New Horizon College EnglishBook Ⅲ

Unit 4 Section A:

Five American Symbols

Contents

I. Background Information

II. Pre-reading Activities

III. Text Analysis– Structure

IV. Intensive reading

V. Writing skill

VI. Exercises

I. Background Information

1. The Statue of Liberty     The idea of creating the Statue of Liberty began in France at a dinner party hosted by Edouard Rene Lefebvre Laboulaye, a scholar. Laboulaye and Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, a sculptor, began to discuss the idea of presenting the United States with a monument to memorialize independence and human liberty.     Bartholdi sailed from France to New York on June 8, 1871, to propose the building of the statue to honor the friendship between France and the United States. As the ship pulled into New York Harbor, Bartholdi spotted the perfect location, Liberty Island.     Bartholdi traveled across the United States carrying a sketch of the statue and a small model. Everyone was receptive, but financial backing was difficult to find.

2. Barbie dolls     It was the late 1950s when Ruth Handler noticed her daughter playing with paper dolls and imagining them in grown-up roles. Since most dolls at the time were baby dolls, Ruth envisioned one that would inspire little girls to think about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Ruth created a teenage fashion model doll named Barbie (after her daughter), and the rest is history.    Barbie has been an integral part of the lives of millions of young girls. Her timeless appeal has resulted in a dedicated

legion of fans that love to collect her.

back

II. Pre-reading ActivitiesListen to the short passage twice and answer

questions

Q1. What are the symbols that you have heard about?Key for reference: Barbie, The Statue of Liberty…

Q2. What can you imagine to be the reasons the Statue of Liberty was built?

Key for reference: To celebrate the establishment of the United States

Script

Passage A gives us some insight into the origins of symbols by which the United States of America is known around the world.The Statue of Liberty is a female figure which derives from the two favorite women in French artist Barthold’s life.Another symbol of American culture is the Barbie doll,which derives from an old German toy model with the American designer’s daughter’s name on it.The great American Gothic paiting is in the medieval European style showing the faces of an American dentist and the artist’s sister.The Buffalo nickel derives from an admiration for the American Buffalo and the Indian people.The most lasting image of America derives from the partly true but mstly fictitious story of Uncle Sam. back

III. Text Analysis-- Structure

Part 1 ( Paras. 1-4): The Statue of Liberty Part 2 ( Paras. 5-10): Barbie Part 3 ( Paras. 11-14 ):American Gothic Part 4 (Paras. 15-18):Buffalo Nickel Part 5(Paras. 19-22): Uncle Sam

IV. Intensive reading

Part 1 ( Paras. 1-4):1.When, who, what?

2. Purpose?

3. About the creator?

4. How did he created the statue?

5. When did the creator finish the statue? How did he like the statue?

Who and what: Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, French artist When: In the mid-1870s Purpose: Celebrating US independence and the France-America alli

ance. About the creator: He was in love with a woman whom he married in 1876 in s

pite of his mother’s objection. How did he create the Statue of Liberty? It is said that he had used his wife’s arm as the model, but f

elt her face was too beautiful for the statue. So for the face, he chose his mother’s.

When did the creator finish the statue? How did he like the statue?

In 1886; the creator called it “my daughter, Liberty”.

1. His mother could not approve of her son’s

affection for a woman she had never met. (para.2)

——his mother couldn’t agree to her son’s love for a woman…

vi. approve of (sb./sth.) 同意 →She doesn’t want to take her new boyfriend home in case

her parents don’t approve (of him)

vt. approve sth./sb. 批准→The Parliament has approved a program of education re

form.

2. The same year Bartholdi had assembled the statue’s right arm and torch,…(para.3)

assemble.——fit together (the parts of sth.) 组装，装配e.g.She spent the whole day to assemble the computer.)——(cause people or things to) come together; collect

（使）集合，（使）聚集e.g.The whole school (was) assembled in the main hall)3.The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on an island…(para.

4)——dedicate oneself / sth. to sth. 把…奉献给e.g.dedicate her life to helping the poor)——dedicate sth (to sb/sth) 以庄严的仪式把…奉献给（上

帝 . 圣徒等） e.g.the church was dedicated in 1880 这座教堂于 1880 年举行献堂礼

Part 2 (5-10)

BarbieGirl.mp3

1. Real name for Barbie?

2. Model for Barbie?

3. How do people feel about Barbie?

Barbie’s real name: Barbara The creation of Barbie: The model for Barbie was a German doll; th

e new version was named after Barbara, who was then a teenager.

How do people feel about Barbie? Barbie has become the universally recogniz

ed Queen of the Dolls.Barbara is said to have loved the doll but Ken, Barbara’s brother, was disgusted by the doll.

1. Barbara Handler was the daughter of Elliot and Ruth Handler, co-founder of the Mattel Company. (para.7)

co-founder 联合创始人 （ co- means accompany, sharing, with or joint)

e.g. operate→ cooperate exist→ coexist

director → co-director ( Page 101 Ex )Ⅶ2. Although with an exagerated breast size (para.7)

exaggerate.

v. make (sth.) seem larger, more important, better or worse than it really is 夸张，夸大

e.g.This is a highly exaggerated version of the incident.

Translate ：这个问题被夸大了很多。

→The problem has been greatly exaggerated

→although with an exaggerated breast size

( although she has an ……)

——the structure of “conjunction+ prepositional phrase” ( Page 103 Ex )Ⅸ

3. be disgusted by: dislike greatly. (para.10)

e.g. I was greatly disgusted by his words

Part 3

1. Who painted it?

2. What was it famous for?

3. Who were the models?

Who painted it? Grant Wood. What is it famous for? An often copied interpretation of the solemn

pride of American farmers. It shows a serious-looking man and a woman standing in front of a farmhouse.

Who were the models? His dentist for the man and his sister for th

e woman.

1. American Gothic (para.11) ——of or like a style of building common in Europ

e between the 12th and the 16th centuries 哥特式的（建筑）

e.g. On the other side of the street is a famous Gothic church.

——(of literature) of or like stories in which strange things happen in horrible places 恐怖的；怪异的

e.g. Gothic novels usually describe romantic adventures in mysterious or frightening settings.

2. Grant Wood rose to fame in 1930 with his painting American Gothic. (para.12)

rise to fame = come to fame 出名

 3. He was strongly influenced by medieval artists and inspired by the Gothic winsow of an old farmhouse. (para.12)

inspire:

——give sb. a feeling f wanting and being able to do sth. good, create a work of art,etc. 给…以灵感

e.g. The lake scenery inspired him to write his great poetry

——fill sb. with confidence 鼓舞；激励e.g. inspire hope / loyalty / enthusiasm in sb; insp

ire sb. with loyalty

Part 4

1. What do we know about American coins?

2. Why was it produced?

3. Where did Fraser find a model buffalo?

4. What happened to the model buffalo later?

What do we know about American coins? American coins honor prominent figures of the US govern

ment but the Buffalo nickel has three actual American Indians as models

Why was it produced? To honor a pair of connected tragedies from the settlement

of the American frontier—the destruction of the buffalo herds and the American Indians.

Where did Fraser find a model buffalo? From New York City’s Central Park Zoo. What happened to the model buffalo later? Two years later, it was sold for ＄ 100 and killed for meat, a

hide ,and a wall decoration made from its horns.

1.  …honored a pair of connected tragedies from the settlement of the American frontier.(para.16)

frontier:

( Am.E: border) 边境；边界；边疆 ( 注： 一般 boundary 只指相邻的边界 )

e.g. Sweden has frontiers with Norway and Finland

2.   …famed artist James Earle Fraser went against tradition by using three actual American Indians as models for his creation. (para.17)

go against: be opposite to 与 .….. 相反，违背Translate ：撒谎是与我的原则相违背的。

Lying goes against my principles.

Part 5

1. What are the two meanings of “US”?

2. How did Flagg’s portrait of Uncle Sam look like?

What are the two meanings of “US”? United States and Uncle Sam. How did Flagg’s portrait of Uncle Sam look l

ike? A tall man with white hair and a small beard

on his chin, a dark blue coat and a tall hat with stars on it—it was a self-portrait of Flagg.

1. During a later war in 1812, wilson gained a position inspecting meat for USArmy forces. (para.21)

inspect:

——look at sth. closely or in great detail 检查e.g. The customs officer inspected his passport suspiciously.

inspect sb./sth. for sth.

e.g. inspect the crime scene for fingerprints.

——make an official visit to make sure that rules are being obeyed, work is being done properly, etc 视察

Translate ：上星期几个政府官员到我们工厂来视察。

Several government officials came to inspect our factory last week.

2….working with a manwho had signed a contract with the government to provide meat to the army. (para.21)

contract:

——n. a legal document that states and explains a formal agreement between two different people or groups 合同，契约

e.g. We have signed a contract with the school for the supply of vehicles/to supply vehicles

——v. make a written legal agreement with sb. for a purpose 订合同，订契约

Translate ：我们已经与一家公司签订燃料供应的合同。

e.g. We have contracted with an enterprise for the supply of fuel

3. After the war, a character called Uncle Sam began appearing in political cartoons, his from evolving from an earlier cartoon character called Brother Jonathan that was popular during the American Revolution. (para.22)

evolve. v. (cause to) develop gradually( 使 ) 演变，变化，发展e.g. Some people still don’t believe that man evolved from

monkeys.4. The most enduring portrait of Uncle Sam was Created

by artist James Montgomery Flagg in his famous army recruiting posters of World Wars andⅠ Ⅱ

recruit. v. persuade sb. to become a new member of an organizati

on, esp. the army 招募，征兵e.g. The students are recruiting new members to the club. back

V. Writing skill

Narration according to the time sequence 1. For each symbol, the author deals with issue

s such as who created it, what the creator was, how, when, etc. And the author narrates the story according to the time sequence.

2. Writing task

Find out the time markers in Part One and things related to each time.

3. Writing exercise

Topic: The life of Charlie Chaplin

Details: find out some information after class.

Sample

The Day My Classmate Fell Ill

Seeing the title, a story that happened two years ago comes up to my mind. It was the first year of my college life, when I lived with my three classmates——my three "brothers". But in the beginning, the relationship was of a polite instead of an intimate kind, because of our different interests and backgrounds.    One night, when I was homesick and could not fall asleep, I heard Wang Tao, who was sleeping on the bed beside mine, was mourning with pain. At that time, I thought nothing of pride and self-reliance, but got up and had myself dressed immediately. Asking him what was wrong, I came to know that he had got a headache. I touched his forehead: it was terribly hot. There was no time to lose, so I woke up the other two roommates. When we helped Wang Tao to go to the hospital at our university,we three were all out of breath. However, when the doctor told us that Wang Tao was safe and feeling nmch better, we were quite relieved and smiled at each other heartily.    Thereafter, we four roommates became more like four brothers; and now our room is often filled with laughter. We unite just like one man. Our world is full of love

back

VI. Exercises

1.Combine each sentence into one,using absolute.

2.Rewrite the following sentences after the model,using the structure of “conjunction+prepositional phrase”.

3.Story summary.

1.Combine each sentence into one,using absolute.

Model:

Marie was sitting at her desk.

Her head was slightly lowered over a pile of chemistry notes.

→ Marie was sitting at her desk,her head slightly lowered over a pile of chemistry notes.

More practice

1. Jimmy walked slowly to the cornor of the playground.

His face was covered with tears.

→ Jimmy walked slowly to the cornor of the playground,his face covered with tears.

2. Barbara just lay there.

Her mouth trembled.

Her eyes were unfocused.

She was unable to say a word.

→ Barbara just lay there,her mouth trembling,

her eyes unfocused, unable to say a word.

2.Rewrite the following sentences after the model,using the structure of “conjunction+prepositional phrase”.

Model: Mattel fefashionen the doll into a decent, all-American version although the version had an exaggerated breast size.

→ Mattel fefashionen the doll into a decent, all-American — although with an exaggerated breast size — version.

More practice

1. Although they have a threatening appearance, most snakes aren’t really dangerous if you leave them alone.

→Most snakes, although with a threatening appearance, aren’t really dangerous if you leave them alone

2. Women have failed to approach the income of men even though they have the same abilities.

→Women, even though with the same abilities,have failed to approach the income of men

3.Story summary

cloze

The End