1、1. Background Knowledge about the author Barbara Goldsmith is a noted author, historian. Her best-selling books include The Straw Man, Little GloriaHappy at Last, Johnson v. Johnson, and Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism, and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull (soon to be a major motion

2、picture produced by Kathleen Kennedy for Universal Studios) and Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie. She is the recipient of many literary awards and two Emmy Awards for her work. Barbara Goldsmith has long been at the forefront of the effort to preserve our written heritage. She is the

3、 donor of the Goldsmith Conservation and Preservation Laboratories at the New York Public Library, and these Divisions were recently named in her honor. She has donated the Preservation and Conservation Departments to New York University as well as a state-of-the-art Rare Book Library at the America

4、n Academy in Rome and at Wellesley College.第1頁/共22頁 Ms. Goldsmith accomplished the Herculean task of organizing this countrys most influential writers to insist that they be published on cost-comparable permanent paper (which lasts 300 years instead of deteriorating in 30.) She spearheaded a landmar

5、k event in which forty of the nations most influential trade-book publishers and 2,500 writers signed a Declaration that they would publish only on permanent paper, thus insuring our cultural heritage and potentially saving billions of future dollars that might otherwise be spent on preservation. Ms

6、. Goldsmith helped effect a $20 million annual increase in the budget of the National Endowment of the Humanities for paper preservation.第2頁/共22頁 Barbara Goldsmith is dedicated to working for human rights and the freedom of expression. Nineteen years ago, she conceived the “PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Fre

7、edom to Write Awards,” that consistently turns the media spotlight on imprisoned writers invariably securing their release. Of the 31 writers imprisoned or missing at the time of her awards, 28 were subsequently set free. Barbara Goldsmith has written for The New York Times, Vanity Fair and The New

8、Yorker. Ms. Goldsmith is a Doctor of Literature and of Humane Letters, honoris causa. Among her honors are an appointment to the Presidents Commission for the Celebration of Women in American History, the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Literary Arts of the Guild Hall Academy of the Arts, the Poet

9、s and Writers “Writers for Writers” award, and the American Publishers Association Literary Award. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Council on Foreign Relations.第3頁/共22頁 Ms. Goldsmith served on the New York State Council on the Arts, the Commission for Preservatio

10、n and Access and the Permanent Paper Task Force of the National Library of Medicine. She is a Trustee of the American Academy in Rome, the New York Public Library and was elected a Literary Lion at that institution. Barbara Goldsmith is a member of the Authors League, Authors Guild of America, and P

11、oets & Writers. She was a founder of the National Dance Institute and wrote Jump! Why Do I Dance?” which was performed at the White House. Information on her books follows. For further information on Barbara Goldsmith refer to:第4頁/共22頁2. Detailed Study of the Text 1) bulletin board: a notice board,

12、a board for notices to be pinned on bulletin: a short official statement of news; a printed newsletter produced by an association, a group or a society. 2) basics: essential or important matters. Examples: 3) She was brilliant, single-minded, a legend: She was very intelligent, focused, and famous.第

13、5頁/共22頁 Single-minded: having or concentrating on one aim, purpose, etc. Examples: Legend: a famous person, a person who has achieved great fame; a famous event. 4) I was just a girl with little direction, more drawn to words and made-up stories than to formulas and lab experiments: I was only a gir

14、l with almost no guidance. I was more attracted to words and made-up stories than to formulas and lab experiments.第6頁/共22頁Questions and answers: Q1: Describe the photo of Marie Curie put up on the bulletin board. Q2: What are the basics of Marie Curie? Q3: What is the implied meaning of the last sen

15、tence of the first paragraph?第7頁/共22頁 1) Idolize: treat sb. as idol; love and admire sb. very much Questions and answers: Q1: Why did the author idolize Marie Curie? Q2: Why couldnt the authors mother hold her?第8頁/共22頁fantasy: the faculty of inventing images, esp. extravagant or visionary ones; a fa

16、nciful mental image; a daydream; a whimsical speculation. Examples;2) Marie Curies own daughters grew up into intelligent successful women through their own effort, though their mother was almost always completely preoccupied with her research before their birth. In ones own right: as a result of on

17、es own claims, qualifications, or effort, etc. rather than an association with someone else. Examples:第9頁/共22頁 3) Curie was what might be referred to today as an exceptionally competent scientist, engaging in numerous research tasks simultaneously. Her research work introduced fundamental changes to

18、 the study of atomic energy and radioactivity, and she is one of the precious female scientists who are always included in textbooks for schoolchildren to learn from. Multi-tasker: a person who engages in a number of tasks at the same time. Revolutionize: introduce fundamental changes to sth.; cause

19、 sth. to change completely or drastically. 4) Moreover, Marie Curie pressed ahead, fighting persistently almost all her life against what a doctor today would probably identify as severe depression. 5) Eventually, her most superb discovery turned out to be deadly for both her and her husband.第10頁/共2

20、2頁Questions and Answers Q1: What did the author think of Marie Curie and her discovery? Q2: Was Marie Curies road to her success very smooth?第11頁/共22頁 Language work 1) she continued her schooling . 2) but in the following months she would look for places to hide herself, weeping bitterly. Cry ones e

21、yes (or heart) out: cry very bitterly. Questions and answers: Q1: What happened to Marie Curie when she was ten years old? Q2: What did she look like when her died of tuberculosis? Q3: Did she not feel grievous at all about her mothers death?第12頁/共22頁 Language work !) In the end, she fell in love wi

22、th Casimir Zorawski, a clever, well-educated young man of 19. Both of them cherished a love for nature and science. 2) disinherit: reject as ones heir; deprive of the right of inheritance. Examples: 3) a nursemaid: a woman employed to take care of children. 4) Four years went by slowly and tediously

23、. 5) It still seems to me an extraordinary act of courage that Manya then collected the small amount money she had saved and took a train to Paris, where she took a new name and became a student at the Sorbonne-and gradually turned out to be a very influential figure in history.第13頁/共22頁 Questions a

24、nd answers Q1: What job did she get when she was 18 yeas old? Q2: What about Manyas love affairs? Q3: What seems to be a remarkable act of Manya to the author?第14頁/共22頁 Language work 1) the broad brush strokes: the ways in which plans or ideas are explained or implemented. 2) Late at night, Marie an

25、d her husband, Pierre, went into the lab and saw a very small bight stain which had become semi-solid in a dish. “Oh, Pierre! Could it be?” shouted Marie excitedly as tears flowed down her cheeks. Congeal: (cause a liquid to ) become thick or semi-solid, esp. by cooling. Examples: Questions and answ

26、ers Q1: When and where did Marie become the first woman to earn a degree in physics? Q2: What information about Marie can we learn from the 1943 film Madame Curie? Q3: What is the most exciting scene in the film?第15頁/共22頁 Language work 1) The reality was much harder-and far less appealing to the emo

27、tions. Gritty: full of particles of stone or sand; firm, staunch, strong. Questions and answers Q1: Describe Marie Curies working conditions第16頁/共22頁 Language work 1) They became the center of attention by the scientists in Europe, honored or entertained in a special and generous way and visited at

28、home in Paris by faithful admirers who came from as far away as New Zealand to show great respect. Toast: somebody who is the object of much attention or admiration. Example: Fete: honor or entertain somebody in a special way. Examples: Lavishly: giving or providing generously or in large quantities

29、; plentifully, abundantly. Examples: Acolyte: assistant, apprentice; faithful follower Questions and answers Q1: For what did the Curies win the Nobel Prize? Q2: What happened to the Curies after they became famous?第17頁/共22頁 Language work 1) For the Curies, however, their great success was conducive

30、 to their future disasters. 2) Even before they were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics, Pierre was terribly ill because he had been too much exposed to radioactivity. 3) sore: a painful place on the body where the skin or flesh is injured. Questions and Answers Q1: What can we infer from the paragr

31、aph?第18頁/共22頁Para.10 Language work !) inconsolable: impossible or difficult to console 2) metamorphosis: a marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function 3) The change she underwent was profound and enduring. She thereafter lived a life of loneliness and did not communicate much with

32、 others. A question: Why did Marie Curie retreat to the lab the Sunday after the funeral?第19頁/共22頁3. Exercises IV. Explanation 1. I was then a young girl without a clear idea of what to do in the future; but I was keener on literature than on natural science. 2. I think the reason why I enjoyed look

33、ing at the photo was not because Marie Curie herself was in the photo, nor because she represented a great woman, but because her image appealed to me. 3. Marie Curies own daughters distinguished themselves in their respective field due to their own efforts and competence. 4. Finally she fell in lov

34、e with Casimir Zorawski. 5. She, a poor, common nursemaid, was much lower in social status than her young master. 6. The reality was much harder, not as romantic as shown in the 1943 film Madame Curie. 7. They were highly respected in the European scientific community, entertained exuberantly and visited by acolytes to show their reverence to the Curies at home in Paris. 8. the changes in Madame Curie brought about by the loss of her husband were much mor