00595英语阅读一课文Unit6-2

    12. Three Days to See 【字体：大 中 小】【打印】     　　I. The author: 　　Helen Keller：海伦·凯勒（1880-1986），美国聋哑女作家、教育家。两岁时一场大病夺去了她的听力和视力。后受业于安·沙利文·梅西（Anne Sullivan Macy）夫人。1904年以优异成绩毕业于剑桥拉德克利夫学院（Radcliffe Institute）。她终生致力于聋哑和盲人的公共救助事业，周游世界，著述很多。 　　Ⅱ.Text Explanation: 　　All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year; sometimes as short as twenty four hours. But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hour. I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited. 　　thrilling 激动人心的 　　specify指明 　　doom注定 　　S1: But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours. 　　--然而，我们总是十分感兴趣地探索那注定要死的人怎样度过他最后的时日。 　　condemn判以死刑 　　sphere范围 　　delimit定界，划界 　　S2: I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited. 当然，我所说的是有选择的自由人，不是行动范围严格受限的罪犯。 　　Such stories set us thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. What events, what experiences, what associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings? What happiness should we find in reviewing the past, what regrets? 　　set sb. thinking令我们深思 　　associations联系 　　mortal 　　immortal 　　S3: What events, what experience, what associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings? What happiness should we find in reviewing the past, what regrets? 　　--作为一个终有一死的人，我们应用什么样的活动，什么样的经历，什么样的联想去填塞那最后的几个小时？在回顾过去时我们将发现什么应使我们感到幸福？什么应使我们感到后悔？ 　　Part one（Para. 1-2）—give a question: how to spend the last hours 　　Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the epicurean motto of ‘Eat, drink, and be merry', but most people would be chastened by certainty of impending death. 　　vigor活力 　　keenness 敏锐 　　panorama全景 　　S4: We should live each day with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. 　　-- which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. 而这些东西往往在日复一日，月复一月，年复一年的时间长河中慢慢消失。 　　--我们每天的生活应当过得从容不迫，朝气蓬勃，观察敏锐，而这些东西往往在日复一日，月复一月，年复一年的时间长河中慢慢消失。 　　adopt采用 　　epicurean享乐主义的 　　motto座右铭 　　chasten惩戒 　　impending即将发生的 　　In stories, the doomed hero is usually saved at the last minute by some stroke of fortune, but almost always his sense of values is changed. He becomes more appreciative of the meaning of life and its permanent spiritual values. It has often been noted that those who live, or have lived, in the shadow of death bring a mellow sweetness to everything they do. 　　stroke of fortune 意外的运气 　　permanent 永久的 　　in the shadow of 在…阴影里 　　mellow 甜熟的 　　Most of us, however, take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty task, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life. 　　take life for granted 把生命认为想当然 　　buoyant 健康的快乐的 　　all but 几乎 　　vista 展望，前景 　　S5: When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. 　　--当我们身强力壮的时候，死亡好象是不可思议的，而我们也很少想到它。日子在漫长的前景中一天天度过。 　　go about 着手做 　　petty 不重要的 　　Part two（Para. 3-5）—value life 　　The same lethargy, I am afraid, characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily, without concentration, and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill. 　　lethargy无生气的 　　faculty官能 　　manifold各种各样的 　　apply to 应用 　　impairment损伤 　　make the fullest use of 充分利用 　　take in 吸收 　　hazily不清楚地 　　S1: It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill. 　　--人们对于自己的东西往往不太珍惜，而当失去时，才懂得它的重要，生病了才知道保养身体，这已是老生常谈的事情了。 　　Part three（Para.6）—the lazy use of all our faculties and senses 　　I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound. 　　Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed. ‘Nothing in particular’, she replied. I might have been incredulous had I not been accustomed to such responses, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little. 　　incredulous不相信的 　　incredulons 　　incredible 　　response回答 　　convinced确定的 　　How was it possible! I asked myself, to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note? I who cannot see find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the rough shaggy bark of a pine. In spring I touch the branches of trees hopefully in search of a bud, the first sign of awakening Nature after her winter’s sleep. I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower, and discover its remarkable convolutions; and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me. Occasionally, if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently on a small tree and feel the happy shiver of a bird in full song. I am delighted to have the cool waters of a brook rush through my open fingers. To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug. To me the pageant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my fingertips. 　　delicate精致的 　　symmetry匀称 　　birch桦树 　　shaggy毛茸茸的 　　bud花蕾 　　velvety如天鹅绒般的 　　velvety 　　convolution蜷曲 　　miracle奇迹 　　in full song放声歌唱 　　brook小河 　　lush豪华的 　　spongy象海绵似的 　　pageant壮观的 　　At times my heart cries out with longing to see all these things, if I can get so much pleasure from mere touch, how much more beauty must be revealed by sight. Yet, those who have eyes apparently see little. The panorama of color and action which fills the world is taken for granted. It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little that which we have and to long for that which we have not, but it is a great pity that in the world of light the gift of sight is used only as a mere convenience rather than as a means of adding fullness to life. 　　S2: It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little that which we have and to long for that which we have not, but it is a great pity that in the world of light the gift of sight is used only as a mere convenience rather than as a means of adding fullness of life. 　　--该句主干为“It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little…and to long for…, but it is a great pity that…” 　　--人类就是有点奇怪，对我们已有的东西往往看不起，却去渴望那些我们所没有的东西，然而，在光明的世界里，将视力的天赋只看作是为了方便，而不看作是充实生活的手段，这是非常可惜的。 　　If I were the president of a university I should establish a compulsory course in ‘How to Use Your Eyes'. The professor would try to show his pupils how they could add joy to their lives by really seeing what passes unnoticed before them. He would try to awake their dormant and sluggish faculties. 　　compulsory义务的 　　dormant冬眠的 　　sluggish庸懒的，不活跃的 　　Part four（Para. 7-11）—the seeing see little &I who was a blind see more, so value our faculties and senses - by contrast 　　Suppose you set your mind to work on the problem of how you would use your own eyes if you had only three more days to see. If with the oncoming darkness of the third night you knew that the sun would never rise for you again, how would you spend those three precious intervening days? What would you most want to let your gaze rest upon? 　　oncoming即将来临的 　　precious珍贵的 　　intervene于两件事之间或一件事之后 　　I, naturally, should want most to see the things which have become dear to me through my years of darkness. You, too, would want to let your eyes rest long on the things that have become dear to you so that you could take the memory of them with you to the night that loomed before you. 　　loom隐约呈现 　　I should want to see the people whose kindness and gentleness and companionship have made my life worth living. First I should like to gaze long upon the face of my dear teacher, Mrs. Anne Sullivan Macy, who came to me when I was a child and opened the outer world to me. I should want not merely to see the outline of her face, so that I could cherish it in my memory, but to study that face and find in it the living evidence of the sympathetic tenderness and patience with which she accomplished the difficult task of my education, I should like to see in her eyes that strength of character which has enabled her to stand firm in the face of difficulties, and that compassion for all humanity which she has revealed to me so often. 　　companionship友情 　　cherish珍爱 　　sympathetic表现出同情的 　　sympathy 　　sympathetic 　　tenderness温柔 　　accomplish完成，实现 　　S1: I should want not merely to see the outline of her face, so that I could cherish it in my memory, but to study that face and find in it the living evidence of the sympathetic tenderness and patience with which she accomplished the difficult task of my education. 　　--该句主干为“I should want not merely to… but to…”，翻译为“我不仅要…我还要…” 　　-- find in it the living evidence of the sympathetic tenderness and patience with which she accomplished the difficult task of my education. 中with which she accomplished the difficult task of my education做the sympathetic tenderness and patience的定语，翻译为“她凭其完成教育我的艰巨任务时所付出的对我的怜悯、温柔和耐心”。 　　--整句翻译为“我不仅想看她脸的轮廓，而且为了将她牢牢地珍藏在我的记忆中，还要仔细研究她的面容，并从中找出她对我怜悯、温柔和耐心的活生生的证据—她就是凭这些美德完成了教育我的艰巨任务”。 　　compassion同情 　　Part five（Para. 12-14）—give question: how to spend the last three days to see? 　　I do not know what it is to see into the heart of a friend through that ‘window of the soul', the eye. I can only ‘see ' through my fingertips the outline of a face. I can detect laughter, sorrow, and many other obvious emotions. I know my friends from the feel of their faces. But I cannot really picture their personalities by touch. I know their personalities, of course, through other means, through the thoughts they express to me, through whatever of their actions are revealed to me. But I am denied that deeper understanding of them which I am sure would come through sight of them, through watching their reactions to various expressed thoughts and circumstances, through noting the immediate and fleeting reactions of their eyes and countenance. 　　S1: But I am denied the deeper understanding of them which I am sure would come through sight of them, through watching their reactions to various expressed thoughts and circumstances, through noting the immediate and fleeting reactions of their eyes and countenance. 　　--但是我无法对他们有更深的了解，因为我清楚地知道，要做到这一点，一定要亲眼看到他们，观察他们对各种表达出来的思想和情况所做出的反应，留意他们眼睛里和面部表情中那种稍纵即逝的反应。 　　countenance面庞 　　Friends who are near to me I know well, because through the months and years they reveal themselves to me in all their phases; but of casual friends I have only an incomplete impression, an impression gained from a handclasp, from spoken words which I take from their lips with my fingertips, or which they tap into the palm of my hand. 　　phase方面 　　handclap鼓掌、握手 　　How much easier, how much more satisfying it is for you who can see to grasp quickly the essential qualities of another person by watching the subtleties of expression, the quiver of a muscle, the flutter of a hand. But does it ever occur to you to use your sight to see into the inner nature of a friend or acquaintance? Do not most of you seeing people grasp casually the outward features of a face and let it go at that? 　　subtlety微妙 　　subtlety 　　quiver颤抖 　　flutter摆动 　　S2: How much easier, how much more satisfying it is for you who can see to grasp quickly the essential qualities of another person by watching the subtleties of expression, the quiver or a muscle, the flutter of a hand. 　　--该句主干为“How much easier, how much more satisfying it is…to grasp…by…”。 　　--整句翻译为“你们这些视力正常的人，通过观察另一个人表情的微妙变化、肌肉的颤动和手的摆动就能掌握别人的本质特点，这是多么轻而易举、让人感到欣慰的事情啊！” 　　acquaintance相识的人 　　let it go at that就这样算了 　　For instance, can you describe accurately the faces of five good friends? Some of you can, but many cannot. As an experiment, I have questioned husbands of long standing about the color of their wives’ eyes, and often they express embarrassed confusion and admit that they do not know. And, incidentally, it is a chronic complaint of wives that their husbands do not notice new dresses, new hats, and changes in household arrangements. 　　inaccurately 　　inaccuraly 　　accurately准确地 　　of long standing持久的 　　embarrass使困惑 　　confusion混淆迷惑 　　incidentally偶然地 　　The eyes of seeing persons soon become accustomed to the routine of their surroundings, and they actually see only the startling and spectacular. But even in viewing the most spectacular sights the eyes are lazy. Court records reveal every day how inaccurately ‘eyewitnesses' see. A given event will be ‘seen' in several different ways by as many witnesses. Some see more than others, but few see everything that is within the range of their vision. 　　chronic 延续性的 　　become accustomed to 习惯于 　　spectacular 奇观 　　vision 视力 　　within the range of 在范围之内 　　at a stretch 一口气 　　Part six（Para. 15-19）—by contrast and examples to explain: the seeing see little, but the blind I see things difficultly by touching 　　Oh, the things that I should see if I had the power of sight for just three days! 　　Part seven（Para.20）—conclusion value your sight 　　Summary of the Text 　　Part one（Para. 1-2）—give a question: how to spend the last hours 　　Part two（Para. 3-5）—value life 　　Part three（Para.6）—the lazy use of all our faculties and senses 　　Part four（Para. 7-11）—the seeing see little &I who was a blind see more, so value our faculties and senses –by contrast 　　Part five（Para. 12-14）—give question: how to spend the last three days to see? 　　Part six（Para. 15-19）—by contrast and examples to explain: the seeing see little, but the blind I see things difficultly by touching 　　Part seven（Para.20）—conclusion value your sight 　　Ⅲ.Answers to Exercises 　　Reader’s Quiz 　　Try to translate the following into Chinese and see if you have understood these selections form the text. 　　【答疑编号10120201：针对该题提问】 　　1. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. 　　2. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill. 　　3. It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little that which we have and to long for that which we have not, but it is a great pity that in the world of light the gift of sight is used only as a mere convenience rather than as a means of adding fullness to life. 　　4. Suppose you set your mind to work on the problem of how you would use your own eyes if you had only three more days to see. If with the oncoming darkness of the third night you knew that the sun would never rise for you again, how would you spend those three precious intervening days? What would you most want to let your gaze rest upon? 　　5. Court records reveal every day how inaccurately ‘eyewitnesses’ see. A given event will be ‘seen’ in several different ways by as many witnesses. Some see more than others, but few see everything that is within the range of their vision. 　　Vocabulary 　　A. Use each of the following terms in a sentence. 　　1. to take…for granted 　　2. by a stroke of luck 　　3. to let it go at that 　　4. of long standing 　　5. at a stretch 　　6. in full song 　　7. to add to 　　8. worthy of note 　　9. mortal 　　10. set sb. doing 　　B. Match the term in the left column with one which has a SIMILAR meaning in the right column. 　　l. characterize　　a. inactive 　　2. impending　　b. natural gift of mind or body 　　3. dormant　　c. about to take place 　　4. fleeting　　d. rich in color 　　5. faculty　　e. passing 　　6. thrilling　　f. exciting 　　7. buoyant　　g. sight 　　8. mellow　　h. light-hearted 　　9. pageant　　i. mark 　　10. vision　　j. rich and splendid display 　　答案： 　　【答疑编号10120202：针对该题提问】 　　1. i,，2. c，3. a ，4. e ，5. b，6. f ，7. h，8. d，9. j，10. g； 　　C. Read the text below. Use the word in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the space in the same line. There is an ex-ample at the beginning. 　　My Teacher 　　Annie was born in a poor family, on April 4th, 1866. Her mother died when she was eight years old. Two years later, her father（0） ________ never to be heard from again. Annie and her brother were sent to children’s home. There the boy died. 　　Four years later, she left the children’s home and entered an institution for the blind, where she learnt Braille. This is a kind of printing that blind people can read by touching groups of（1） ______ points that are printed on paper. Later, an operation helped her to get back part of her sight, but she remained at the institution for six years more. There she studied the teaching of deaf-blind children. 　　One day a letter from my father arrived at the school, asking for a teacher for me. Annie considered this was just the kind of（2） ______ job she wanted. That is how Annie came to be with us. 　　Annie was among the first to realize that blind people never know their （3）______ strength until they are treated like normal human beings. She never pitied me; she never praised me unless what I did was as good as that of the best of a normal person. And she （4）_______ me when I made up my mind to go to college. 　　During my years in school, Annie sat beside me in every class. She spelled out for me the things that the teachers taught. And, because most books were not printed in Braille, she herself read them to me by spelling into my hand what was written in the books. 　　It took great（5）________ as well as patience for Annie to teach me to speak. Putting both my hands on her face when she spoke, she let me feel all the （6）_______ of her lips and throat. Together we repeated and repeated words and sentences. My speech was ill-formed and not （7）______ to hear. But I was delighted to be able to say words that my family and a few friends could understand. To Annie I owe thanks for this （8）______ gift of speech. It has helped me to serve others. 　　My teacher’s（9）_____ instruction lived on after her death. She had believed in me. I must always keep on trying to do my best. “No matter what happens,” she often said, “keep on beginning. Each time you fail, start all over again. You will grow （10）______ each time, until you can do and finish what you started out to do.” Who could count the times Annie tried, failed, and then succeeded? What a great teacher! What a great person! 　　【答疑编号10120203：针对该题提问】 　　0.disappeared 1.raised 2, demanding 3. hidden 4. encouraged 5. imagination 6. movement 7. pleasant 8. priceless 9. gifted 10. stronger 　　Questions for Discussion & Appreciation 　　1. Explain the title of the text? What do you think was the purpose of the author in writing this essay? 　　【答疑编号10120204：针对该题提问】 　　--the title of the text means that if we are given three days to see, what will we see? 　　--the purpose of the author was to let people value the faculties and senses they have and make good use of it. 　　2. In what conceivable ways may a doomed man choose to spend his last hours? 　　【答疑编号10120205：针对该题提问】 　　— A doomed man may treasure every second, every minute, every hour and every day and appreciate it. 　　4. Why do so many people take a listless attitude toward life, according to the author? 　　【答疑编号10120206：针对该题提问】 　　— People take a listless attitude toward life because they take their life granted and don’t cherish it. 　　5. How do you account for the fact that people with perfect sight often see little, or when they do see, see things inaccurately? Is there any remedy for this? Do you think a university course on how to use one’s eyes would be workable? 　　【答疑编号10120207：针对该题提问】 　　—We usually appreciate little that which we have. The panorama of color and action which fills the world is taken for granted. We should use the gift of sight not only as a mere convenience, bur also as a means of adding fullness to life. 　　Speed Reading Helen Keller 　　ⅰ.Text 　　Helen Keller 　　“The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Sullivan Macy, came to me. It was the third of March, 1887, three months before I was seven years old,” so wrote Helen Keller. 　　The morning after the arrival of her teacher, Helen was led into a room and given a doll. After she had played with it for a while, Miss Sullivan slowly spelt the word d-o-l-1 onto her hand. At once Helen was interested in this finger play and tried to imitate her teacher. When she finally succeeded in forming the letters correctly, she was pleased and proud. Excitedly she found her way to her mother, held up her hand and wrote the letters “doll”. And in the days that followed, she learned to spell a great many words in this way. 　　Helen soon learned, however, that things and actions have names. One day, while she was playing with her new doll, Miss Sullivan placed the doll on her lap, made her touch again and wrote the letters d-o-l-l on the palm of her hand. This was repeated several times until Helen associated the word with the object. 　　"Once, as we were walking down the path to the well, I was attracted by some peculiar smell. I asked, ‘What is that strange smell in the air?' Miss Sullivan led me to the well. She took my hand and placed it under the spout from which water flew out. As the cool stream washed the Helen's hand, Miss Sullivan spelt the "water" on her other hand. Suddenly everything came back. She knew then that w-a-t-e-r meant the cool liquid with which she was playing now with both her hands. That living word gave her joy, light and hope. On reaching the house, every familiar object she touched seemed to have a new meaning for her. She was eager to know more. As her education progressed, though not without difficulty for both the teacher and the pupil, Helen was living a new life full of excitement. She now had the key to a language and was keen to use it. 　　We who have eyes to see and ears to hear can learn easily. But Helen could not, as she was both blind and deaf. She made full use of all the other abilities she had, to such an advantage that she became the world’s famous teacher of the blind and the deaf. 　　ⅱ. Comprehension Exercise 　　A. Decide which answer best completes the following statements according to the information in the passage. 　　1. The third day of March, 1887, is the most important day in Helen Keller's life because 　　【答疑编号10120208：针对该题提问】 　　答案：C 　　A. it was only three months from her seventh birthday 　　B. it was the day she first heard of Anne Sullivan 　　C. it was the day Anne Sullivan became her teacher 　　D. it was the day Anne Sullivan taught her to say the first word 　　2. Helen Keller learned to spell by 　　【答疑编号10120209：针对该题提问】 　　答案：A 　　A. imitating what her teacher wrote on her hand 　　B. recognizing words shown to her by her teacher 　　C. listening to her teacher spelling words and repeating the spellings 　　D. playing with toys and spelling the letters 　　3. After she was able to form the four letters of "d-o-l-l", she went to her mother and 　　【答疑编号10120210：针对该题提问】 　　答案：B 　　A. read the word 　　B. wrote the word on her mother's palm 　　C. explained the meaning of the word 　　D. discussed the word with her 　　4. "Suddenly everything came back" means that everything 　　答案：D 　　【答疑编号10120211：针对该题提问】 　　A. returned to its former position 　　B. reappeared after a period of absence 　　C. was shown magically 　　D. returned to Helen's memory 　　5. Because of __Helen Keller had got the key to a language 　　答案：C 　　【答疑编号10120212：针对该题提问】 　　A. her cleverness and curiosity 　　B. her good studying conditions 　　C. her strong will and hard work 　　D. her ability of doing things 　　B. Decide whether the following statements are true （T） or false （F） according to the information given in the passage. 　　1. Helen Keller’s education was not without difficulty. 　　【答疑编号10120213：针对该题提问】 　　答案：T 　　2. Miss Anne Sullivan was an experienced and patient teacher. 　　【答疑编号10120214：针对该题提问】 　　答案：T 　　3. The first word she learned to spell with great pleasure and pride was d-o-l-l. 　　【答疑编号10120215：针对该题提问】 　　答案：T 　　4. Like other pupils Helen Keller had her lessons in normal classroom. 　　【答疑编号10120216：针对该题提问】 　　答案：F 　　5. At first Helen had great difficulty in forming the word on her hand with the object. 　　【答疑编号10120217：针对该题提问】 　　答案：F