Lesson ThirteenLesson ThirteenLesson ThirteenLesson Thirteen

Christmas Day in Christmas Day in the Morningthe Morning

About Pearl S. Buck•A friend of Chinese people•A Literature Nobel Prize

Laureate

Birthday: June 26, 1892

Parents: Absalom & Caroline

Sydenstricker (Southern

Presbyterian missionaries, stationed in

China )

Came to China: 3 months old

Period of stay in China: 40 years

Residential area: Zhenjiang, Jiangsu

Province

Pearl’s life in 1920s• In 1921, her mother died.• In 1927, Nanking incident broke

out which made her suffer a lot. She spent a terrified day in hiding, and was rescued by the American gunboat.The Bucks sailed to Japan for a year.

Pearl’s works:• East wind, West Wind• The Good Earth• Dragon Seed• The Big Wave• Satan Never Sleeps• …

Pearl and Her Prizes• Pulitzer Prize and Howells Medal

for The Good Earth• Nobel Prize in Literature 1938 for

The Good Earth “----for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in

China and for her biographical masterpieces"

Background information about

Christmas• Customs about Christmas•exchanging gifts (receiving

gifts from Santa Claus and hanging a stocking near the chimney)

•singing Christmas carols•decorating for Christmas

Origin of Christmas• Ask the students to gather the

Bible story about the birth of Jesus Christ and put it into a short play.

Text appreciation:theme of the story

• Love alone can waken love.• It means that love is always mutual a

nd always begins with giving. In view of the growing lack of human warmth partly due to the fierce competition in modern society, this idea appears all more important.

Text appreciation:theme of the story

• Of course it would be naïve to think that love is the answer to all our problems today, and in a world divided by class, racial and national conflicts, universal love is still unrealistic.

Text appreciation:structure of the text

• Part 1 (paras. 1— 8) about: Rob woke suddenly in an early Christmas morning.

• Part 2 (paras.9-41) about: Rob recalled the Christmas morning when he was fifteen years old.

• Part 3 (paras. 42-46) about: Rob celebrated this Christmas with his wife after more than 50 years.

Word study• 1. bar• v. (often passive)• a. to close with a bar • b. to make… safe by putting metal bats

across it• c. to stop going in a certain direction • n. place to drink in; piece of metal/wood;

barrister, the profession of lawyer, etc.

Word study• Examples:

to bar the door

The windows are barred.

He stood in the door and barred my way.

behind the bar; go to the bar

Word study• 2. brisk adj. a. marked by speed, liveliness, and vigor; energetic b. keen or sharp in speech or manner c. stimulating and invigorating d. pleasantly zestful

Word study• Examples:

He had a brisk walk in the park. a brisk greetinga brisk winda brisk tea

Word study• 3. creep v. to move slowly and quietly with

the body close to the ground

(usu. stealthily)

Word study• Examples:

a creeping plantThe hours crept by.We took off our shoes and crept cautiously along the passage.

Word study• 4. fade• v. a. to lose brightness, loudness, or

brilliance• gradually; dim• b. to lose freshness; wither• c. to lose strength or vitality; wane • d. to disappear gradually; vanish

Word study• Examples:

The lights and music faded as we set sail from the harbor. summer flowers that had fadedyouthful energy that had faded over the yearsa hope that faded

•

Word study•5. gleam• v. a. to give out a bright light b. (of a feeling) to be expressed with a sudden light in the eyes

Word study• Examples:

The furniture gleamed after being polished.Amusement gleamed in his eyes.

Word study• 6. grant• vt. a. to give what is wanted/requested• b. to admit the truth of sth.

Word study• Examples:

They were granted a holiday for their achievement. I had to grant him the reasonableness of his argument.

Word study•7. loiter v. to move on/about with frequent stops

Word study• loiter the whole afternoon 闲逛了一下午• loiter along the street 在街上徘徊• loiter over a job 在一项工作上浪费时间• You should not loiter your time away. 你不应

该虚度光阴。

Word study•8. queer• adj. deviating from the expected or normal; strange

• Examples:

a queer situation

to speak a queer language

I am feeling queer.

Word study•9. slip• v. a. to pass gradually, easily, or

imperceptibly• b. to move smoothly, easily,

and quietly • c. to slide involuntarily and lose

one's balance or foothold

Word study• Examples:

It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by.She slipped away without being seen.He slipped the money into his pocket.She slipped on the shiny floor and fell.

Word study10. stumble• v. a. to miss one's step in walking or running;

trip• and almost fall • b. to proceed unsteadily or falteringly • c. to stop or make a mistake when you are • reading to people or speaking • d. to come upon accidentally or

unexpectedly

Word study• Examples:

She stumbled on the stairs and fell forward to the bottom. She stumbled at/over the long word.While in the country, she stumbled upon/on/across some fine antiques.

Word study• 11. trim• v. a. to make neat or tidy by

clipping, smoothing, or• pruning• b. to remove (excess) by cutting • n. state of order, arrangement, or

appearance

Word study• Examples:

trim his moustache trim a budget in good trim

Oral work

Topic for debating:

Love is the solution to all the problems in the world today.