现代大学英语精读4l.ppt

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1、Lesson15TheDamnedHumanRaceMark TwainPre-classwork:What do you know about Mark Twain?Can you name some books he wrote?l lThe Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras CountryCountry卡拉维拉斯县有名的跳娃卡拉维拉斯县有名的跳娃l lThe Innocents AbroadThe Innocents Abroad傻瓜出国记傻瓜出国记l l A ser

2、ies of newspaper articles after his A series of newspaper articles after his European trip later was published as this book.It European trip later was published as this book.It explores the scrupulous individualism in a world explores the scrupulous individualism in a world of fantastic speculation

3、and unstable values,and of fantastic speculation and unstable values,and gives its name to the get-rich-quick years of the gives its name to the get-rich-quick years of the post Civil War era.post Civil War era.l lThe Gilded AgeThe Gilded Age镀金时代镀金时代l lThe Adventures of Tom SawyerThe Adventures of T

4、om Sawyer汤姆汤姆 索亚历险索亚历险记记l lThe Prince and the PauperThe Prince and the Pauper王子和贫儿王子和贫儿l lThe Adventures of Huckberry FinnThe Adventures of Huckberry Finn哈克贝利哈克贝利 费费恩历险记恩历险记l l In this book,Finn was a boy with“a sound In this book,Finn was a boy with“a sound heart and a deformed conscience”.It is on

5、e of heart and a deformed conscience”.It is one of the best works produced by Mark Twain,and it the best works produced by Mark Twain,and it has always been regarded as one of the great has always been regarded as one of the great books of western literature and western books of western literature a

6、nd western civilization.Hemingway described it as the book civilization.Hemingway described it as the book from which“all modern American literature from which“all modern American literature comes”.comes”.Abouttheauthor:Mark Twain(1835-1910)was born Samuel Langhorne Clements in Florida,Missouri,but

7、lived as a child in Hannibal,Missouri,on the Mississippi River.He took the pen name Mark Twain from the call of the pilots on the river steamers,which indicated that the water was twelve feet deep,a safe depth for a steamer.During his early years,he worked as a riverboat pilot,newspaper reporter,pri

8、nter,and gold prospector.But then he turned to writing,and became one of the greatest of American writers.Hismasterpiece:Innocents Abroad 1869傻子出国记为通讯集，是马克吐温的旅欧报道。写天真无知的美国人在欧洲的旅游见闻，滑稽、诙谐，表现出美国人在欧洲封建社会傻子出国记为通讯集，是马克吐温的旅欧报道。写天真无知的美国人在欧洲的旅游见闻，滑稽、诙谐，表现出美国人在欧洲封建社会及其印记面前的优越感。The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 18

9、76本书描写了十九世纪密西西比河畔一个小镇人民的生活，可以说是当时美国社会生活的一个缩影。小主人公汤姆索亚和他的小伙伴幼稚而又认真的言行可以给我们很深的启示他们讨厌牧师骗人的鬼话不喜欢学校枯燥的教育与循规蹈矩的大人和孩子唱对台戏他们聪明活泼正直勇敢尤其是在一些重大事件发生的时候在正义与邪恶一较量中在危机降临的时刻他们能义无反顾地挺身而出。l lThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1885本书讲述的是一个忍受不了“资产阶级生活方式”和酗酒的父亲的毒打而离家出走的白人孩子哈克，和一个逃亡的黑奴吉木，同乘一个木筏，在密西西比河上漂流的见闻和遭遇。全面、彻底地揭露资本

10、主义政治的所谓“自由和民主”的神话。l lLife on the Mississippi 1883l lThe Prince and the Pauper 1882Hiswritingstyle:hilariously humorous bitterly satiricalAbout the story:The author writes about ugly human traits and dispositions.In his opinion,human beings are not ascended from the lower animals but descended from t

11、he higher animals.Detailed Discussion of the TextParagraph11.Ihavebeenstudyingthetraitsanddispositionsofthe“loweranimals”,andcontrastingthemwiththetraitsanddispositionsofman.Ifindtheresulthumiliatingtome.I have been studying the characteristics of the so-called lower animals in comparison with those

12、 of man.The result of this study makes me,as a man,feel terribly ashamed.traits and dispositions:characteristics;features;nature;qualities;personalitieshumiliating:making me feel ashamed;embarrassing;mortifying Noticethetongue-in-cheek(as a joke,not seriously)waytheauthorexpresseshisideas.Hemakesits

13、oundasifhewereconductingandreportingontheresultofascientificinvestigation.Inotherwords,heisdeliberatelyusingapompousstyletoachievehumor.2.ForitobligesmetorenouncemyallegiancetotheDarwiniantheoryoftheAscentofManfromtheLowerAnimals and to name it the Descent of Man from theHigherAnimals.Because the re

14、sult of my study forces me to give up(to abandon)my loyalty to(firm belief in)Darwins theory of evolution and to change the theory of the Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals to the theory of the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals.to oblige sb to do sth:to force sb to do sth;to make it necessary

15、 for sb to do sthtorenounce:to abandon or give up;to reject or disown allegiance:loyalty,esp.to a nation or a cause Paragraph31.Italsoseemedtosuggestthattheearlwasdescendedfromtheanaconda,andhadlostagooddealinthetransition.It also seemed to show that the earl came from the anaconda and had lost a lo

16、t of the anacondas good qualities in the process.tobedescendedfromsb:to be related to sb who lived a long time agoParagraph41.I was aware that many men who haveaccumulatedmoremillionsofmoneythantheycaneverusehaveshownarabidhungerformore,andhave not scrupled to cheat the ignorant and thehelplessoutof

17、theirpoorsavinginordertopartiallyappeasethatappetite.I knew that many men who have more money than they can ever use have shown a mad desire to get more,and they have not hesitated to cheat poor people and their few saving in order to satisfy that desire.rabid:uncontrollable(Note:it is related to ra

18、bies,which is an acute,infectious and often fatal disease of dogs,also known as hydrophobia,transmitted by the bite of the infected animal)tohavenotscrupledtodosth:to be willing to do something even though it may be wrong or may upset people tocheatsboutofsth:to trick or deceive sb in order to get a

19、n advantage,e.g.to cheat sb out of his money or job or land,etctheignorantandhelpless:the uneducated and powerless people;the poor laboring people in generaltoappease:to satisfy or relieve(hunger,thirst,desire,etc)Brood overl lBrood:to keep thinking about something that you are worried or upset abou

20、t Dont sit at home brooding all day.l lbrood over/about/on Theres no point brooding over it-shes gone.by consentl lagreement about something The chairman was elected by common consent(=with most people agreeing).divorce by mutual consent(=by agreement between both the people involved)Paragraph71.Cat

21、sarelooseintheirmorals,butnotconsciouslyso.Man,inhisdescentfromthecat,hasbroughtthecatslooseness with him but had left the unconsciousnessbehindthesavinggracewhichexcusesthecat.Cats are immoral,but they do not know it.They just cant help it.Man has inherited cats looseness,but not their innocence,wh

22、ich is what excuses the cat for its low morals.tobelooseinmorals:immoral thesavinggrace:the one good thing that makes someone or something acceptable His sense of humor was his only saving grace.be alive to a fact/possibility/danger etcl lto know that a particular fact etc exists and that it is impo

23、rtant The company is alive to the threat posed by foreign imports.Paragraph81.Indecency,vulgarity,obscenity-these are strictlyconfinedtoman;heinventedthem.These are only mans problems.They are limited to man.They only happen to man 2.No-ManistheAnimalthatBlushes.Heistheonlyonethatdoesit-orhasoccasio

24、nto.No,man is not the only animal that laughs,but it is true that man is the animal that blushes.He is the only animal that does it or has the need to.tohaveoccasiontodosth:to have the need or necessity to do sth NoticethatMarkTwainissayingherethatonlymanneedstoblushbecauseheconsciouslydoesbad,immor

25、althings.Paragraph91.Man-when he is King John,with a nephew torenderuntroublesome,heusesared-hotiron;In the case of King John who wanted to get rid of his nephew he used a red-hot iron to torture him.to render sb untroublesome:to cause sb to become untroublesome;to prevent sb from making trouble for

26、 him(King Johns throne had been stolen from his nephew.Therefore he thought his nephew posed a threat to him.)2.in the first Richards time he shuts up amultitudeofJewFamiliesinatowerandsetsfiretoit;tosetfireto:to make sth start burning Notice that it does not mean the same as“to make/light a fire”or

27、“to build a fire”.3.Thecatismoderate-unhumanlymoderate,she doesnt dig out its eyes,or drive splintersunder its nails-man-fashion;when she is doneplayingwithit,shemakesasuddenmealofitandputsitoutofitstrouble.unhumanlymoderate:reasonable,not so violent,not so excessive or extreme,unlike human beings(U

28、nhumanly is not to be mixed up with inhuman.It is actually a word coined by the writer.)man-fashion:like man;as man does tobedongdoingsth:to finish doing sthtomakeamealof:to eat it uptoputsboutofhistrouble:to end sbs trouble Paragraph111.Thereisnotanacreofgroundontheglobethatisinpossessionofitsright

29、fulownerNot a single pieces of land is in the hands of its original owner.Every piece of land has been stolen.MarkTwainisreferringtothefactthattheworldhasbeen,inthecourseofhistory,dividedandre-dividedcountlesstimesthroughwar.Paragraph121.Man is the only Slave.And he is the onlyanimalwhoenslaves.Heha

30、salwaysbeenaslaveinone form or another,and has always held otherslavesinbondageunderhiminonewayoranother.Mark Twain is referring to the idea that in the history of human civilization,our society has always been based on some kind of exploitation of man by man.No one is free.Everyone is a slave of on

31、e form or another and at the same time enslaved those under him.toholdsbinbondage:to keep sb in the state of being a slave Paragraph131.andintheintervalsbetweencampaignshewashestheblood off his hands andworks for“the universalbrotherhoodofman”-withhismouth.and when they are not fighting each other,t

32、hey will start talking about peace and universal brotherhood,but without any sincerity.Man,according to Mark Twain,is not only cruel and warlike,but also hypocritical.toworkforwithhismouth:to pay lip service to;to give empty promises totheuniversalbrotherhood:the idea that all living human beings ar

33、e brothers and sisters to each other四海之内皆兄弟的思想；博爱Notethatthewordman=humankind（menandwomen）。Theworldbrotherhoodalsoincludeswomeninthissense.Paragraph141.Man is the Religious Animal.He is the onlyReligiousAnimal.HeistheonlyanimalthathastheTrueReligion-severalofthem.Man claims to be the only animal cap

34、able of religious belief.Religion of course is considered here something much more important and noble than animal instincts because it emphasizes the spiritual and moral life of human beings.But Mark Twain sneers at this because the different religious in the world have resulted in endless religiou

35、s suppressions,persecutions and wars.2.HewasatitinthetimeoftheCaesars,hewasatitinMohammedstime,hewasatitinthetimeoftheinquisition,hewasatitinFranceacoupleofcenturies,hewasatitinEnglandinMarysday,hehadbeenatiteversincehefirstsawthelighttobeatsth:to be engaged in a certain activityTheCaesars:in the ti

36、mes of Caesars,the early Christians were cruelly persecuted by the Romans.Julius CaesarMohammed:in Mohammeds time,the Muslims were cruelly persecuted.Inquisition:it means that“inquiry”or“investigation”.Specifically,it refers to the former tribunal in the Roman Catholic Church directed at the suppres

37、sion of heresy.(Queen)Mary:in Marys day,the Protestants were persecuted.toseethelight:to come into existence,to be born.Mary Tudor:commonly known as Bloody Mary,Queen of England.Paragraph171.And so I find that we have descended anddegenerated,from some far ancestor-somemicroscopicatomwanderingatitsp

38、leasurebetweenthemightyhorizonsofadropofwaterperhapsdownthelonghighwayofperfectinnocence,tillAnd so I find that without knowing it,we have descended and deteriorated from our ancestor-some tiny atom which moved about freely and happily in the huge world of a drop of water perhaps perfectly innocence

39、 during this long process of change until we have fallen to the bottom,to the lowest stage of our development and become human beings.todosthatonesownpleasure:to do sth when you want to microscopic:extremely small,only seen under a microscope mighty:awesomely hugethe long highway of perfect innocenc

40、e:the long process of our change from one insect into another,one animal into another and one reptile into another,all completely innocent,until we become human beings and lose all our innocence.Organizationofthetext:This slightly abridged essay is organized like a paper to report results of a scien

41、tific experiment.It has a thesis statement at the beginning and a brief summing-up at the end.The main body is arranged according to the various straits and disposition of human beings as contrasted to the“higher animals”.However in the second part of the body the author begins to use a polemic tone

42、.He seems to be arguing with people who believe in mans superiority because they can reason,have moral principles and religion,and love their neighbors and country.Conclusionofthetext:It is wrong to think that Mark Twain is pessimistic or cynical.He is neither.Behind all the bitterness is a warm and

43、 human heart.Mark Twain does not really believe that human beings are incurably cruel,greedy and wicked.Otherwise he would not have bothered to write those essays.He writes about ugly human traits and dispositions precisely because he thinks human beings are capable of mending their ways if they can

44、 open their eyes to their own weaknesses and understand the conditions that give rise to them and nurture them.In other words,his policy is to frighten in order to enlighten.Homework:In Book 3,there is a text entitled“We Are Only Human”in which the author strongly argues that we human beings should be and can be superior to other animals.But in this article,the author feels strongly that human beings are the least fit for survival.What do you think of these two authors views?