Unit Five A Mother’s Place

I. Objectives

1. to learn skimming and scanning in reading

2. to learn the new words and phrases

II. Skimming and scanning

1. Skimming

• Skimming and scanning are reading techniques that use rapid eye movement and keywords to move quickly through text for slightly different purposes.

• Skimming is reading rapidly in order to get a general overview of the material.

• Use skimming in previewing (reading before you read), reviewing (reading after you read), determining the main idea from a long selection you don't wish to read, or when trying to find source material for a research paper.

• Skimming can save you hours of laborious reading. However, it is not always the most appropriate way to read. It is very useful as a preview to a more detailed reading or when reviewing a selection heavy in content. But when you skim, you may miss important points or overlook the finer shadings of meaning, for which rapid reading or perhaps even study reading may be necessary.

• To skim, prepare yourself to move rapidly through the pages. You will not read every word; you will pay special attention to typographical( 印刷上的） cues-headings, boldface and italic type, indenting, bulleted and numbered lists. You will be alert for key words and phrases, the names of people and places, dates, nouns, and unfamiliar words. In general follow these steps: 

1) Read the table of contents or chapter overview to learn the main divisions of ideas.

2) Glance through the main headings in each chapter just to see a word or two. Read the headings of charts and tables.

3) Read the entire introductory paragraph and then the first and last sentence only of each following paragraph. For each paragraph, read only the first few words of each sentence or to locate the main idea.

4) Stop and quickly read the sentences containing keywords indicated in boldface or italics.

5)When you think you have found something significant, stop to read the entire sentence to make sure. Then go on the same way. Resist the temptation to stop to read details you don't need.

6)Read chapter summaries when provided.

2. Scanning

• Scanning is reading rapidly in order to find specific facts. It is a reading technique used when one wishes to locate a single fact or a specific piece of information with speed and accuracy.

• Scanning, too, uses keywords and organizational cues. But while the goal of skimming is a bird‘s-eye

（鸟瞰 , general survey of a subject ） view of the material, the goal of scanning is to locate and swoop down on( 扑向 )particular facts. Facts may be buried within long text passages that have relatively little else to do with your topic or claim

• Scanning is a technique that requires concentration and can be surprisingly tiring. You may have to practice at not allowing your attention to wander. Choose a time and place that you know works for you and dive in.

Reading skill practice

• Read the three passages in Fast Reading and apply the skills you have learned.

III. Background knowledge

The author: Donna Gamache(甘米西 ) was born in Minnedosa,

Manitoba( 曼尼托巴 ), in 1944 and currently lives in MacGregor, Manitoba. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba followed by one year of Education. She has taught language arts and social studies full-time at the secondary level and has worked as an elementary and secondary substitute teacher 代课老师 . She specializes in fiction, especially for children, but also writes some poetry and occasional non-fiction articles.

III. Warming-up activity

1. Class discussion: There is no denying the great role a mother has

played in one’s life, esp. in one’s childhood. However as one gets married, he has another woman in his life. The mother’s influence starts to diminish. There might be conflicts between the mother and daughter-in-law, esp. when they live together and share a lot of things. What are the ways to cope with the conflicts（矛盾，不和） ?

Causes for the conflicts

1) Generation gap （代沟）2) privacy （个人隐私）3) women’s sensitivity （敏感）4) kinship （血缘关系）5) too critical （挑剔） a mother 6) values （价值观）

1) tolerance （容忍）2) respect （尊重）3) compromise （妥协，让步）4) communication （沟通）5) crucial figure （关键人物） ---the son6 ） show your love

Solutions

2. Characters

Dorothy--- the motherTim--- the sonJenny--- the daughter-in-law The story develops as the mother starts to

misunderstand her daughter-in-law.

IV. Detailed study of the text

• The rain still fell in a silent gray sheet when Dorothy opened her bedroom curtains to peer outside.

in a silent gray sheet: it means the rain fell very heavily that it appeared like a gray sheet

to peer: to look intently with or as if with difficulty

(T)多萝西掀起卧室窗帘，看看窗外，雨还在无声地下着，外面灰蒙蒙的一片。

• “Old and gray and gloomy, just like me,” she added to herself, though it wasn’t exactly true.

Notice here the mother associated the rain and the weather with her mood at the moment. She felt she was old and depressed.

gloomy:

1 ） depressingly dark；阴沉的2 ） causing depression, dejection, or gloom 沮丧的；阴郁的

（ T “） 这天气和我一样，老气横秋，灰暗阴”沉， 她又加了一句，然而，事实并非完全如

此。

• And usually she acted younger than her years, if anything.

if anything ： if at all, if in any degree 如果有的话 (P)Even if there was anything that made her think that

she was getting old, actually she acted younger than her age.

(T) 即使她觉得自己老了，但平日里她的所作所为看起来根本不像 55 岁的人。

• She’d known it last night ， of course ，after the blow up with Jenny, Tim’s wife.

blow up: a violent argument, outburst of temper, or the like, especially one resulting in estrangement 争吵；大发脾气

• “Last night was just the tip of the iceberg. The rest will show up soon”

the tip of the iceberg: (Fig.) only the part of something that can be easily observed, but not the rest of it, which is hidden 冰山一角

(Referring to the fact that the majority of an iceberg is below the surface of the water.)

e.g. The problems that you see here now are just the tip of the iceberg. There are numerous disasters waiting to happen.

to show up: to come to or arrive at a place到来

• Not that anything has been said to that effect.

not that: used to state that you are not suggesting sth. 倒不是说，并不是说

to that effect: with that meaning 是（有）那个意思

(T) 倒不是说有人说过母亲已经没用了。

• They’d be in each other’s way, Dorothy knew.

in the/sb’s way: stopping sb. from moving or doing sth. 妨碍；挡…的路

（ T）多萝西明白，她们会彼此碍事。

• For a few minutes silence reigned.

to reign: to predominate; to be prevalent 主宰；支配

e.g. During the war, terror reigned.

（ P ） For a few minutes, everyone kept silent.

• He looked so much like Steve when he set his chin in that determined way.

determined: of unwavering mind; resolute; firm 坚决的，坚定的

(T) 他看上去真象史蒂夫，那样坚毅地昂着下巴。

Ⅴ. Figurative language

• “Old and gray and gloomy, just like me,”---simile

• Tim worked like a Trojan---simile• The tip of the iceberg---metaphor • The wind gone from the sails---metaphor• The wind has blown a weight of her

shoulders. ---metaphor

VI. Summary

• The main idea of the story is that Dorothy, the mother in the house, thought that she was redundant and decided to leave, but was convinced by her son and daughter-in law that she was welcomed and needed. This is the state of mind of old people when their children are married and have their own children, and also a social problem.