program, which lasted for about ten years, has taught her a lot.

Comprehension Questions In what way is her life experience unusual? from a missionary’s family, brought up in

China How would you describe Buck’s childhood?

（ paragraph 2-3） Intensely solitary (alien from her own

culture, not accepted by the Chinese culture either)

“solitary”, isolated, lonely, alien, foreign “wonder” about her own folk, how they

live, play etc. (pay attention to the literary descriptions

about the childhood)

Comprehension Questions

How did Buck come across Dickens works?One August afternoon, (paragraph 4, detailed, vivid

descriptions)

Why did Dickens’ novels appeal so much to Buck?In reading Dickens, she found her way into her

heritage. (She was able to identify herself with her culture, to regain her identity. 找到自我

Characters depicted in the novels

Comprehension Questions Why is Buck so grateful to Dickens, regarding

herself owing to Dickens a great debt?She has been reading Dickens for about 10 years (para 6)“He opened my eyes to people, taught me to love all sorts

of people…“give me the zest for life, that immense joy in life and in

people.

( not only satisfy her longer for her own culture, but also taught her Christian faith and shaped her morals.)

Language Points ache/pain/pang: a bodily sensation that causes acute

discomfort or suffering Pain may range in its application from a sensation that

makes one uneasily aware of some bodily disturbance or injury to a sensation resulting from severe injuries or disease and of agonizing intensity: from a sensation that is purely local to one that affects the entire body.

e.g. a pain in the finger chest pains …his body was wracked with pain. An ache is a steady, dull, and often generalized pain

that is frequently associated with some underlying disorder.

e.g. the ache of an abscessed tooth …backache that accompanies kidney disease

A pang is a sharp, sudden, and usually transitory pain of great intensity, especially one that recurs in spasms.

e.g. …pangs have taken hold upon me… …attacking them [fleas] was a waste of time,

and unless a particularly savage pang forced you into action, you just sat and let yourself be devoured.

ache (v.): feel a continuous, but not very sharp pain there

e.g. The noise of the traffic made my head ache. an aching back ache to do sth/for sth: want to do or have

something very much e.g. I was aching to tell him the good news.

pain a pain in the fingerchest painsHis body was wracked with pain.

ache the ache of an abscessed toothbackache that accompanies kidney disease

ache (v.)The noise of the traffic made my head ache.an aching back

ache to do sth/for sth

I was aching to tell him the good news.

pang Pangs have taken hold upon me.Attacking them [fleas] was a waste of time, and

unless a particularly savage pang forced you into action, you just sat and let yourself be devoured.

obligation: You can look at the books without any obligation to

buy.I have certain obligations to my family.to meet/fulfil an obligation: be under an obligation: to place sb under an

obligation: e.g. Signing a contract places you under a long-term

obligation.

perch: A house perched on a cliff above the town.

treacherous (ground or situations) particularly dangerous

because you cannot see the dangers, e.g. There are treacherous currents in the bay

Heritage is the most widely applicable of these words, for it may apply to anything (as a tradition, a right, a trade, or the effect of a cause) that is passed on not only to one’s heir or heirs but to the generation or generations that succeed .e.g.

our neglect of the magnificent spiritual heritage which we possess in our own history and literature

…but the war had left its heritage of poverty…of disease, of misery, of discontent

Inheritance applies to what passes from parent to children, whether it be money, property, or traits of character. e.g.

…my father’s blessing, and this little coin is my inheritance

Inheritance, but not heritage, may also apply to the fact of inheriting or to the means by which something passes into one’s possession.

e.g.

…come into possession of a property by inheritance …the power of regulating the devotion of property by

inheritance or will upon the death of the owner

dip into: (a)

to read short parts of a book, magazine etc, but not the whole thing; (b) to use some of an amount of money that you have.

Medical bills forced her to dip into her savings.

Parents are being asked to dip into their pockets for new school books. (i.e. to pay for something with your own money)

unctuous: (fml.) too friendly and praising people too much in a way that seems very insincere, e.g.

There is something smug and unctuous about him.

gruff: (a) unfriendly or annoyed, especially in the way you speak: e.g.

a gruff replyA gruff voice sounds low and rough as if the

speaker does not want to talk

Diluted, undiluted: The effect of his speech was diluted by the

speaker’s nervousness.

undiluted: (literary) an undiluted feeling is very strong and not mixed with any other feelings: e.g.

undiluted joy.