1main idea of each paragraph Paragraph1 mainly tells of his approach in forming the War Cabinet and how much of his job he has completed. In para.2, Churchill asks the House for a vote of confidence. Para.3 mainly includes Churchill’s most famous remark:” I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” In para.4, Churchill declares the policy and the aim of the new Government and appeals for unity and strike with united strength.
2 which one is the highlight of this speech?
The last paragraph is the highlight of the speech, which lays out the policy and the aim: the policy is to wage war and the aim is victory.
3what rhetorical devices does Churchill employ to give strength to his speech? As this is a speech to the House, formal, parliamentary language is used by Churchill. For example,” I now invite the House, by the Resolution which stands in my name, to record its approval of the steps taken and to declare its confidence in the new Government.” In order to give strength to his speech, repetition is employed as the rhetorical device. Besides, short and long sentences are also interwoven to achieve effect.
第二课：life on the farm is an eternal battle against nature. There is always the…
1topic sentence: life on the farm is an eternal battle against nature.
2how does the writer develop the main idea? The writer of this paragraph does not develop the main idea properly.
3has the writer succeeded in achieving unity? No, the writer has failed to achieve unity. He/she has forgotten about what he/she had started out to say. Instead of being an "eternal battle against nature life on the farm becomes a pleasant and exciting experience in his/her description, which deviates from the main theme.
第六课：it was amusing to look round the filthy little scullery and think that only a double door was…
1 central idea of the paragraph: George Orwell has mainly described “the filthy little scullery” in this paragraph.
2how does the paragraph begin? The paragraph begins with a comparison between the little scullery and the splendid dining-room just a few feet away.
3what method is used in developing the central idea? He develops the main idea of his paragraph by a lot of descriptive details (“we slithered about in a compound of soapy water, lettuce-leave, torn paper and trampled food”; “a dozen waiters with their coats off, showing their sweaty armpits, sat at the table mixing salads and sticking their thumbs into the cream pots” “The room had a dirty, mixed smell of food and sweat”; etc.) The writer also uses concrete words to make the description vivid.
第九课：we heard the plane come over at noon, roaring through the radio news…
1where did the story take place? The story took place in the countryside.
2what happened at the beginning? The story began by describing how a small plane painted red and silver landed across the road where the fairgrounds used to be. The spot was near the house of the Peebles and so they heard the loud sound of landing.
3who is the story narrated by? The narrator was a young girl who worked as a maid for the Peebles.
4 what can you infer about the narrator? She came from a farmer’s family and dropped out of high school because of poor performance. Mr. Peebles, who was animal doctor, met her at her home when he was helping her father’s cow deliver twins, and thought she was a clever girl and could be a help to his wife who kept house and looked after two children. The narrator was fifteen then and it was her first time away from home.
第十课：my last night in New Jersey, a white friend from New York took me to the nearest big town…
1what did James and his white friend do one night in New Jersey? One night James and his white friend went to the movies and had a few drinks in Trenton, New Jersey.
2what happened to him? When the movie ended, they walked into a diner named “ American Diner” and asked for a hamburger and a cup of coffee. However, the counterman answered “we don’t serve Negroes here.” Bald made some sardonic comment about the name of the diner and then they walked out into the streets. When they reentered the streets, something happened to Baldwin which had the force of an optical illusion, or a nightmare. The streets were very crowded and Baldwin got the illusion that all the white people were moving toward him, against him, and their faces gleamed. He wanted to defend himself by crushing these white faces which were crushing him. Then he walked for perhaps a block or two and walked into an enormous, glittering, and fashionable restaurant and sat at a table for two, and waited. Once again, he was refused by a waitress who was frightened at seeing a black man. She also said “We don't serve Negroes here." with a note of apology and fear in her voice. Baldwin got so angry that he picked up a water-mug half full of water and threw it at her with all his strength. But it missed her and shattered against the mirror. All the people in the restaurant were shocked and a round man grabbed him as reached the doors and began to beat him about the face. In the end, he managed to get rid of his pursuers and the police with the help of his friend.
3what conclusion did he arrive at about himself? From this incident, Baldwin arrived at the conclusion about himself that he could have been murdered and he had been ready to commit murder. He saw that his life, his real life, was in danger, not from anything other people might do but from the hatred he carried in his own heart.
第十一课：people live in two worlds. Like all living things, we inhabit the natural world, created over the…
1main idea of each paragraph: 1= people live in two worlds: the natural world and the world of our own creation. We accept responsibility for events in our own world, but not for what occurs in the natural one.
2= the division between these two worlds has now been breached. Humans are responsible for natural catastrophes.
3=human activity has altered the global conditions profoundly and caused numerous environmental problems.
4=the human attack on the ecosphere has instigated an ecological counterattack and the two worlds are at war.
2where is the thesis of the passage stated? The thesis of the passage is stated in the last paragraph.
3what striking metaphor does the writer use to…? The writer uses war metaphor to sum up his main argument.
第十二课：like others, I learned of Jobs’ passing on an Apple device. S and I were just on our way out the…
1 how does the author begin the article? The author begins the article by relating how she learned of Jobs’ passing from her iPhone, which is an Apple device.
2why does she begin this way? In this way, the author links herself and the readers through the same device that they use in daily life.
3the function of Para 2: Para 2 is a transitional one, functioning as a link between the first and the last two paragraphs.
4the main ideas of last two paragraphs: the last two paragraphs are about the general influence of Jobs and Apple device.
5why does the author say “Jobs had a Promethean quality to him”? Because, like Prometheus, who brought fire to human beings, Jobs also gave us fire, which is knowledge. It is a metaphorical comparison of Apple technology to fire. Jobs changed our notion of technology.
第十三课; the only surprise about the economic crisis of 2008 was that it came as a surprise to so many.
1 what is the passage about? The passage is mainly about how the American economic crisis of 2008 developed from the bust of the housing bubble and then led to a financial and economic crisis globally.
2Main idea of each Para: the first Para is about the cause of the economic crisis: a deregulated market awash in liquidity and low interest rates, a global real estate bubble, and skyrocketing subprime lending. The second Para points out that the current “Made in the USA” crisis spread quickly around the world. The third Para is about the housing bubble and bust in the United States. The fourth Para talks about the real reason behind the housing crisis: being the richest country in the world, America was living beyond its means, and the American pattern of life of borrowing and consuming was unsustainable. In fact, many Americans were deep in debt. The fifth Para points out that the breaking of the bubble at first affected the worst mortgages, but soon affected all residential real estate. The sixth Para is about the role of the banks in the housing mortgage crisis. When the bubble burst, the global credit markets began to melt down. So there was a financial crisis. The last Para explains that America and the world were faced with both a financial and an economic crisis. And the unfolding residential real estate crisis and commercial real estate finally led to the collapse of American manufacturing.
3 how the Para logically organized? The Para are logically organized according to the cause and effect of the economic crisis.
第十四课 in a performance-oriented society such as ours, we strive to do well-but what we do is…
1what is the passage about? The passage is mainly about the defects of GDP as a measure for societal well-being. It also touches upon ways to improve it and an alternative measure for societal well-being-GNH.
2what are the problems with GDP…? According to the writer, the problems with GDP are: GDP doesn’t reflect the debts we owe to the nature or the degradation of the environment and the depletion of natural resources in the process of growth; GDP per capita doesn’t reflect the efficiency of social operation; average per capita GDP doesn’t reflect how much growth each member of society can share.
3what is GNH? GNH is gross nation happiness, attempted by Bhutan to measure the degree of happiness and sense of well-being among its citizens.
第十五课：the Eiffel Town was built in 18 to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution.
1what is the piece about? This piece is about people’s reaction to the construction of Eiffel Tower in 18 and what it represents. The Eiffel Tower is a work of pure engineer, a magnificent representation that represents only itself. it is a bridge rotated from horizontal to vertical, going against historical symbolism and the unique historical and cultural traditional of Paris which it dominates.
2why did the leaders of French establishment feel outraged about the construction of the…? The leaders of French establishment were outrage when they heard the cry of the Eiffel Tower because they thought it violated artistic taste.
3why does the writer call the Eiffel Tower “the first great icon…? Because it is a work of abstract art and can be read as a symbol of many things, but it is none of these things. It forces the viewer to look beyond historical myths to the revolution that surrounds him. It does not argue with history; it ignores history\\y.
