Unit 7 A Christmas Carol
介绍作者Charles Dickens
A Brief Life Story of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is considered to be one of the greatest English novelists of the Victorian period. Dickens's works are characterized by attacks on social evils, injustice, and hypocrisy （虚荣）.
Charles Dickens was born in Landport, Hampshire on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk in the navy pay office, who was well paid but often ended up in financial troubles. In 1814 Dickens moved to London, and then to Chatham, where he received some education. John，Dickens, continually living beyond his means, was finally imprisoned for debt at the Marshalsea debtor’s prison in Southwark in 1824. 12-year –old Charles was removed from school and sent to work at a boot-blacking factory earning six shillings a week to help support the family. Charles considered this period as the most terrible time in his life This childhood poverty and adversity contributed greatly to Dickens’ later views on social reform in a country and his compassion for the lower class, especially the children.
Dickens's career as a writer
of fiction started in 1833 when his short stories and essays appeared in
periodicals. His Sketches By Boz and The Pickwick Papers were published in
1836.In the same year he married the daughter of his friend George Hogarth,
Catherine Hogarth.
The Pickwick Papers were stories about a group of rather odd
individuals and their travels to Ipswich, Rochester, Bath and elsewhere.
Dickens's novels first appeared in monthly installments, including Oliver Twist (1837-39), which depicts
the London underworld and hard years of the foundling Oliver Twist.
Among his later works are David Copperfield (1849-50), where Dickens used his own personal experiences of work in a factory, Bleak House (1852-53), A Tale Of Two Cities (1859), set in the years of the French Revolution and Great Expectations (1860-61)
He died on June 9, 1870. The inscription on his tombstone in Poet’s Corner., Westminster Abbey reads：“He was a sympathizer to the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England’s greatest writers is lost to the world.”
语言要点
1. There are many things that do me good without bringing in profits.
bring in——produce as profit or income for sb., to introduce a new law or system, pick or gather crops
Farmers in the south have also brought in good crops.
He does odd jobs that brings him in 30 $ a week.
bring about bring up
bring…back bring forward
bring down
Scientists say that many factors __________ changes in weather.
There is a great demand to _________ the prices of oil these days.
The record industry is not __________ so much profit as before.
The plan for the celebration of 60th anniversary of our school _________ at the next meeting.
The picture ________ our happy childhood together.
答案：bring about；bring down；bringing in；will be brought forward；brought back
2. Many thousands are in want of basic needs; hundreds of thousands are in want of basic comforts, sir.
in want of——needing sth, in need of sth.
________________________________________________
（受地震灾害的人们急需食物和药品）
答案：The people suffering earthquake are in want of food and medicine.
in need of, in favour of,
in want of, in praise of,
in honour of, in the face of,
in hope of, in search of,
in charge of, in memory of,
in terms of, in anxiety of
（1）The work is not very profitable ___________ cash, but I am getting valuable experience from it.
（2）A true friend will try his best to help you _____________ danger.
（3）_______________reaching a place of safety no one stopped to help others.
（4）The curious children set out __________ the underground treasure.
（5）He was left ______________.（经理不在时，他负责这个商店）
（6）In poor condition, the house is ___________ repair.
（7）The leader spoke ___________ of those who made contribution to science.
（8）Are you ___________ women taking party in polities?
答案：
（1）in terms of （2）in the face of
（3）In anxiety of （4）in search of
（5）in charge of the shop when the manager is away
（6）in need of
（7）in praise
（8）in favour of
3. Revision：phrases with up
Tell the meaning of these phrases：
set up look up pick up
make up give up clean up
close up dig up dress up
open up roll up tear up
clear up cut up eat up
use up go up call up
ring up get up grow up
hurry up light up
Learn the meaning of pick up in the following sentences：
1. The performance started badly but picked up towards the end.
2. His father picks him up every day at school gate.
3. You can pick up BBC easily using this radio.
4. If you aren’t be careful, you will pick up cold easily.
5. She soon picked up French when she made friends with a French girl.
6. Where did you pick up the news?
What about make up?
1. The whole story is made up.
2. It took Andy Lau more than three hours to make up every time in this film.
3. I will make up for your sufferings of all these years.
4. Our body is made up of cells.
Fill in the blanks with proper phrases：
1. The sound of happy laughter ______________ memories of his childhood.
2. If you don’t know how to use a word, ________ the word _______ in a dictionary.
3. Hard work can _________ a lack of intelligence.
4. American society ___________________ people of different background.
5. In sports-meet, he __________ a new record of school in 100 meter race.
6. If temperature keeps _____________ , all our crops will be destroyed.
7. Her face ____________ with pleasure when she heard the good news.
8. _______________ your office before you leave the office.
答案：
1. called up 2. look，up
3. make up for 4. is made up of
5. set up 6. going up
7. lighted up 8. Clear up
完型填空：
Christmas is a religious ____1_____, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. The ancient emblems of the holly and the ivy, both evergreens, were ___2____ as Christian symbols, the ivy____3____ eternal life, the holly standing for Christ’s suffering.
Christmas is ___4____ a secular festival, ___5____ families travel in order to be together. We eat special Christmas food: a roast bird, roast potatoes, bacon, sausages, bread or onion sauces, make up the first ____6_____. The sweet course is Christmas pudding, made with suet and dried fruit and perhaps brandy, and boiled. In my childhood, there were always made ____7____ in November. Everybody had to take a ____8____ at stirring the mixture, and make a wish. This was ____9____ for children, ___10_____ Christmas is the time for parties and presents. Now Christmas pudding is bought ___11____ at the supermarket and heated up in the microwave. The same is true of mince pies. These foods are ___12____ because our ancestors needed fat in their diet to ___13____ the cold. People decorate their houses with glittering paper chains, gold and silver and brightly coloured, and special electric lights.
In the weeks ___14____ Christmas , children are taken to see Father Christmas, an old man with a white beard in a red suit, who according to legend brings ____15____ for good children, He is said to live in Lapland and drive a sled ____16____ by reindeer. Children hang up stockings at the end of their beds, and in the morning find them filled with sweets, fruit and small toys. As well as the ____17_____, children receive money and larger gifts.
Christmas is celebrated in England and Wales. The ___18___ , who live in Scotland, in the north of the British Isles, take ___19_____ notice of Christmas, but celebrate ___20___ at New Year, which they call Hogmanay.
（ ）1. A. celebration B. festival C. day D. routine
（ ）2. A. kept B. accepted C. agreed D. adopted
（ ）3. A. representing B. having C. giving D. standing
（ ）4. A. but B. not only C. also D. however
（ ）5. A. because B. for C. when D. since
（ ）6. A. meal B. dish C. food D. course
（ ）7. A. at home B. in public C. in shops D. by hand
（ ）8. A. effort B. advantage C. step D. turn
（ ）9. A. exciting B. difficult C. different D. new
（ ）10. A. so B. as a result C. because D. although
（ ）11. A. ready made B. home made C. fresh D. easily
（ ）12. A. delicious B. welcome C. favourite D. traditional
（ ）13. A. keep out B. keep away C. keep off D. keep up
（ ）14. A. of B. before C. after D. during
（ ）15. A. luck B. happiness C. stockings D. presents
（ ）16. A. driven B. pulled C. pushed D. drawn
（ ）17. A. toys B. gifts C. stockings D. presents
（ ）18. A. people B. Scots C. British D. Englishmen
（ ）19. A. no B. small C. special D. close
（ ）20. A. instead B. for instance C. however D. on the contrary
答案：
1. B 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. A
6. D 7. A 8. D 9. A 10. C
11. A 12. D 13. A 14. B 15. D
16. A 17. C 18. B 19. B 20. A
阅读
A
When we meet another person for the first time, we are acturally flooded with new information, Almost at once, we notice his appearance, style of dress, and manner of speech. Furthermore, as we listen to what he has to say and observe the things he does, we begin to form some ideas of what kind of person he is and what he intends to do. As you know from your own experience, though, we do not only gather these separate pieces of information. Instead, we go further and combine them into a unified（使统一）picture. In short, we form an overall impression of each person we meet—an impression that can be favorable or unfavorable. But how precisely do we perform this task? How do we combine so much different information into a clear first impression with such quick speed? A great deal of research has been performed on this question, and results point to the following answer: We perform this task through a special type of averaging.
Expressed very simply our impressions of others seem to represent（代表）a weighted average of all information that can be gathered about them. That is, they reflect（反映）a process in which all information we have about others is averaged together—but with some facts, or input receiving greater weight than others. As you can readily see, this makes good sense. For example, in forming an impression of a new boss you would probably be affected to a much greater degree by how this person gives you orders （whether respectfully or not）than by the color of his or her eyes. The fact that not all information about other persons affects our impressions of them to the same degree, raises an important question: Just what kinds of input receive the greatest weight?
Again research provides some revealing（发人深思）answers.
1. This passage is mainly about ____________.
A. how our first impressions are expressed
B. how our first impressions are formed
C. how we can favorably impress others
D. how first impression affect our lives
2. According to the passage, the first impression is __________.
A. the result of quick look
B. not based on enough information
C. a combination of pieces of information
D. the observation of what a person does
3. Research has shown that first impressions are generally more affected by ________.
A. the way others speak
B. appearance and style of dress
C. all information we have
D. certain types of information at hand
4. The word“weight”in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to __________.
A. amount B. research
C. importance D. difficulty
5. The following paragraph will most probably discuss ___________.
A. wrong first impression of other people
B. selected information for forming first impression
C. the importance of first impression in job situation
D. ways of making good first impression
答案：
1. B 2. C 3. D 4. C 5. B
B
If you ask an Englishman about the press in his country, he will almost certainly begin talking about the morning daily and Sunday “national newspaper”,all of which now have their head offices in London. Later, almost as an afterthought, he may go on to talk about the provincial morning dailies, the London and provincial evening papers, and finally the weekly local papers. The leading position of the national daily papers is due to the smallness of the country, with every large town in England and Wales able to be reached by train in less than five hours from London. A paper printed in London around midnight can be at any breakfast table in England the next morning, except in remote country districts. All over the country, most people read the same newspapers and the leading position of the London papers may reflect a lack of regional identity.
The press, including weekly magazines and local newspapers, is mostly owned by one of about five large organizations. Independent small newspaper-publishers find it very difficult to survive, and many newspapers have stopped publication during the past twenty years—including even some national ones. But the huge organizations, or empires, differ from one another and are themselves not static.
The national dailies are generally classed as either“quality”（The Times, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph）or“popular”. The “quality”papers give more comprehensive coverage of all aspects of news, while the “popular”papers aim for a more general readership, they also cost less. The number of newspapers sold, in relation to the population is higher in Britain than in any other country except Sweden.
1. The national daily papers have a leading position in Britain because _________.
A. they are supported by the government
B. they give more comprehensive coverage of all aspects of news
C. they cost less
D. the country is small
2. The press in Britain is mostly owned by few large organizations. How many are they?
A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five.
3. Which is true about the huge press organizations in Britain?
A. They only own weekly magazines and local newspapers.
B. They has made it difficult for the independent small newspaper-publishers to survive.
C. They are similar to each other.
D. They has stopped publishing local newspapers.
4. Which of the following is not one of the“Quality”papers mentioned?
A. The Observer. B. The Times.
C. The Guardian. D. The Daily telegraph.
答案：
1. D 2. D 3. B 4. A
写作训练：
根据以下提示, 写一篇介绍美国著名作家海明威的文章. 字数 １００左右。可以适当增加内容。
Name：Earnest Hemingway
Birth place：Oak Park, Illinois
Birth：1899
Hobbies：hunting, fishing, sports and so on
Experience：newspaper reporter
Take part in the First World War
Stay in Paris after the War
Publish stories and novels
Works：The Sun Also Rises
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The Old Man and the Sea
Achievement：Nobel Prize for literature
Death：1961, kill himself with a gun
答案：
Possible Version:
Earnest Hemingway, the famous American writer, was born in Oak Park, Illinois in the year 1899. From his childhood, he has gone in for hunting, fishing , sports and so on.
When he was young , he used to be a newspaper reporter, and later he took part in the First World War as an ambulance driver. After the war, he lived in Paris for some time , when he started his career of writing. He published a series of stories and novels, the most famous of which are The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. Because of his great achievement, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.
To our sadness, he killed himself with a gun in 1961.