the greatest invention by lord dunsanny. text appreciation text analysis 1. general analysisgeneral...

The Greatest invention

By Lord Dunsanny

Text Text AppreciatioAppreciationn

Text Analysis

1. General Analysis

2. Structure of the Text

3. Further Discussion

Genre of the story

Plot of the story

Setting of the story

Protagonists of the story

Theme of the story

Text AnalysisText Analysis

General Analysis

Genre:

Plot:

Setting:

Protagonists:


modern fable

the development of the conflict between ascientist driven by his scientific curiosityand the government which wants to forcethe scientist to serve their political purpose

Caribbean area

the man in the Ministry of Warfare

& the scientist

Fable

A fable is a succinct( 言简意赅的 )story, in prose or verse, that

features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or

forces of nature which

are anthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates

a moral lesson (a “moral”), which may at the end be expressed

explicitly in a pithy（精辟的） maxim（格言） .

Modern fable

FableFable

Features:

fabled characters of more modern archetypes

using familiar characters in an unfamiliar setting

introduce people’s characters in modern life

updated message with contemporary circumstance and plot line


Through the story, the author makes us think about the purpose of science and the driving force of scientific development.

Theme:

Part 1 (Paras. 1— ):

Part 2 (Paras. ):

Part 3 (Para. ):


Structure of the Text

4

5—44

45

the story itself

the concluding paragraph

Why did Jorkens tell the story?

Sentence Sentence Paraphrase Paraphrase 11

I was tired of looking at the tropical sea, so I

went ashore and walked into a tavern to see if

they had any decent wines in that country.

(Para. 5)

to go to the shoreacceptable, good enough

Word BuildingWord Building

ashore (para. 5)ashore (para. 5)

prefix

a-: in a particular condition or way

Examples:

They were walking They were walking abreastabreast..

He was standing a few steps He was standing a few steps apartapart from them. from them.

She left the door She left the door ajarajar..

Many of those visitors came from Many of those visitors came from afarafar..


When the bottle had been uncorked and the wine poured out, like liquid tropical sunlight, I watched it go down under that black mustache. (Para. 5)

Simile:It suggests that the wine was pretty strong, like hot liquid sunlight.

omission of “had been”

The wine had been poured out.

go to 3

The bottle was opened and the wine was poured out. The man with black mustache drank it up although it was pretty strong, like hot liquid sunlight.

un-: +v. to show an

opposite

undress

unbutton

uncover

untie

unwrap

unmask

unpack

脱衣服

解开纽扣

揭开盖子，揭露

解开

打开包裹脱去面具解开包裹

uncork (para. 5)uncork (para. 5)

prefix

Word BuildingWord Building

A question: what will you do after drinking lots of wine?

• Sleeping?

• Becoming talkative and telling secrets which will not be told when clear-minded, or sth made-up, or boasting?

• Fuzzy-minded and doing things which hurt others like beating others, drunk-driving & creating collisions


“ And we had a scientist who, as I have since seen proved, had no rival west of the Atlantic.” (Para. 6)

And we had the very best scientist in Latin American countries as I have seen him proved without rival.

to be the very best

relative pronoun as the object of “seen”

More examples

a matter of sth/ doing sth: an issue concerning…

• Personally I can’t stand rock music, but I suppose it’s all a matter of opinion

used to say that people have different opinions about a subject

• It’s only a matter of time before somebody gets hurt sth. will happen eventually Anyone can get his/her Mr/Miss Right. It’s just a matter of

being in the right place at the right time. to tell that you only have to do a particular thing, or do

something in a particular way in order to succeed• a matter of life and death• a matter of taste/cost/price/luck…

外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs 民政部 Ministry of Civil Affairs

国防部 Ministry of National Defense 司法部 Ministry of Justice

商务部 Ministry of Commerce 财政部 Ministry of Finance

教育部 Ministry of Education 人事部 Ministry of Personnel

科学技术部 Ministry of Science and Technology 劳动和社会保障部 Ministry of Labor and Social Security

公安部 Ministry of Public Security 国土资源部 Ministry of Land and Resources

国家安全部 Ministry of State Security 住建部 Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development

监察部 Ministry of Supervision 铁道部 Ministry of Railways

文化部 Ministry of Culture 交通部 Ministry of Communications

卫生部 Ministry of Health 信息产业部 Ministry of Information Industry

农业部 Ministry of Agriculture 水利部 Ministry of Water Resources

Do you know the other ministries?

Word StudyWord Study7. Figure (Para 11)

n. a. shape b. person c. number d. character

e. an amount of money

You have to watch our diet if you want to keep your figure.

keeping unemployment figure down

both a political and a religious figure

to play the figure of a judge

an estimated figure of $200 million

a

b

d

c

Select the proper meaning

of “figure” in each sentence.

e

Word StudyWord Study5. charge

v. a. to rush in or as if in an attack b. to ask in payment c. to declare officially and openly

d. to load The hotel charged me $50 for a room for

the night.

Suddenly the wild animal charged at us.

He was charged with murder and betrayal.

The soldiers charged their guns and

prepared to fire.

b

c

d

a

Select the proper

meaning of “charge” in

each sentence.

Word StudyWord Study5. charge

n. a. an attack in which soldiers, wild animals etc rush with great force against sb

b. (c/u) the amount of money you have to pay for goods or services

c. control d. an official statement made by the police

saying that sb is guilty of a crime

your order will be delivered free of charge.

cavalry charges

I’ve been put in charge of the preparation.

The charge against her is arson.

b

c

d

a

Select the proper

meaning of “charge” in

each sentence.

Word StudyWord Study

8. glory

n. great honor; praise

Examples:

return with glory

in one’s glory

glorify oneself

a glorious death

凯旋得意之时自夸光荣的牺牲

Word formation

v. glorifya. glorious


2. aspiration

Word formation

v. aspire

n. a strong desire to have or achieve sth.

Examples:

When I was 12 I had aspirations to play professional football.

He had no political aspirations.

aspire

• Vi

• To desire and work towards achieving sth. important 追求，渴望，有志于

+to/after +to do sth

it was clear that … aspired to the leadership of Class …

Nowadays people all aspire to make good money.

a. soothing

adv. soothingly

Word StudyWord Study12. soothe

v. a. to make someone feel calmer and less anxious, upset or angry b. to make a pain less severe

Examples:

She soothed the child who was afraid.

I bought some lozenges(润喉糖 ) to soothe my

throat.

Word formation


But what if we know how to let loose a plague

capable of destroying whole nations? (Para. 16)

to let sb. or sth. free

What would happen if we know how to release a plague that can destroy whole nations?

adjective phrase as modifier

More examples

Word StudyWord Study10. plague

n. a. any disease causing death and spreading quickly to a large number of people

b. sth. that annoys youv. to cause trouble to sb.; to annoy sb.

Examples:A great many people have been swept away by the plague.That child is a plague of her life.The little boy plagued his father by begging over and over to go to the zoo.


1. I think he is a man suitable for the job.

2. Soldiers normally timid don’t fight well.

3. A man so difficult to please must be hard to

work with.


“ We knew that we had marvelous powers

within our grasp, if only Carasierra could be

kept at his work.” (Para. 18)

If we could keep Carasierra at his work, we

would be able to attain great power. go to 9

to force someone to continue to do sth.

to be able to achieve or attain sth.


“ Always spurred on by a fierce ambition. His

very life was devoted to making inventions.”

(Para. 20)

He was always driven by a strong ambition. He had given his whole life to making inventions.

to urge sb. to try harderused to

emphasize a noun

Word StudyWord Study13. spur

v. a. to encourage a horse to go fasterb. to incite or stimulate

n. a fact or event that makes you try harder to do sth.

Do sth on the spur of the moment: to do sth suddenly, without thinking about it before you do it:

Examples:The rider spurred on to his destination. It’s unlikely that harsh criticism will spur the students on to greater effortsLower housing price will spur the apartment sales.On the spur of the moment she picked up the phone and told her affection towards him.


a. very strong; done with very strong feelings and energy

6. fierce

fierce emotions

fierce attack

fierce competition

fierce anger

fierce look

fierce tempest

强烈的感情猛烈的进攻激烈的竞争极度愤怒面目狰狞狂风暴雨


(c/u). a sudden good idea about what you should do or say 灵感

6. inspiration

We haven’t started the preparation for the

Red May project, we’re still waiting for

aspiration

Word formation

inspire

to give sb the idea for a story, painting,

poem ect.

The romance was inspired by a chance

meeting with an old couple.

Word StudyWord Study1. appeal

v. a. to make a serious request for help, money, information b. to be attractive or interesting c. to make formal request to a court

Chinese

恳求，呼吁；有吸引力；上诉

Word formation

n. appeal

Examples:

She appealed to the kidnappers to release her son.

Does the idea of working abroad appeal to you?

If you are not satisfied, you can appeal.

• N.1(C) an urgent request for sth important 恳求，呼吁 appeal for : the UN’s appeal for a ceasefire appeal to sb to do sth: an appeal to parents to supervise

their children make/launch an appeal 2)(U) a quality that makes you like sb or sth, be interested in

them 感染力，吸引力 Pirates of Caribbean has great appeal for young audiences. sex appeal: the quality of being sexually attractive性感 3) (C,U) a formal request to a court or sb in authority上诉，申

诉 : an appeal to a higher court


appeal n.

Chinese

恳求，呼吁；吸引力；

上诉，申诉

Examples:

appeal for aid

an appeal to parents to supervise their children

The film has great appeal for young audience.

an appeal to the European court of Human Rights

Sentence Sentence Paraphrase Paraphrase 1010“ But nothing would turn him from his project.

The splendor of his new inspiration gripped him, and he was like a man drugged.” (Para. 23)

Nothing could divert his attention from his work. The impressive beauty of his new idea interested him greatly and he was like a man who had taken drug

to divert his attention from

his project


“ We were so nearly one of the Great Powers

but for a fancy that came to this man’s mind.”

(Para. 24)

If a fancy had not gripped this man, we would

have become one of the Great Powers.

if not for


“ … he fell then to silent brooding, gazing, as it seemed, into the past at the grip that his country had lost on the Caribbean, perhaps on the world.” (Para. 45)

He fell then to silent thinking. He looked

intently into the past when his country had lost

the power on the Carribbean, even the world.


4. brood

v. to keep thinking for a long time about sth. that makes you very angry or worried

Examples:

She sat there brooding on whether life

is worth living.

Don’t brood over lost opportunities.

Just as physicists worry about the

nature of matter, historians brood

about the study of man’s past.

What if a bird broods…

Chinese

沉思；念念不忘，计较；思考

Extension

• 1. a discussion: is the government official a terrorist? Why or why not?

• terrorism refers to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are done for a religious, political or ideological goal, deliberately target or disregard the safety of civilians, and are committed by non-government agencies.

• For a government, it’s called hegemonism

2. see the video and decide whether the man is a terrorist?

Words & expressions in the video

• Cross my heart and hope to die(在胸口划十字 )答应要做某事；发誓所说属实

• Install: 安装• Safeguard:安保措施• Apprehend：逮捕• State-of-the-art:尖端的

Quiz 1Quiz 1

alter thoughtful

brood beg

appeal change

dominate disease

idle think

plague control

considerate at leisure

Match the synonyms in

the two columns.

Quiz 2Quiz 2

1. There were some ______ flowers on the table.

a. artificial b. unnatural

c. false d. unreal

2. People were surprised to find that he had the

ability to _____ everything he was involved in.

a. precede b. dominate

c. effect d. instruct

a b

3. When people become unemployed, it is ____

which is often worse than lack of wages.

a. diligence b. poverty

c. idleness d. inability

4. Although the two players are ______ in the

tennis court, they are really good friends.

a. partners b. enemies

c. rivals d. companions

Quiz 2Quiz 2

c c

Quiz 2Quiz 2

d a

5. By _____ computation, he estimated that the

repairs on the house would cost him a

thousand dollars.

a. coarse b. rude

c. crude d. rough

6. He was _____ enough to understand my

questions from the gestures I made.

a. intelligent b. efficient

c. proficient d. diligent

7. A well-written composition ____ good choice

of words and clear organization among other

things.

a. calls on b. calls for

c. calls up d. calls off

8. Craig assured his boss that he would ____ all

his energies in doing this new job.

a. call on b. call for

c. call up d. call off

Quiz 2Quiz 2

b a

Quiz 2Quiz 2

b a

9. ______ the speech contest I would have

gone to the dance party last Sunday.

a. In spite of b. But for

c. Because of d. As for

10. I’m sure he is up to the job _____ he would

give his mind to it.

a. if only b. in case

c. until d. unless

11. Being somewhat short-sighted, she had the habit of _____ at people.

a. glancing b. peering c. gazing d. scanning

12. In spite of the wide range of reading material specially written or ______ for language learning purpose, there is yet no comprehensive systematic program for the reading skills.

a. adapted b. acknowledged c. assembled d. appointed

Quiz 2 Quiz 2

b a

Quiz 2Quiz 2

a c

13. ______, the little girl can help her mother

with some housework.

a. Young as she is b. Young as is she

c. As she is young d. As is she young

14. ______ is known to the world, Mark Twain is

a great American writer.

a. That b. Which

c. As d. It

Quiz 2Quiz 2

b

15. American will never again have as a nation

the spirit of adventure ______ before the

West was settled.

a. as it was b. as it did

c. like it did d. like it was

17. He built a telescope ________ which he could

study the skies.

a. on b. in

c. from d. through

18. The desk ________ which Jack is leaning is

John’s.

a. of b. for

c. against d. on

Quiz 2Quiz 2

d c

1. The ship got ______ on a rock. (shore)

2. Mr. Spears did not ______ to obtaining a

better position in life. (aspiration)

3. The right hand is ________ in most people.

(dominate)

4. A sword rusts in _______. (idle)

Quiz 3Quiz 3

ashore

aspire

dominant

idleness

Fill in the blanks with the proper

form of the given words.

5. A brave leader is an _________ to his followers.

(inspire)

6. There is keen _____ for these appointments.

(rival)

7. He’s very unhappy about her promotion; he

seems to feel that his own job is _________.

(threat)

Quiz 3Quiz 3

inspiration

rivalry

Fill in the blanks with the proper

form of the given words.

threatened

the greatest invention by lord dunsanny. text appreciation text analysis 1. general analysisgeneral...

Documents

story plot

story setting

story protagonists

story theme

hurt sth

matter of time

beenthe wine

hot liquid sunlight