Unit 2 Book 4
Unit 2 Book Four
Section A Charlie Chaplin
Teaching Objectives
After learning this unit, Ss are supposed to be able to
●know about Chaplin’s life story.
●understand hard work, opportunity, and good luck.
●grasp the key language points and grammatical structures in the texts in Section A and B .
●learn to write a paragraph with a central topic supported by different aspects.
●improve their reading skill---- mixture of facts and opinions.
●conduct a series of reading, listening, speaking and writing activities.
Time Allotment
1stand 2ndperiod------Pre-readingActivites
3rd and 4thperiod------While-readingActivites
5th and 6thperiod-----Post-reading Activites andSection B
7th and 8th period------Listening and Speaking
Teaching Contents
I. Important Points
A. Key words and phrases:
Section A: crude, postpone, doubtful, rouse, relief, cut down, for good, make up, come down in the world, in advance, find one’s way into
Section B: jealous, refresh, run for, have/get the upper hand, lay out, deliver the goods, watch over
B. Key Sentence Patterns
1)It’s relief to know that life eventually gave Charlie Chaplin the stable happiness it had earlier denied him.
2) The tramp never loses his faith in the flower girl who’ll be waiting to walk into the sunset with him, while the other side of Chaplin makes Monsieur Verdoux, the French wife killer, into a symbol of hatred for women.
II. Difficult Points
- But if he had been able to speak with an educated accent in those early short comedy movies, it’s doubtful if he would have achieved world fame.
- Dickens might have created Charlie Chaplin’s childhood.
虚拟语气的运用。
Teaching Procedures
I. Pre-reading Activities
A. Warm-up activities
a) Work in pairsto discuss the following questions to learn about the students’ experiences of learning English
1) Do you like comedies or tragedies?
2) Who do you think is a very great comedian, either Chinese or foreign?
3)Do you know Charlie Chaplin? What nationality was he? Have you ever seen a movie by him?
4) What do people usually do and how do they usually feel when they are watching a comedy?
5) Do you believe that a comedian always leads a happy life as he brings laughter to the audience all the time? Do you understand the gap between a comedian on the screen and a common figure after the stage?
6) How do you understand the force of hardships on success?
b) Work in groups to discuss the following questions.
1) What disadvantages did Chaplin face early in his life and how did these perhaps help him later?
2) When it came to relationship, what main problem did his personality have and what results did this have?
3) What important role did OOna O’neill play in his life??
From our discussions, different conclusions can be drawn as follows:
1) There are many comedians on the stage. Unlike tragic film stars, they try to make people laugh by doing all kinds of acts or saying whatever is funny, such as Charlie Chaplin from the USA, Zhao Benshan from China.
2) However, comedians are also common people after their performance. Chaplin’s miserable childhood and Benshan’s early unknown life tell us that fame is not achieved in an easy way. People will have to work hard and wait for opportunity to knock at their doors with a readily-prepared mind and seek happiness in life with a calm heart..
Thus leading into the text by saying: in spite of a unhappy childhood and several failures in marriage, Chaplin still managed to live a happy and peaceful life in the end. His life story tells us hardships can be turned into motives, encouraging people to go ahead and attain success.
B. Background information
1Charlie Chaplin: Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on 16th April 1889in Walworth, London, and lived a Dickensian childhood, shared with his brother, Sydney, that included extreme poverty, workhouses and seeing his mother's mental decline put her into an institution. Both his parents, though separated when he was very young, were music hall artists, his father quite famously so. But it was his mother that Charlie idolised and was inspired by during his visit of the backstage while she performed, to take up such a career for himself.
2Dickens: Charles Dickens, 1812—1870, an English novelist, considered by many to be the greatest one of all. His many famous books describe life in Victorian England and show how hard it was, especially for the poor and for children. They include The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities.
3Hollywood: an area of Los Angeles which is known as the center of the American film industry. In terms of geography, Hollywood refers to an area consisting of the City of West Hollywood and its vicinity that form part of the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is generally thought that everyone living in Hollywood is extremely rich, famous, and concerned with appearances but in fact many parts of Hollywood today are poor, dirty and badly cared for.
4Mack Sennett: (1880—1960) US film producer, born in Richmond, Quebec. He worked in the theatre as a comic in burlesque companies, and from 1908 in silent films. He later formed his own company and hundreds of shorts, establishing a whole generation of players and a tradition of knockabout slapstick under the name of Keystone Komics (1912), and later the Sennett Bathing Beauties (1920). He received a Special Academy Award in 1937.
C. KeyWordsand Their Collocations
1. cut down: reduce the size of (sth. such as clothing, writing, etc.)
___ I could cut your father's trousers downfor the boy. 我可以把你父亲的裤子改短给这男孩穿。
___ Your article will have to be cut down to fit into the book. 你的文章得删一些，以便能收入到这本书里。
2. applause: n. the noise made by a group of people clapping their hands and sometimes shouting to show their approval or enjoyment
___ The band got a big round of applause at the end of the concert. 音乐会结束后，乐队赢得了全场的掌声。
___ The audience broke into thunderous applause. 观众爆发出雷鸣般的掌声。
cf:
applaud: v.
1) show approval or enjoyment of ( a play, actor, performer, etc.), esp. by striking one's hands together
___ He started to applaud and the others joined in. 他带头开始鼓掌，其他人也加入进来。
___ The conference rose to applaud the speaker. 与会人员起身为发表讲话的人鼓掌。
2) express strong approval of ( a person, idea, etc.)
___ We all applauded the authority's decision not to close the hospital. 我们都赞同当局不关闭医院的决定。
___ I applaud her for having the courage to refuse. 我赞赏她敢于拒绝的勇气。
3. for good: permanently; forever
___ This time she's leaving for good. 这一次她将是永远地离开了。
___ I'd like an excuse to get rid of him for good. 我需要一个借口将他永久开除。
4. crude: a.
1) lacking grace, education, or sensitive feeling
___Many of his jokes were crude and sexist.他讲的笑话大都既粗俗又歧视女性。
＿＿At times his language turned crude and made him look foolish.有时他的语言变得粗鲁，使得他显得傻里傻气。
2) in the natural state; not refined
Seven hundred thousand tons of crude oil has poured out of the damaged tanker into the sea. 有70万吨原油从损坏的油船中流入大海。
＿＿Oil prices surged yesterday amid market fears that the Panamanian crisis could hit US crude oil supplies. 石油的价格昨天大幅度上涨，人们担心巴拿马危机会打击美国的原油供应。
５．trip (up): catch sb.'s foot and make him fall or almost fall; make a mistake; deliberately make sb. do this
＿＿ As I passed, he stuck out a leg and tried to trip me up. 我经过的时候，他伸出一条腿试图把我绊倒。
＿＿ He made a sudden dive for Uncle Jim's legs to try to trip him up. 他猛冲向吉姆叔叔的腿试图把他绊倒。
６．behave v.
1) act in a particular way, or be good by acting in a way which has society's approval
＿＿ Watch how other people behave; remember everything is useful to the actor. 观察别人的表现，记住：对于演员，所有一切都是有用的。
＿ She always behaves well / badly when her aunts come to visit. 她阿姨来做客时，她总是表现良好/很差。
2) (of a machine or natural phenomenon) work or function in a special way
＿ My car has been behaving well since it was repaired. 我的汽车自从修理过以后一直运行正常。
７． postpone: v. delay (an event), esp. arranging for it to take place at a later date or time
＿ The trial has been postponedindefinitely. 审判无限期地延期了。
＿ About 1,000 operations had been postponedand even cancer patients were being delayed.大约1,000个左右的手术延期了，甚至连癌症患者的手术也推迟了。
８． come / go down in the world: have less money and a worse social position than one had before
＿ He has really come down in the world. 他真的过着穷困潦倒的生活。
Also: move down in the world
＿When we had to sell our house and take a small apartment downtown, we felt we'd really moved down in the world. 当我们不得不卖掉房子，搬到市区的一间小公寓住时，我们感到我们的确已经穷困潦倒了。
Cf:
come / go up in the world; move up in the world
9. doubtful: a.
1)(about) (of a person) not sure; uncertain and feeling doubt
_ Rose was doubtful about the whole idea. 罗斯对整个想法都表示怀疑。
_ He was doubtful about accepting extra work. 他还不肯定是否接受额外的工作。
2) (+ if / that / whether-clause) unlikely; not probable
___ It's doubtful if / whether this painting is a Picasso. 这幅画是不是毕加索画的很值得怀疑。
___With her injuries it's doubtfulthat she'll ever walk again. 受了这些伤，她是否还能行走值得怀疑。
10.rouse: v.
1) make sb. feel a particular emotion
___I don't want to rouseany suspicions. 我不想引起任何怀疑。
___Tom drew a breath, determined that he would not rouse her to anger. 汤姆吸了一口气，决定不去激怒她。
2) (formal) wake sb. up, esp. when they are sleeping deeply
___ The telephone roused me from my sleep at 6 a.m. 电话声在6点钟时把我从睡梦中唤醒。
___ He roused himself with an effort, sniffed and shook his head vigorously. 他用力吸气、摇头，努力想让自己清醒过来。
3) make sb. want to start doing sth. when they were not active or interested in doing it
___ A lot of people were roused to action by the appeal. 在这个呼吁下很多人行动了起来。
___ She hardly knew what she was saying; only that she must somehow rouse him to movement.她几乎不知道自己说了些什么，只知道必须想办法激励他行动起来。
rouse
arouse
arise
raise
rise
11.in advance: beforehand, earlier
___ They had to pay the rent two weeks in advance.他们必须预付两周房租。
___ If you're going to come, please let me know in advance.如果你要来的话，请事先让我知道。
12. lose (one's) faith in: lose one's trust or confidence in sb. or sth.
___ After the trial, his family said they had lost all faith inthe judicial system.审判之后，他家人说他们对司法系统失去了信心。
___ People have lost faith inthe British Parliament.人们对英国议会已失去了信任。
13. relief: n.
1) the feeling that results from the easing or removing of pain, distress or anxiety
___ We all breathed a sigh of reliefwhen he left. 他离开的时候我们都松了一口气。
___ Much to my relief the car was not damaged. 让我感到欣慰的是，汽车没有受损。
2) (from / of) the act of removing or reducing pain, anxiety, etc.
___ Freezing sprays give immediate relief and help reduce swelling. 冷冻喷雾可以迅速缓解疼痛并有助于消肿。
___ Massage can bring some relieffrom tension. 按摩可以缓解压力。
14. find … in sb.: discover that sb. has certain qualities
___ We have found in him a man of trained hand, eye, and brain; disciplined and good mannered. 我们发现他是一个训练有素的人，有手艺、有眼光、有头脑，同时也具有良好的修养，彬彬有礼。
___ We have found in her a woman of wit and intelligence, with a master's degree in business administration. 我们发现她是一位充满幽默感和智慧的女士，有商务管理硕士的学位。
II. While-reading Activities
1.Text Study
A. Fast reading and try to grasp the main idea of text
The text is about Charlie Chaplin’s life which is full of contrasts. He came into the world
miserable but brought the world endless joy. His Tramp on the screen, crude or coarse in the eyes of the English, gave him permanent fame in movie history. His nonsense screen language with no known nationality brought about his huge success. The contrast between his desire to be loved and his fear of being betrayed led to his painful marriages but brought him the luck to walk into the sunset with Oona. And even after his death, the theft of his body served as a fitting memorial to his life as a great comic.
B. Structure Analysis
The whole passage falls into 4 parts:
In this reading passage the author introduces us a famous figure — Charlie Chaplin from different aspects: the introduction, his professional success, his emotional life and the end of his life story.
1. The first part of the passage is made up of Paragraphs 1 and 2, which is the general introduction to Charlie Chaplin.
2. The second part consists of 4 paragraphs, from Paragraph 3 to Paragraph 6. This part is about Charlie Chaplin’s professional success. The 4 paragraphs deal with Chaplin’s success from his famous comedy The Tramp, to sound movies and his secrets in making successful comedies.
3. The third part is made up of 2 paragraphs, which are about his personal or emotional life. Chaplin’s emotional collision resulted in personal disaster in his early marriages but in his later years he found stability and affection in Oona O’Neill Chaplin, who gave him the love he needed.
4. The last part is Paragraph 9. After his death, his dead body was once stolen and the incident is taken as a memorial to the great comic of world fame.
C. Difficult Sentences:
1).But if he had been able to speak with an educated accent in those early short comedy movies, it’s doubtful if he would have achieved world fame.
虚拟语气的运用。
虚拟语气表示说话人所说的并不是事实，而是一种假设、建议或主观愿望。
在条件状语从句中，与过去事实相反的假设，其结构为
If + subj. + had + v-ed + (主句) +subj. + should/would/could/might + have + v-ed.
e.g. If she had further considered the problem, she might have come to the correct conclusion.
If they hadn’t needed the book, they wouldn’t have bought it.
2) Dickens might have created Charlie Chaplin’s childhood.
Meaning: When he was a child, Chaplin lived a miserable life, which was much like the one described in Dickens' famous novel named Oliver Twist. Therefore, if he had learnt of Chaplin's childhood, Dickens might have written something about it.
might have + V-ed: used to say that sth. was possible in the past, but we know that it did not in
fact happen
___ The plan might easily have gone wrong, but in fact it was a great success. 这计划可能会很容易失败的，可是事实上大大成功了。
___ If we'd played better, we might have won. 如果我们当时打得好一些，我们也许会赢的。
___ They might have chosen anyone for the job, but they picked me. 他们也许可以选择其他任何人做这工作，可是他们选择了我。
3）…have provided more applause (and profit) where Chaplin is concerned than the land of his birth. (Para.2)
Meaning: Chaplin was welcomed more enthusiastically and made more money in other countries where he had traveled than in his motherland, Britain.
4. …where talent scouts recruited him to work for Mack Sennett, the king of Hollywood comedy films. (Para. 2)
scout: n. a person employed to look for people with particular skills, esp. in sport or entertainment
___ Talent scouts toured every village in the Southern States seeking the girl with the subtle personality that the film producer needed for the star role. 猎头走遍南方各州，寻找制片人需要的具有敏锐气质和个性的女影星。
___ It was during the singing performance that he was spotted by a talent scout and signed up by Warner Brothers. 在歌唱表演中他被猎头相中，然后与华纳兄弟签约。
5. Certainly middle-class audiences did; the working-class audiences were more likely to clap for a character who revolted against authority, using his wicked little cane to trip it up, or aiming the heel of his boot for a well-placed kick at its broad rear. (Para.3)
Meaning: There is no doubt that middle-class audiences thought so (Chaplin's Tramp a bit crude); this character was more popular among working-class audiences because he showed his discontent with people of authority by using his little cane to make them fall or by directing a kick at their rears.
6.English tramps didn't sport tiny moustaches, huge pants or tail coats: European leaders and Italian waiters wore things like that. (Para. 3)
Meaning: English tramps didn't wear tiny moustaches (hair which a man grows on his upper lip), very big pants or tail coats: these were something European leaders and Italian waiters wore; therefore, Chaplin's beggar didn't look like an English tramp.
Please note that "pants" is American English and always in the plural form whereas British English-speaking people prefer to say "underpants" or "panties".
7. The two were hard to combine and sometimes — as in his early marriages — the collision between them resulted in disaster. (Para.7)
Meaning: It was hard for the two (the desire for love and his fear of being betrayed) to exist together and sometimes, as in his early marriages, the conflict between them led to great misfortune in his personal life.
8.The Tramp never loses his faith in the flower girl who'll be waiting to walk into the sunset with him…(Para. 7)
Meaning: The Tramp always has his confidence in the flower girl who'll be waiting for him to enjoy the sunset together…
Here the author implies that like the Tramp, Chaplin never lost his faith in his life and he was looking for love and happiness and was sure to find somebody who would live with him through the rest of his life. When we say "people walk (off) into the sunset (together)", we mean their relationship will last and they will live happily.
9. As Oona herself was the child of a large family with its own problems, she was well-prepared for the battle that Chaplin's life became as unfounded rumors of Marxist sympathies surrounded them both — and, later on, she was the center of rest in the quarrels that Chaplin sometimes sparked in their own large family of talented children. (Para.8)
Meaning: Oona had met with many problems in her own family before marrying, so she was able to deal with the problems in Chaplin's life. For example, at that time, there were unfounded rumors that they sympathized with Marxism; when Chaplin caused quarrels in their large family with many talented children, it was Oona who solved such problems and brought peace back into the family.