Contemporary College English Book II Lesson Five Say Yes

Contemporary College English Book II Lesson Five Say Yes

I. Questions:

What is the text about?

Is it simply a quarrel between husband and wife?

What is the theme of the text?

.

II. Background knowledge:

. Do you know any leaders who fought against slavery or discrimination?

. Who are they and what did they do?

1864 年

1963 年

1990 年

1990 年

III. Title: Say Yes

What does the title mean or what’s the meaning of the title?

IV. Topic discussion about the text:

.What is the husband’s and wife’s attitude towards the marriage between blacks and whites?

.What’s the purpose of the author?

.Have a discussion for two minutes about the above two topics in pairs of 6 or 7 students each according to pre-class work II on Page 118.

V. Simple students’ demonstration (演示 ) about the quarrel between

the husband and wife.

Text retelling

With the help of the pictures and the students’ demonstration, please retell the text roughly.

washing dishes

If I were a black, would you …

the husband…

VI. Language points:

Paragraph 1.

1.do the dishes ( Line 1)------wash or clean the dishes

Similar verb- noun collocations ( 固定搭配 ) : dry the dishes; take a breath; mop the floor;

clean the table; pinch one’s brows; bite one’s lower lip

2. dry ( Line 1)------verb. make sth. dry, e.g. dry the dishes; dry the cloth

es; dry one’s tears adj. used as a verb. Some other examples: . wet one’s lips . empty one’s pockets . narrow the gap . long for the vacation . calm down

3. unlike ( Line 1 )-------.prep. opposite of the preposition “like”

. Examples: . Unlike the normal people, he is disabled.

. Unlike the kind-hearted men, he is very cruel.

. Unlike many other boys, he is very quite. . dislike: verb. Opposite of the verb “like”

4. pitch in ( Line 1 )------to offer help and support

. Examples:

. If we all pitch in, we’ll have it finished in no time.

. The government pitched in with the offer of a free truck.

Some other meanings of “pitch” :

pitch---verb. means to throw something with force, e.g. Throw a baseball.

---noun. means the baseball playground.

---noun. means the black sticky substance （沥青）

---noun. means the height of a sound( 音高 )

Sentence paraphrasing:

Unlike most men he knew, he really pitched in on the housework.

5. overhear ( Line 2 )----hear by chance

. Examples: . I overheard the young couple quarrelling

last night. . She overheard the men discussing their

plan to rob a bank. .the similar usages of other verbs: .hear / watch / see / notice / find / feel

somebody doing / do something

6. a friend of his wife’s-----a friend of hers------one of his wife’s friends

7. congratulate somebody on something

8. considerate ----adj. thoughtful, kind, careful not to hurt others

Examples: .He is a considerate boss who is always

willing to listen.

.It’s very considerate of you to let us know the fact.

opposite : inconsiderate

**Explain the sentence:

“A few months earlier he had overheard a friend of his wife’s congratulating her on having such a considerate husband.

9. Question:

.What does the first paragraph tell us about her husband?

Paragraph 2.

10. somehow---adv. in some way( I don’t remember how it happened 不

知怎么 ) Examples:

. That day somehow I didn’t feel like eating.

. We went shopping together the other day and somehow I couldn’t find her anywhere.

11. get on ( to )the subject----to begin to discuss

.Example:

.Let’s get on the topic / content.

12. marry somebody----be married to somebody

. have been married for some time

**You can’t say “ have married somebody for a period of time ”

13. all things concerned------when one considers every aspect of the pr

oblem or situation .All things considered, he is doing pretty

well at school.

.All things considered, the reform is a success.

.All things considered, the decision is right.

**Explain the sentence

He said that all things considered, he thought it was a bad idea

14. Question:

. What does the second paragraph tell us?

Language points:

break break up: divide/ split, (a couple, relationship) com

e to an end break down: collapse, failure in machinery useless,

                      suffer physical or mental weakening break in (to): enter a building by force   break away: go away suddenly, give up (idea, beli

ef) break through: make a way through break off: stop, pause

Language points:

 hypo- : prefix meaning “below, under” 1) in words denoting an organ or location below a given bod

y  part  在 -- 下面  hypoderm 皮下组织 2) term denoting body condition in which substances or s ar

e at below-normal levels  低于  hypotension 血压过低 hypothermia 体温过低 3) used in the names of chemical compounds that are in a l

ower state of oxidation （氧化） than a given compound 亚 4) counterpart to a word formed with “hyper”( 在 -- 上面，超

越， 过于，极度 )  hypotension 血压过低 ---- hypertension 血压过高  

VII. Homework:

1. Make sentences by using the phrases you’ve learnt.

2. Practice reading the text in pairs with expressions.

3. Divide the text into several possible parts.

Homework:

1. How do you think the husband and wife will resolve their situation?

  Do you think they will resolve it? Write a scene that takes place the following day.

  2. Analyze the husband in terms of whether or not

he is a racist character.   3. Write a counterargument to the husband’s state

ment that African Americans don’t come from the same culture as whites.

Analysis of husband (15 minutes)

The husband in the story is generally an unsympathetic character. He appears to have racist feelings and seems to be dishonest with himself. He claims to appreciate the stability his life with Ann provides him, but he still makes efforts to undermine it. He refuses to take responsibility for his actions. Throughout the evening, he is seen to be less than a genuine person; he does things for effect rather than out of a genuine, sincere desire. Within the confines of the story, his most significant trait is his rejection of his wife, which she takes quite seriously, much to his surprise. By the end of the story, the husband demonstrates yet another shift in mood: excitement as he realizes that, in certain ways, his wife is unknowable to him. The final scene has him awaiting his wife in their darkened bedroom, imagining that she is a stranger that he seems to embrace, as demonstrated by the excited pounding of his...