An Integrated English Course (2) Unit 10. Learning objectives By the end of this unit, you are supposed to: 1. understand the main idea, structure of

An Integrated English Course (2)An Integrated English Course (2)

Unit 10

Learning objectivesLearning objectives

By the end of this unit, you are supposed to:

1. understand the main idea, structure of the text and the author’s writing style;

2. master the key language points and grammatical structures in the text.

Teaching procedureTeaching procedure

1. Pre-reading questions2. Text I: Gregory Peck---An American Master

· Background information· Main idea of text I · Structure analysis · Comprehension questions· Language points

3. Text II: Unforgettable Ingrid Bergman· Main idea of text II

· Questions for discussion

Pre-reading questionsPre-reading questions

1. Who is your favorite actor/actress? Why?

2. What do you know about Gregory Peck?

Background information (1)Background information (1)

Gregory PeckDate of birth5 April 1916La Jolla, California, USA Date of death 12 June 2003Los Angeles, California, USA.


Roman Holiday1953Wonderful romantic-comedy that has both funny and heart-warming moments.

Gregory Peck Audrey Hepburn


To Kill a Mockingbird1962'To Kill a Mockingbird' is one of the great classics from the sixties. Peck won a best actor Oscar as Southern lawyer Atticus Finch in the 1962 film "To Kill a Mockingbird."


Gregory Peck's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Text I: Gregory Peck—an American Master Text I: Gregory Peck—an American Master 1. Among the celebrated pantheon of Hollywood royalty, few are as well-respect

ed and universally adored as Gregory Peck. For more than fifty years, he has been a major presence in the theater, on television, and most importantly, on the big screen. For many, Peck is a symbol of the American man at his best—a pillar of moral courage and constant defender of traditional values. As General MacArthur, Melville’s Captain Ahab, and Atticus Finch, he has presented audiences with compelling stories of strength and masculinity.

2. Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916 in La Jolla, California. By the time he was six, his parents had divorced. For a number of years he lived with his maternal grandmother, but at the age of ten was sent to St. John’s Military Academy in Los Angeles. The four years he spent there was important in forming his sense of personal discipline. After the Academy, he returned to live with his father, a local pharmacist, and to attend public high school.

3. After graduating, Peck enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. Greatly influenced by his father’s desires for him to be a doctor, Peck began as a premed student. By the time he was a senior, however, he found his real interests to be in writing and acting. Peck soon realized that he had a natural gift as both an expressive actor and a storyteller. After graduating in 1939, he changed his name from Eldred to Gregory and moved to New York. There, his abilities were

almost immediately recognized. In 1942, Peck made his debut on Broadway with The Morning Star. Though many of his early plays were doomed to short runs, it seemed clear that Peck was destined for something bigger. In 1944 that “something bigger” arrived in the form of his first two Hollywood roles, as Vladimir in Days of Glory and Father Francis Chisholm in The Keys of the Kingdom.4. While Days of Glory was coolly received, his role as the taciturn Scottish missionary in The Keys of the Kingdom was a resounding triumph and brought him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. This early success provided him with the rare opportunity of working with the best directors in Hollywood. Over the next three years he appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound (1945), King Vidor’s Duel in the Sun (1946), and Elia Kazan’s Gentleman’s Agreement (1947). Despite concerns over public acceptance of the last one, a meditation on American anti-Semitism, it surprised many by winning an Oscar for Best Picture and a nomination for Best Actor. This success seemed not only a validation of Peck’s abilities as an artist but of his moral convictions as well.5. Though an amiable and fun-loving man at home, Peck’s stern presence made him one of the screen’s great patriarchs. Tough and crying, he was the quintessential mid-century American man—the good-looking romantic lead across from Audrey Hepburn as well as the rugged World War II bomber commander. For many, the actor and the characters he portrayed were inseparable; the authority of his passionate yet firm demeanor was attractive to post-war Americans who longed for a more stable time.

6. During the 1960s and 1970s, Peck continued to challenge himself as an actor, appearing in thrillers, war films, westerns and in his best known film, To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Based on the book by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird addresses problems of racism and moral justice in personal and powerful ways. As Atticus Finch, a lawyer in a small southern town, Peck created a character that remains a great example of an individual’s struggle for humanity within deeply inhumane conditions. It seems clear, however, that the reason for Peck’s constant assertion that To Kill a Mockingbird is his best (and favorite) film, was the film’s attention to the lives of children and the importance of family.

7. While continuing to act on television and in Hollywood throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Peck has focused much of his energy on spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. For Peck, life as a father and as a public figure have been inseparable; he was simultaneously a major voice against the Vietnam war, while remaining a patriotic supporter of his son who was fighting there. If years of breathing life into characters such as Captain Keith Mallory and General MacArthur taught him anything, it was that life during wartime was profoundly complex; and rarely has there been a time free from war or struggle. In his more than fifty films, Peck has continually attempted to investigate these complex struggles, and in doing so has created a library of stories that shed light on human possibility and social reality.

8. At 85, Peck turned his attention back to where he got his start, the stage. He traveled the country visiting small playhouses and colleges, speaking about his life and experiences as a father, a celebrity, and as an actor.

847 words

Main Idea

Structural Analysis

Comprehensive Questions

Language Points

Main Idea of Text IMain Idea of Text I

This passage tells about Gregory Peck’s life experience chronologically from his early year to his last days, during which he made his major accomplishments in acting.

Back to Text I

Structure analysisStructure analysis

As a biography, the passage is chronologically structured from Gregory Peck’s early year to his last days. Though each paragraph tells of Peck’s experiences during a particular time in his life, some paragraphs introduce his status in American movie industry, his major accomplishments and his life philosophy.

Back to Text I

Structure analysis of the text (2)Structure analysis of the text (2) Paragraph 1 analysis:

The first paragraph introduces Gregory Peck as a celebrity in Hollywood and the reasons why he was so popular.

Paragraph 2 analysis:This paragraph narrates Peck’s life before he graduated from high school.

Back to Text I

Structure analysis of the text Structure analysis of the text (3)(3)

Paragraph 3 analysis: This paragraph is mainly about Peck’s decision to be an actor and his early experiences on the stage.

Paragraph 4 analysis:This paragraph is about the ascent of Peck’s fame as a gifted actor during the 1940s.

Back to Text I

Structure analysis of the text (4)Structure analysis of the text (4) Paragraph 5 analysis:

The paragraph explains why Peck is adored by his audience and that’s because of the image he created on the screen—the typical mid-century American man, romantic and tough.

Paragraph 6 analysis:This paragraph introduces Peck’s best film To Kill a Mockingbird, which won him on Oscar Award for Best Actor.

Back to Text I

Structure analysis of the text Structure analysis of the text (5)(5)

Paragraph 7 analysis:This paragraph gives an account of Peck’s life philosophy in relation to his acting career on the screen.

Paragraph 8-9 analysis:These two paragraph serve as a conclusion of the passage.

Back to Text I

Comprehension questions (1)Comprehension questions (1)

Why is Gregory well-respected and adored by his audiences in his fifty years of acting?

Because for more than fifty years Gregory Peck impresses his audiences with stories of strength and masculinity, and is viewed as a pillar of moral courage and a defender of traditional values.

Back to Text I


When did Peck begin to gain fame in his acting career?

It was not until 1944 that Peck showed his real talent in the two films Days of Glory and The Keys of the Kingdom, the latter of which brought him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Back to Text I


What are the particular features in Peck’s characters that make the quintessential mid-century American man?

The quintessential mid-century American man as represented by Peck and his characters was tough, caring and romantic.

Back to Text I


Which, according to Peck himself, is his best film? Why?

According to Peck himself, his best film is To Kill A Mockingbird, because it gives attention to the lives of children and the importance of family.

Back to Text I


What does Peck learn from the characters he portrayed? And what does he try to do in most of his films?

He learns that life during wartime was profoundly complex and life can hardly be free from war and struggle. What he tries to do in most of his films is to investigate these complex struggles and create stories that shed light on human possibility and social reality.

Back to Text I

Language PointsLanguage Points

Words and phrases in Text I

Language points of Text I (1)Language points of Text I (1)

celebrated: famous

Miss Green was a celebrated society hostess and her parties ate remembered to this day.

Back to Text I


adore: to love deeply and feel proud of

She adores her grandchildren and is always buying them presents.

Back to Text I


At one’s best: the greatest effort or highest achievement or standard that he/she is capable of

At his best, Peter is one of the most exciting tennis players in the world to watch.

Mary is at her best when she is playing the piano.

Back to Text I


moral: concerning principles of right and wrong behavior and difference between good ad evil

We follow the moral laws laid down by our religion.Everything that he writes has a high

moral purpose.

Back to Text I


compelling: being very exciting and interesting

His recent film is a compelling account of life under British colonial rule.

Back to Text I


destined: intended, esp. by fate, for some special purpose

Hollywood is the ultimate destination for those destined to become stars.She was convinced that her little boy was destined to become President.

Back to Text I


recognize: to accept or agree that something is true or real

British medical qualifications are recognized in many countries

through out the world.

Back to Text I


concern: worry anxiety

There is growing concern over the effect of video games on children’s behavior.

He desperately tried to hide his deep concern for the lost child.

Back to Text I


meditation: the act of thinking deeplyHe was lost in meditation.

Meditate v.Once safely abroad, Molly meditated on t

he condition of his own country.As a young man, he had spent a lot of tim

e meditating upon the purpose of life.

Back to Text I


portray: to act the part of in a play of filmHe portrays James Bond as a man of action who can be both ruthless and

compassionate.

Back to Text I


demeanor: behavior towards others

He was only in his early thirties, but already had the demeanor and failin

g constitution of an aging invalid.

Back to Text I

Language points of Text I (12)Language points of Text I (12) inhumane: not showing ordinary human kindne

ss, esp. when it should be shownThe method of slaughtering chickens is n

ow regarded by many as inhumane.

Back to Text I


assertion: a forceful statement

She could provide no evidence to back up her assertions.

Their policies on education are really just a set of ill-informed assertions.

Back to Text I


breathe life into: to give life to, to make something exciting or full of life

His enthusiasm breathed new life into the firm, which was about to fail.

It is readers who breathe life into a newspaper with their letters.

Back to Text I


shed light on: to make something clearer, to clarify

The discoveries may shed light on the origins of the universe.

New light has been shed on the behavior of the animal, as a result of this discovery.

Back to Text I


Pass away: to die

Our director passed away this morning; it was a great shock to all of us.

Back to Text I

Text II: Unforgettable Ingrid Bergman--Ann Todd

1. When she appeared on the screen without makeup, cosmetic sales declined. When she played a nun, convent enrollments increased. Industrialist Howard Hughes once bought every available airplane seat from New York to Los Angeles to be sure she would accept a ride in his private plane. A fan walked a sheep all the way from Sweden to Rome as a gift for her. Letters were delivered to her addressed simply “Ingrid Bergman—London”.

2. I first heard Ingrid’s magical laughter 34 years ago over scrambled eggs in a restaurant in Rome, where we had got together simply as two foreign actresses working in The Eternal City. For me it was a case of love at first sound. I remember her fair hair thrown back, and those cloudless blue eyes sparkling, the low voice that could sound so masculine on the telephone that operators (to her great annoyance) sometimes answered, “Yes, sir!” During our first exuberant day together, each of us felt as if she had discovered a long-lost sister—and we never looked back.

3. Challenging Parts. That must have been a very short list. Ingrid lived successively in some of the world’s most interesting cities—Stockholm, Hollywood, Rome, Paris and London—and played starring roles on stage, screen and television in five languages. She made 47 films and won three Oscars and an Emmy. She was the devoted mother of four children—Pia with her first husband, Petter Lindstrom; Roberto and twins, Isabella and Ingrid, with her second, Roberto Rossellini. Her autobiography was a best seller.

4. She had a ferocious dedication to her work. “If you took acting away from me,” she once claimed, “I’d stop breathing.” When Emest Hemingway told her she would have to cut off her hair for the role of Maria in For Whom the Bell Tolls, she shot back, “To get that part, I’d cut my head off!” She would rehearse tirelessly until any hour of the night, begging to repeat a scene long after the director was satisfied. Once she even proposed that she live on the set until the filming was over. The night before the end of an eight-month run of The Constant Wife in a London theater, she was still eagerly discussing with the director, John Gielgud, ways of improving her performance.

5. At the peak of her stardom, Ingrid insisted on taking screen tests and refused leads in favor of lesser but more challenging parts. Unwilling to be typecast, she fought for roles like the young bride on the edge of madness in Gaslight and the mousy Swedish missionary in Murder on the Orient Express.

6. Public Outrage. From her earliest childhood in Stockholm, Ingrid never had a moment’s doubt about where she was going. At 14 she scribbled in her diary her dreams of starring in a movie opposite Sweden’s leading matinee idol—and five years later she was doing just that. “I was the shyest human being ever invented,” she said. “But I had a lion inside me that wouldn’t shut up.”

7. Her luck was as phenomenal as her talent. In New York City, a Swedish couple praised a film of hers to their son, an elevator operator in the apartment building where one of film producer David Selznick’s young talent scouts lived. Six months later, Ingrid was on her way to Hollywood. “I owe my whole career to that elevator boy,” she would say laughingly.

8. One beguiling role followed another: the lonely piano teacher in Intermezzo; the passionate psychiatrist in Spellbound; the baseball-playing nun in The Bells of St. Mary’s within a few years, she was one of America’s most popular film stars—and a top draw at the world’s box office.

9. Then, one night in 1948, Ingrid went to see Open City, a realistic movie of wartime Rome produced and directed by Roberto Rossellini’s stormy genius—“I think I fell in love with Roberto the moment I saw the film,” Ingrid confided to me later—she impulsively wrote and offered to make a film with him.

10. Ingrid flew over to Rome—and stayed for seven years. Still married to Petter Lindstrom, she bore Rossellini a child, causing public outrage. A hostile press called it the “scandal of the century”. And Ingrid was reviled on the floor of the US Senate as unworthy to “set foot on American soil again”.

11. Transformed overnight into box office poison in the United States, Ingrid found her Hollywood career in ruins. The films that she made with Rossellini were largely failures—and so, in the end, was their marriage.

In 1956 the clouds finally broke when Ingrid played the fictional surviving daughter of the last czar of Russia in Anastasia. Her enthralling performance won her an Oscar.

12. Subsequently, Sen. Charles H. Percy read into the US Congressional Record a nation’s apologetic tribute to her: “One of the world’s loveliest, most talented women was made the victim of a bitter attack in this Chamber twenty-two years ago. To the American public she will always hold a place in our hearts as one of the greatest performing artists of our time. Miss Bergman is not only welcome in America, we are deeply honored by her visits here.”

13. Final Close-up. Not even the cancer that struck Ingrid in 1973 could stifle her spirit or sap her energy. As long as there were some good times to be had or some work to be done, she confronted each day with heartbreaking gallantry.

14. For a long time, even those of us who were close to her had no idea how sick she really was. “When we were working, she wanted us to share only her joys,” Wendy Hiller recalled, “never her misery.” She underwent two mastectomies. Her right arm swelled grotesquely. “My pet dragon,” she called it with cheerful courage.

15. Against all odds, she was determined to take on the grueling role of the late Israeli prime minister Golda Meir in a four-hour television biography. “Time is shortening,” she admitted. “But every day that I challenge this cancer and survive is a victory for me.”

16. During the filming, Ingrid was in constant pain from her arm, which had to be put in torturous traction every night. When the long, final close-up came around, a tearful Ingrid knew it was the last time she would ever face her beloved camera. Her stunning portrayal won her a 1982 Emmy.

17. She died on August 29, 1982, her 67th birthday—but not before she had one last sip of champagne.

1,102 words

Main idea

Questions for discussion

Main Idea of Text IIMain Idea of Text II

The author memorized detailed life experiences of Ingrid Bergman, which proved the actress’s dedication to work and persistence in acting.

Back to Text II

Questions for discussion

Questions for discussionQuestions for discussion 1. Have you seen any films starred by Ingrid Bergman? What is you

r idea of her acting?

Open to discussion.

2. Based on the passage, what do you think is the most striking part of Ingrid Bergman’s personality?

According to the passage, the most striking part of Ingrid Bergman’s personality was perhaps her “ferocious dedication to her work”; (Paragraph 4) and the last 5 paragraphs 14-18 also describe how she “confronted” each of her last days “with heart-breaking gallantry” when she was working on her last film.

3. What do you think is most important for an actor or actress?

Open to discussion.

The EndThe End

Documents

An Integrated English Course (2) Unit 10. Learning objectives By the end of this unit, you are supposed to: 1. understand the main idea, structure of