Unit 7

Face to Face with Guns

Background Information:

KFC: Kentucky Fried Chicken, known as KFC in the US, is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain. The company originated and still has its headquarters in the US. It now has more than 30,000 restaurant worldwide.

911: This is the emergency telephone number in the US and Canada for contacting the police department, the fire department or medical emergency services.

Background Information:

Blake’s Thames: Blake, William (1757-1827) was an English poet and artist whose best-known books of poems are Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. The Quotation used in the text comes from the first verse of a poem called “London”.

The Thames is the main river flowing through London, and England’s most important river.

Text Structure Analysis:

Part One (Paras.1-27): One night, two armed young men robbed me of mone

y, watch and even KFC. Part TWo (Para 28-30):

“I” was spared and helped to identify the offenders by looking through mug shots

Part TWo (Para 31-34): “I” reflected a lot while looking through mug sho

ts.

One night two armed young men robbed me of money, watch, and even KFC. The next day, I went to look through the mug shots at the police station, affected with the impression that these young men, like a raging current, were eating at the foundations of what we had held dear.

Summary of the Text

Words and Expressions face to face with pull into instinctively attach to attach to rather than have mercy on spare commit look through out of control eat (away) at hold dear

We were in the downtown area when we came face to face with Jack.

遇到杰克时我们正在市中心。

I was bit by bit being brought face to face with the fact that I had very little success.

渐渐地我得面对这样一个事实：我几乎没取得什么成功。

1. L

1.face to face with: close to and looking at someone or something (title)

2. pull into: arrive; move to; stop one’s journey at a place (Para.1)

Let’s pull into this roadside restaurant for something to eat.

咱们把车开到这家路边餐馆停下来弄点东西吃吧。

The bus pulled into the opening at the side of the road to let the cars pass.

公交车开到路边的空地上，让那些小汽车通过。

3. everything he said during our encounter was repeated; instinctively, I did the same. (Para.4)

Meaning: During our encounter, he said everything twice and by instinct, I said everything twice too.

instinctively: ad. without thinking and without having been taught. When attacked, he instinctively fought back to defend

himself. 遭到袭击时，他本能地回击以保护自己。

4. attach to: fix sth to sth else. (Para.13) Attach the handle to the box. 把这个把手装到箱子上。

We attached a business card to the briefcase. 我们在小提箱上贴了一张名片。

attach importance to sth. 认为某事物重要

5. rather than: instead of; in contrast to (Para. 15)

I think I’ll have a cold drink rather than coffee. 我想要一杯冷饮，而不是咖啡。

I want to see a funny program but not a serious one. I enjoy laughing rather than crying.

我喜欢看轻松的节目，而不是严肃的节目。我喜欢笑而不是哭。

6. have mercy on: show kindness or pity towards sb. (Para.19) The seized soldier appealed to his enemy to have mercy on him. 被俘的士兵乞求敌人宽恕他。

May god have mercy on her soul.

have mercy on those who are in your power 手下留情 我的上帝，宽恕她的灵魂吧。

7.I had been spared, but by what? = My life has been saved, but what saved my life? (Para.26)

We have lost everything, but thank God, our lives have been spared.

我们已经失去了一切，可是感谢上帝，我们保住了性命。

spare no pains / spare no efforts To be competitive on the world market, we must spare no

efforts to improve the quality of our products. 要想在国际市场上有竞争能力，必须在产品质量上狠下功夫。 不惜劳苦 / 不遗余力

8. commit: do sth., usually a bad thing (Para.30)

That fellow committed a crime when he stole the library books and sold them.

那家伙偷了图书馆的书去卖，这就犯了罪。

No one learned who committed the murder. 没有人知道谁是杀人凶手。

commit suicide through shame 含羞自尽

9. look through: look quickly in; examine or study carefully (Para.30)

I’ll look through my notes but I don’t think I have a record of his name.

我会仔细看一下我的笔记，可我觉得我没有记下他的名字。

Look through your examination paper for any small mistakes before you hand it in.

交卷前，好好检查一下你的试卷，看看有没有小错。

10. Turning those pages … is like flowing on a sad current that, like Blake’s Thames, seems to “mark in every face, marks of weakness, marks of woe.” (Para. 32)

Meaning: Moving those pages one by one and studying their photographs is something similar to moving on a sad current. The current, like the English poet William Blake’s Thames, seems to leave marks of weakness and marks of great sadness in every human’s face.

11. out of control: impossible manage (Para.33)

The fire is burning out of control. 火势已失去控制。

I’m dealing with customers all the time who have let their bills get out of control.

我一直在同那些债务已经失控的顾客打交道。

12. eat (away) at: damage or destroy something bit by bit (Para.33)

The river is eating away at the bank. 这条河流正慢慢侵蚀着河堤。

The pounding waves eat away at the shoreline. 拍岸的海浪侵蚀着海岸。

If you love your mom and dad but they drive you batty, your resentment can eat away at your relationship.

如果你爱父母 , 但他们让你抓狂 , 你的忿怒会破坏你们的关系。

15. hold dear: value a great deal; care greatly (Para.33) These are the ideas we hold dear. 这些正是我们所珍视的信念。

My father is the person whom I hold most dear.

May these blessings lead into a wonderful year for you and all whom you hold dear.

祝福你及你所爱的人新的一年中万事如意。 我父亲是我最尊重的人。

Questions for discussion:

1. What words have been used to describe the actions of the two young men?

2. What are the characteristics of the robbers?

3. What were the writer’s mental activities?

4. What did the writer imply at the end of the passage?

Writing Social Problems in China

Write a composition on the above topic. You sh

ould write at least 120 words following the outline given in Chinese below:

1) 目前中国存在许多社会问题。 2) 造成这些社会问题的原因是…… 3) 有哪些方法可以解决以上的问题。