Warm-up Exercises

Questions-answering Listen to the song and answer the

following questions What is the song about?

According to the song, can you tell the life in the country of West Virginia?

Warm-up Exercises

Why do so many migrant workers move from the country to the city?

Why do city people buy apartments or houses in the suburbs, even in the countryside?

Discussion

Enjoy Pictures of Countryside

Beautiful countryside

Beautiful countryside

Beautiful countryside

Beautiful countryside

Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream Life

--- By Jim Doherty

Text A

General Comprehension Questions

What are the two things that the writer has always wanted to do?Is life in the country easy for the writer and his family?How do the writer and his family manage to live on a comparatively low income in the country?What does the writer think are the special qualities necessary for leading a life the way they do?How does the writer think he and his family will feel when they have to leave the farm someday?

Text Organization

Part I (Paras 1-3)The writer views his life in the country as a __________ and ________ one.

Part II (Paras 4-7)Life in the country is _____ but yet sometimes very _____.

self-reliant

satisfying

goodhard

Text Organization Part III (Paras 8-11)

After _____________ , the writer’s income was _______ ,but he and his family can manage to get by.

Part IV (Paras 12-15)A tolerance for _______ and a lot of ______ have made it possible for the family to enjoy their life in the county.

quitting his job reduce

d

solitudeenergy

Language Points

Part I get by (Line 3): be good enough but not very good; manage to live or do things

eg: It is a bit hard for the old couple to get by on a small amount of pension.

如果我们坚持到底，我们就能熬过难关。

We’ll get by if we hold on to the end.

Some phrases related to “get”

get across: be understood

Did your speech get across to the students?

学生能理解你的演说吗？

get away with: run away without being punished

The teller had been stealing money from the bankThe teller had been stealing money from the bank and got away with it.and got away with it.

这个出纳一直在偷银行的钱却能侥幸逃脱。这个出纳一直在偷银行的钱却能侥幸逃脱。

Part I

get round to : finally do sth. after dealing with other matters eg: He got round to going back home in

countryside for a short rest.

他终于能回乡村的家里短暂休息一下了。

get through (Line 45): come successfully to the end eg: We’ve stored enough food and fuel to get

through the cold winter.

为了度过寒冬，我们已经储备了足够的食物和燃料。

Some phrases related to “get”Part I

Part Imake it (Line 9) : be successful, fulfill the purposeeg: Having failed for thousands of times, he eventually made it.

她最后成功地成为了一家大公司的总裁。She finally made it as a CEO of a big cor-poration.

Part IIhaul (Line 16)

v. transport, as with a truck, cart, etc.eg: These farmers haul fruits and vegetables to the

market on a cart in the early morning every day.

v. pull or drag sth. with effort or force

eg: A crane has to be used to haul the car out of

the stream.

Part IIsupplement (Line 21)

v. add to sth. in order to improve it (followed by with)eg: 1) Forrest does occasional freelance to

supplement his income. 2) The doctor suggested supplementing my

diet with vitamins E and A.

supplementary adj. additional, auxiliary

Part II

indoor (Line 21)adj. situated or used inside a building

eg: Tobacco smoke is considered as an indoor

pollutant.

这个百万富翁的豪宅里有一个大的室内游泳池。这个百万富翁的豪宅里有一个大的室内游泳池。There is a large indoor swimming pool in the

mansion of the millionaire.

Part IIConfusable words

spray (Line 22): v. force out liquid in small drops upon (followed by with)eg: I’ll have to spray the roses with insecticide to

get rid of the greenfly.

splash: v. to propel or scatter (a fluid) about in flying masseseg: The little boy splashed a page with ink.

Part II

pursue (Line 26)v. strive to gain or accomplisheg: College students are advised to pursue a wide

range of subjects.

She decided to pursue her studies abroad after

obtaining her Master Degree.

她决定得到硕士学位后到海外留学。 pursuit n. chase, search

Part IIIat that point (Line 47): at that very moment, right theneg: The train was now only a couple of yards from the kids on the track. At that point, Peter threw himself forward and pulled them clear.Phrases related to “point”

in the point of: as far asto the point of: to a degree that can

be described as sth.

on balance (Line 54): with all things considered

eg: 1) eg: 1) On balance, it’s probably not advisable to

change the company’s name.

2) 2) I think, on balance, you are a tolerant and

generous person.

Part III

Part IIIillustrate (Line 56)v. provide with visual features, clarify by use of examp

les, etc.

eg: 1) eg: 1) Let me use another example to illustrate this

difficult point.

2) 2) The editor has illustrated the book

with color photos.

Part IIIConfusable words illustrate: emphasizes “to explain sth. with examples or with photos and pictures”. explain : means “to give the reasons or reveal some puzzles of sth.” eg: He is explaining how a machine operates. interpret: means “to explain the meaning of sth. with imagination or some special knowledge”. eg: How do you interpret this poem?

Part IIIminor(Line 67):

adj. lesser or smaller in amount or importance, etc. eg: Don’t worry. It is only a minor operation.minor in （兼修） vs. major in （主修）eg: He majors in computer science, but he is also interested in Shakespeare’s plays, so he minors in literature.

他主修专业是计算机科学，但他对莎士比 亚的戏剧很感兴趣 , 所以他辅修了文学专业。

aside from (Line 69)

except for, in addition to (more usual in Am. English,

same as apart from)

eg: 1) This essay is good aside from a couple of

spelling mistakes.

2) Aside from an occasional game, he doesn't

take any exercise.

Part III

Part IIIcut back(Line 71): reduce in size or amount

cut back sth. eg: There is a growing movement to cut back the

government’s role in agriculture and to reduce subsidies paid to farmers.

cut back on sth. eg: The government has cut back on defense spending.

Part III

dine out (Line 72): eat a meal away from home (usu. in a restaurant)

eg: With the improvement of living standards, more people dine out at weekends.

dine in: the opposite phrase

eg: When avian flu is prevalent, we’d better dine in and watch TV.

Part IV

suspect (Line 78)

v. believe to be true, likely or probable, feel doubt about (suspect sb./sth.of sth.; suspect that)

eg:1) He was suspected of telling lies in the court.

2) I strongly suspected that they’re trying to get rid

of me.

n. a person who is suspected of doing sth. wrong

eg: The police have taken the suspect to the station.

Part IV

budget n.

eg: 1) You should have your own budget to help

your balance income and expenses. 2) It is estimated that the military expenditure

will exceed the financial budget of the nation

this year.

Part IV

on a … scale (Line 85): to a … degree

eg: The government only permitted public

demonstrations of students on a small scale

政府只允许学生小规模的示威游行。 We should popularize science on a grand scale.

我们应该大规模普及科学。

Part IVdevicen. a piece of equipment designed to serve a sp

ecial purpose

eg: For consumers without access to PCs,

intelligent set-top devices will be their

guide to digital photography.

Part IV

profitn. an advantageous gain or return

eg: The tax is likely to hit his company’s profits by up to 3 percent in future.

v. gain money, benefit

eg: You may profit from/by the experience of others.

Part IV

invest (Line 93): commit (money or capital) in

order to gain a financial return invest money in sth.

eg: We’ve invested most of the money in shares in

British companies.

invest (money) in sth.

eg: My parents intend to invest in stocks and bonds.

Text Analysis This piece of writing is written in the first

person. It is a piece of narrative writing.

Since the writer mainly describes the country life, he cannot avoid employing comparison and contrast between city life and country life.

In many instances, the writer also employs the pattern of “one topic sentence + several detail sentences” structure.

Text Analysis The author also employs transitional

devices, especially some transitional words such as “three months ago”, “three months from now”, “recently”,

and “later this month” in Para 4 and other conjunctions such as “first, then, eventually” in Para 7.

Post-reading Discussion

Please compare the city life and the countryside life. Which one do you

prefer and why?