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Unit Six

A French Fourth

海南大学外国语学院 基础英语教研室

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• Contents• A. Text one• I. Pre-reading: • (I). Warm-up questions • (II). Background information • II. While-reading: Text Analysis• (I) Structure analysis• (II) Comprehension questions • (III) Language points• (IV) Difficult sentences • III. Post-Reading:• (I) Grammatical items• (II) Translation Exercises• (III) Oral activities• (IV) Writing practice • B. Text two• （I）Questions for text comprehension• （II）Language points

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• I. Pre-reading: • Background• This text is taken from The Atlantic Mothly,

July /August 2001. The author Charles Trueheart is a correspondent for the Washington Post based in Paris.

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• Globalization make people can touch their own cultures more easily and children abroad can learn the history of their motherland from school. The culture divide between different countries is less jarring. However, on the other hand, people are less than fully immersed in a truly foreign world.

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• Independence DayOn July 4The United States of America celebrates 230th year since On July 4, 1776, the United States claimed it's independence from England and Democracy was born. Each year on July 4th, also known as Independence Day, Americans celebrate their independence with picnics, barbecues, fireworks and family gatherings

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American flag• For of all the signs and symbols since the

world began there is none other so full of meaning as the flag of this country. That piece of red, white and blue bunting means five thousand years of struggle upward. It is the full-grown flower of ages of fighting for liberty. It is the century plant of human hope in bloom.

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Your flag stands for humanity, for an equal opportunity to all the sons of men. Of course we haven't arrived yet at that goal; there are many injustices yet among us, many senseless and cruel customs of the past still clinging to us, but the only hope of righting the wrongs of men lies in the feeling produced in our bosoms by the sight of that flag. Other flags mean a glorious past, this flag a glorious future. It is not so much the flag of our fathers as it is the flag of our children, and of all children's children yet unborn. It is the flag of tomorrow. It is the signal of the "Good Time Coming." It is not the flag of your king—it is the flag of yourself and of all your neighbors.

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• This tribute to the flag is offered to the country in appeal to all men and women of all races, colors and tongues, that they may come to understand that our flag is the symbol of liberty and learn to love it.

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• II. While-reading: Text Analysis• (I) Structure analysispart I: the author starts with a way of

celebrating his home country’s National Day part II: he makes a contrastive analysis of the

costs and benefits of the expatriated peoplepart III: he talks about the effect of

globalization.

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Part I paragraph 1-3

1.Why does the author hang the American flag from his fourth-floor balcony in Paris?

2.The author has kept the old flag for a long time. Why didn’t he get a new one?

3.Why do the author and his family go back home for the summer?

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Language Work

Fold away : make something into a smaller,

neater shape by folding it, usually several times

These camping chairs can be folded away and put in the trunk.

The piece of paper was folded away carefully and trucked into her purse.

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regulation

• Conforming to regulations or rules• As we walked along the street, we

could see the noisy cheerful group of people in regulation black parade tunics.

• Christians usually decorate their house with the regulations as Christmas approaches.

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• Expatriate: someone who lives in a foreign country

• British expatriates living in Spain• expatriate adjective [only before

noun] expatriate workers

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• Suppress: if important information or opinions are suppressed, people are prevented from knowing about them, even if they have a right to know

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Refuel: Its original meaning is to fill with more fuel for a vehicle but here it means to fill someone’s mind with more knowledge of their native culture.

Oil tankers will accompany the containers for trans-ocean refuelling.

In a society of intense competition, people have to refuel every year to catch up with the rapid renewal of knowledge.

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Part II paragraph 4-9

• This part is the main body of the essay, in which the author tells us what is good and what is bad in living in a foreign country. He supports his arguments with the experience of his own family and the difference between his generation and the generation of his own children.

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1.What are the costs and benefits of raising children in a foreign culture?

2.What is the author’s purpose of telling the story of his own children in Paragraph 4 and 5? How is the story related to his argument?

3.Did the author achieve the purpose of his summer travel in the U.S.?

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• Object lesson: a striking practical example of some principle or ideal, an event or story that shows you the right or wrong way of doing something

• They responded to daily emergencies in a way that was an object lesson to us all.

• That was an object lessen in how to handle a difficult customer.

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• Folly: a very stupid thing to do, especially one that is likely to have serious results

• Somerville bitterly regretted his folly at becoming involved.

• it would be folly to do something• It would be sheer folly to reduce

spending on health education.

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• Take pride in being American: have a feeling of great pleasure or satisfaction of being a native American.

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• Skirmish: a fight between small groups of soldiers, ships etc, especially one that happens away from the main part of a battle - used in news reports

• skirmish with/between/over • a short argument, especially

between political or sports opponents

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Three cornered hat and cotton bonnet

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• Goggle: to look at something with your eyes wide open in surprise or shock

• synonym gape/ goggle at• They were goggling at us as if we were

freaks.• Goggle-eyed: with your eyes wide open

and looking directly at something, especially in surprise or shock

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Goggle-eyed

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• Make-believe: when you imagine or pretend that something is real or true

• He seems to be living in a world of make-believe . children in the middle of a make-believe adventure

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• Satisfaction swelling in my breast: with my heart full of satisfaction

• Gulliver: an Englishman who travels to the imaginarylands in Jonathan Swift’s satire Gulliver’s Travels.

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Gulliver ‘s voyage to Lilliput （ 小人国）

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Part III paragraph 10-12

1.Why does the author recall his own experience as a child in Paragraph 10?

2.What are the differences between the author and his children as expatriates at about the same time in their lives? What causes the differences?

3.Why does the author say the development is sad?

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• Resonate: if something such as an event or a message resonates, it seems important or good to people, or continues to do this

• ~ with : an idea that resonates with many voters

• to make a sound that is produced as a reaction to another sound

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Square dancing

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Surreys with fringe on top: old –fashioned horse-drawn carriages with fancy decorations on top.

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Davy Crockett hat

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Fleece: the woolly coat of a sheep, especially the wool and skin of a sheep when it has been made into a piece of clothing

• [uncountable] an artificial soft material used to make warm jackets

• [countable] British English a jacket made of this artificial material

Verb: to charge someone too much money for something, especially by tricking them

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III. Post-Reading

Rhetorical FeaturesGenerally speaking, the author of

this text has adopted a plain language style

concessive words and expressions like but are frequently used.

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Giving a talk

Topic: How would I try to maintain my national identity if I were in the United States?

hang national flag; sing anthem; watch Chinese TV programs; traditional festivals; Chinese food; Chinese culture …

Words and phrases for reference:

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Having a discussionTopic: What is the significance of flying the winner’s national flag accompanied with his/her national anthem in some international sports competitions?

honour; patriotism; national pride; symbol …

Words and phrases for reference:

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1. What difficulties did Fong See experience after he arrived in the U.S.?

He was faced with racial discrimination. American law prohibited him from owning any property or becoming a naturalized citizen, to name only two examples.

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2. Is it easy for Lisa See to identify herself? Why or why not?

No. Although she inherited some rituals from her Chinese ancestors such as being thrifty and polite, she is also influenced by Caucasian culture and American culture.

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3. Do you think it is good for people like Lisa See to feel in-between in American society?

It is good for people like her because it is easier for them to merge themselves with the local people and get equal opportunities in education, employment and other things.

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It depends on how you define a Chinese. If we look at the blood relationship, no matter whether they are 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, or 1/32 Chinese, they are unquestionably Chinese in origin. But they need to have much more to be a Chinese in a broader sense. Language is one of the many things they must possess. Without being able to speak or read the Chinese language, it is simply impossible for them to know, to feel or to sense what a Chinese really is or what Chinese culture really means.

4. Do you think the Chinese who were born in a foreign country and have lost their native language can still be considered Chinese?

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1) Discuss with your classmates about how you understand patriotism and nationalism.

Questions for discussion

The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of one’s country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of one’s country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that may lead to war.

Suggested viewpoints:

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2) Boycotts of foreign products are considered patriotic by some people. What do you think about this?

Questions for discussion

Buying foreign products may weaken the national economy.

Pros:

Such boycotts may isolate the country from the world.

Cons:

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. The public murder of President Kennedy remains one of the most shocking public events of the 20th century.

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The Smart Set, and in later years he championed the plays of Sean O’Casey and William Saroyan. Nathan wrote during the most important period of American theatre’s history and set critical standards that are still being followed.

George Jean Nathan (1882 －1958) was the leading American drama critic of his time. Active from 1905 to 1958, he published thirty-four books on the theatre, co-edited The Smart Set and The American Mercury with H. L. Mencken. He was the first important critic to extol the genius of Eugene O’Neill, publishing O’Neill’s early work in

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