1、Unit Unit FifteenFifteenClearing in the Sky現代大學英語精讀現代大學英語精讀1Contentsu Introduction to a New Unitu Listen, repeat and writeu Detailed discussion of the textu Exercises and Testsu DictationAbout the title 1. What is the meaning of “clearing”? - A piece of land cleared of trees, weeds, or bushes for cu

2、ltivation. 2. What is the meaning of “Clearing in the Sky”? - A patch of land on the top of a high mountain. About the author Refer to Note 1 on Page 330.1. What did Jesses father want to do on a hot summer day? 2. Did Jesse live far away from his father? How far?3. How was the fathers health?4. Did

3、 Jesse protest to his father when his father walked far? Why?Detailed Analysis of the Text5. How did the father brag about the land he bought 30 years ago?6. How did the father turn the hillside into fertile land in 30 years time?7. On a mountain slope, what did they recall? Detailed Analysis of the

4、 Text8. When they were climbing the mountain, what did Jesse find?9. When they finally reached the mountaintop , what did Jesse see?10. Was that the thing his father wanted to show Jesse?Detailed Analysis of the Text11. Who cleared the land and fenced it?12. Why did the father do that?13. Why has he

5、 built so many paths leading up to the clearing?14. What can we learn from this story?Detailed Analysis of the Text1. in praise of2. reliance3. rugged 4. manual5. sentimental6. Glorification7. Thomas Jefferson8. glorious9. solely10.prevail11. naveWord tips:Dictation This story is in praise of some t

6、ypical American values: / self-reliance, rugged individualism, and respect for hard manual work. / We know that respect for hard work / and a tradition of sentimental glorification of the rural way of life exist in all cultures, / and particularly strong in American culture. / Dictation According to

7、 Thomas Jefferson, / farmers are close to nature. / And nature is beautiful, / because everything we use and everything we love come from nature, / not only food, water, air, housing, clothing, / but also art, music and poetry. / Farming is the most glorious way of living / because it is honest / an

8、d is dependent solely on labor. / This kind of life in turn gives the farmer all the fine qualities we admire: / strength, courage, independence, honesty, and the love of freedom. / Dictation In the present-day United States, however, these values prevail mainly in rural areas and small towns. / In

9、the cities and suburbs, / where the great majority of Americans live, / many would consider them old-fashioned. / Their judgment of “Clearing in the Sky” might be / that it is nave and overly sentimental. /Check of vocabularyFind the words from the text which have the same meaning as the following.1

10、. in a sudden and unexpected way2. to talk too proudly about sth.3. to cut down a tree4. a wild and natural area in which few people live 5. a particular taste of a food or drink6. (of land) wild and not even; not easy to travel over7. to bend ones body forward and downward8. to produce (an emotion

11、or feeling) in sb.Find the words from the text which have the same meaning as the following.9. to touch gently and in a loving way10. to pull sth. heavy slowly and with difficulty11. to make a signal to sb. usually with your hand or head12. a valley13. to breathe suddenly and loudly14. a thin, delic

12、ate piece of hair, grass, etc.15. a large area of land where animals feed on the grassCheck of vocabularyCheck of vocabularyFill in the blanks with an appropriate word from the text.1. Hes been b_ about his new car. 2. The news r_ great indignation in the public. 3. Dont s_ to quarrel with her about

13、 it. 4. They cleaved a path through the w_.5. The path to glory is always r_.Check of vocabularyFill in the blanks with an appropriate word from the text.6. After a good days fishing they h_ in the nets and went home. 7. He opened the door and m_ me to come in. 8. She cut a w_ of hair off. 9. The fi

14、re swept rapidly across the w_ countryside.10. They f_ an oak and used it to make a bridge.Check of vocabularyFill in the blanks with an appropriate word from the text.1. Hes been b_ about his new car. 2. The news r_ great indignation in the public. 3. Dont s_ to quarrel with her about it. 4. They c

15、leaved a path through the w_.5. The path to glory is always r_.braggingrousedstoopwildernessruggedCheck of vocabularyFill in the blanks with an appropriate word from the text.6. After a good days fishing they h_ in the nets and went home. 7. He opened the door and m_ me to come in. 8. She cut a w_ o

16、f hair off. 9. The fire swept rapidly across the w_ countryside.10. They f_ an oak and used it to make a bridge.hauledmotionedwispwoodedfelled Genre of the story Plot of the story Setting of the story Protagonists of the story Theme of the storyGeneral Analysis of the Text paras. 1-4 The introductio

17、n On a hot summer day, a 70-year-old farmer was taking his son somewhere on his land. Time, place, and protagonistsStructure of the Text paras. 5-40 The body The places father and son went brought many beautiful memories of their life in the past. At a meadow of alfalfa (para.5-9)On a mountain slope

18、 (para.10-17)On the way of climbing the mountain (para.18-25)On the top of the mountain (para.26-40)Structure of the Text paras. 41-43 The conclusion The old farmer explained to his son why he opened so many paths up to the clearing. Rugged individualism, endurance, self-reliance, etc.Structure of t

19、he TextDetailed Study of the TextI wiped the streams of sweat from my face to keep them from stinging my eyes. eg. A stream of people was coming out of the movie house.Tears began to steam down her face when she heard this. Examples: They protested to the mayor that the taxes were too high. He prote

20、sted his innocence. （聲明）（聲明） His protests on human rights sound hollow. protest: v. /prtest/To make a strong objection to sth. 抗議Language pointsn. /prtest/ More examples: record, import, export, contrast, increase, decrease, object, subject, project, insult, produce, exhibit Language pointsPronuncia

21、tion Word Stress (P. 118-119) lFahrenheit (F): lCentigrade(C)=5/9 * (F-32) lFahrenheit=C * 9/5 +32l100 =5/9*(100-32) = 37.7 l - 20 = ? Language points Then we went up the winding footpath under the tall hickory trees, (para. 15)wind /wind/ - winded windedeg. He was momentarily winded by the blow to

22、his stomach.wind /waind/ - wound woundeg. The road winds uphill.wound wounded woundedeg. Two soldiers were seriously wounded in the attack.“Fertile,” he laughed as he reached down and picked up a double handful of the soil. “This is the land, son! This is it.” Then he smelt the dirt. (para. 31) Soil

23、: the top layer of the earth in which plants grow: Plant the seedlings in damp soil. Land: an area of ground, esp. of a particular type: a fertile land Dirt: (esp. North American English) soil, esp. loose soil: Pack the dirt firmly around the plants.V. Fill in the blanks with the correct prep. or adv.keep at it: to continue doing sth. even if you want to stop 堅持堅持 keep away: to avoid sb. or sth. or to make sb. else do this （