unit 11 unit 11 the midnight visitor the midnight visitor robert arthur robert arthur robert arthur...

Unit 11Unit 11 The Midnight VisitorThe Midnight Visitor Robert Arthur

Robert Arthur was born on November 10, 1909, at Fort Mills, Corregidor Island, the Philippines. Arthur graduated from the University of Michigan in 1930 with a B.A. in English. After working as an editor at one of the Publications, he returned to the University of Michigan where he received his M.A. in Journalism in 1932. He then moved to New York City, where he lived in Greenwich Village. During this time, he began writing stories for publication in magazines. Between his graduation from Michigan in 1930 and 1940, his stories were published in Wonder Stories, Detective Fiction Weekly, Mystery, The Illustrated Detective Magazine, Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine, Amazing Stories, The Shadow, Street & Smith Mystery Reader, Detective Tales, Thrilling Detective, Double Detective, Startling Stories, Collier's, The Phantom Detective, Argosy Weekly, Unknown Worlds, and Black Mask.

In addition, during this time, Arthur worked as a writer and editor for western, fact detective, and screen magazines for Dell Publishing, and was associate editor( 副编辑 )of Photo-Story, a picture magazine published by Fawcett Publications. More significantly, he conceived and edited Pocket Detective Magazine for Street and Smith, the first pocket-sized, all-fiction magazine, in which several of his stories were published. In February 1938, he was married for the first time to Susan Smith Cleveland, a radio soap opera actress, from whom he was divorced in 1940. In 1940 he met the woman, Joan Vaczek, who became his second wife, in a class on the short story he took at Columbia University.

In addition, during this time, Arthur worked as a writer and editor for western, fact detective, and screen magazines for Dell Publishing, and was associate editor( 副编辑 )of Photo-Story, a picture magazine published by Fawcett Publications. More significantly, he conceived and edited Pocket Detective Magazine for Street and Smith, the first pocket-sized, all-fiction magazine, in which several of his stories were published. In February 1938, he was married for the first time to Susan Smith Cleveland, a radio soap opera actress, from whom he was divorced in 1940. In 1940 he met the woman, Joan Vaczek, who became his second wife, in a class on the short story he took at Columbia University.

That same year Arthur also took a class at Columbia University in radio writing, in which class he met his future writing partner, David Kogan, with whom he eventually wrote and produced his own radio show, The Mysterious Traveler, which aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System from 1944 until 1953, and which won the Edgar Allen Poe award for Best Mystery Radio Show of the Year in 1952 by the Mystery Writers of America. The Mysterious Traveler also aired as the retitled Adventure into Fear, and from 1948 to 1951 Arthur and Kogan also produced Dark Destiny, a dramatic TV series.

That same year Arthur also took a class at Columbia University in radio writing, in which class he met his future writing partner, David Kogan, with whom he eventually wrote and produced his own radio show, The Mysterious Traveler, which aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System from 1944 until 1953, and which won the Edgar Allen Poe award for Best Mystery Radio Show of the Year in 1952 by the Mystery Writers of America. The Mysterious Traveler also aired as the retitled Adventure into Fear, and from 1948 to 1951 Arthur and Kogan also produced Dark Destiny, a dramatic TV series.

In December of 1946 Arthur and Vaczek were married, and moved to Connecticut[ 美 ] 康涅狄格（州） and later New York, where they had two children Robert Andrew Arthur and Elizabeth Ann Arthur. After 1952, Arthur worked as a co-producer for the radio show Mystery Time. In 1959, after his divorce from Joan Vaczek, Arthur moved to Hollywood where he worked in television. He wrote scripts for The Twilight Zone, and he worked as a story editor and script writer for Alfred Hitchcock's TV show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1962 he moved back from Hollywood to Cape May, New Jersey where he lived with his father's aunt Margaret Fisher Arthur until his death in 1969.

In December of 1946 Arthur and Vaczek were married, and moved to Connecticut[ 美 ] 康涅狄格（州） and later New York, where they had two children Robert Andrew Arthur and Elizabeth Ann Arthur. After 1952, Arthur worked as a co-producer for the radio show Mystery Time. In 1959, after his divorce from Joan Vaczek, Arthur moved to Hollywood where he worked in television. He wrote scripts for The Twilight Zone, and he worked as a story editor and script writer for Alfred Hitchcock's TV show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1962 he moved back from Hollywood to Cape May, New Jersey where he lived with his father's aunt Margaret Fisher Arthur until his death in 1969.

Warming-up QuestionsWarming-up Questions Warming-up QuestionsWarming-up Questions

Have you ever read any stories or seen any movies of secret agents ?

What is your impression of a secret agent ?

Who is the best-known image of a secret agent ever invented ?

Warming-up Questions Warming-up Questions

Please enjoy the following pictures in Hollywood movies and give your description of 007—James Bond , the best-known secret agent ever invented across the world, and make a comparison between Ausable and 007.

《诺博士》 Dr. No 《诺博士》 Dr. No 《女王密使》On Her Majesty's Se

cret Service

《女王密使》On Her Majesty's Se

cret Service

《杀人执照》 Licence to Kill

《杀人执照》 Licence to Kill

《黄金眼》 Goldeneye

《黄金眼》 Goldeneye

《择日再死》Die Another Day

《择日再死》Die Another Day

《明日帝国》Tomorrow Never Die

s

《明日帝国》Tomorrow Never Die

s

Possible words used to describe 007:

youngyoung strongstronghandsome

handsome attractive attractive

intelligent intelligenthaving infinite

powershaving infinite

powers

In contrast to 007, what is the image of the secret agent called Ausable in the Midnight Visitor ? Try to describe him, please.

sloppysloppy fatfatunhealth

yunhealth

yno gunsno guns no linguistic geniusno linguistic genius nothing

mysterious nothing

mysterious nothing romantic nothing romantic

nothing exciting nothing exciting

Think about itThink

about it

Being a secret agent so far away from the commonly accepted image, what is it that makes Ausable so uncommon?

In the case of Ausable, the most outstanding feature must be his wisdom, his presence of mind and his quick wit. He is not strong physically, but he can beat his enemy. He is fat and slow, but he reacts very quickly. He carries no weapon, but he has an excellent brain which is more powerful than any magic weapon. He appears helpless, but he gets rid of his deadly enemy without lifting a finger. There is no shooting or fighting, but the battle of wits is even more exiting and gripping.

It is precisely this commonness that makes him so uncommon. The author is very clever in portraying him in this way in contrast to the general image because it makes the story fresh, unexpected and dramatic.

Text Appreciation

Structure of the text

Part 1 (para. 1- ) about:

Part 2 (para. ) about:

Part 3 (para. ) about:

5who Ausable is &why Fowler wants to see him

6-16 the unexpected visit of Ausable’s adversary Max

17-26 how Ausable outwits Max and makes him jump onto the “balcony”

In-class DiscussionIn-class Discussion In-class DiscussionIn-class Discussion

What was Fowler’s first impression of Ausable?

How did Fowler get his first thrilling experience of the day?

How did Ausable deal with the situation?

How did Ausable finally outwit Max?

Paraphrase the following sentences:

1. Ausable was not at all what a secret agent should look like.2. . …it was not the kind of place suitable for a romantic person like a secret agent.3. . …his French and German were not very good, but acceptable.4. . … the sound of pistol fire and the use of drugs in somebody’s wine to make him fall asl

eep.5. . …Soon you will see a document/a report come to me and when I receive that paper, I’ll

place it in the hands of the proper authorities. By that time I will have fulfilled my task/mission.


6. You frightened/surprised me.7. We can assume that Max is an Eastern German defending the secret document of

new Russian missiles. The question is not in whose hands it will be safer. It is a life-and-death struggle.

8. He was making up a story, which turned out to be a trap for Max. to make Max swallow his bait, Ausable pretended to be angry with the management explained to Fowler why he was going to complain to the management about the balcony.


9. The night was pressing against the window blackly or threateningly. This was an important detail. Max could have seen that there was no balcony if it had not been so dark outside.

10. It could have been a sigh of relief, a sigh of satisfaction because everything had worked out exactly as he had planed.

But notice that Ausable remained completely calm throughout. For him this was not unusual experience. It had been obviously a frequent occurrence. Nothing terrible exciting, his attitude was a sharp contrast to the young writer Fowler.

FocusFocusFocusFocus

Examine the following sentences in Text A 1. …instead of having messages slipped into his hand by dark-ey

ed beauties… (para. 4) 2. Keeping his body twisted so that his gun covered the fat man a

nd his guest… (para. 22) 3. For halfway across the room, … stood a man.(para. 6) 4. This is the second time in a month that somebody has gotten in

to my room … (para. 11) 5. It might have saved me some trouble had I known about it. (pa

ra12)6. I wish I knew how you learned about the report. (para. 15)7. Except for the gun, he did not look very dangerous. (para. 9)

Grammar ExercisesGrammar Exercises Grammar ExercisesGrammar Exercises

1. In Australia, the Asians make their influence ___ in business large and small.

A. feeling B. feel

C. felt D. to be felt

2. His remarks left me ___ about his real purpose.

A. wondered B. wonder

C. to wonder D. wondering

CC

DD


3. You will see this product ___ wherever you go.

A. to be advertised B. advertised

C. advertise D. advertising

4.The manager promised to keep me ___ of how business was going on.

A. to be informed B. on informing

C. informed D. informing

BB

CC


5. To the north of the village ____ a small island.

A. lain B. lies

C. was there D. there lays

6. ____ at full speed.

A. Away the car went B. Away did the car go

C. Away was the car going D. Away went the car

BB

DD


7. You ___ him so closely; you should have kept your distance.

A. shouldn’t follow B. mustn’t follow C. couldn’t have been following D. shouldn’t have been following

8.When we reached the pier, the ferry had not arrived, so we ___.

A. needn’t have hurried B. needed not worry C. didn’t need to hurry D. need not to have worried

DD

AA


9. The millions of calculations involved, had they been done by hand, ___ all practical value by the time they were finished.

A. had lost B. would lose

C. would have lost D. should have lost

10. I wish I ___ longer this morning, but I had to get up and come to class.

A. could have slept B. slept

C. might have slept D. have slept

CC

AA

Word StudyWord Study Word StudyWord Study

figure: 1. symbol for a number He has an annual income of six figures. 2. diagram The blackboard is covered with geometrical figures li

ke squares and triangles. 3. human form I saw a figure approaching in the darkness. She is now on a diet to keep her figure.


4. person , esp. person of influence a great historical figure

figure… out: calculate; think about until one understands 我们必须想出解决这个问题的办法。 We must figure out how to solve the problem. 我想不出那位戴墨镜的夫人是谁。 I couldn't figure out who the lady with the sungla

sses was.


risk She is too sensible to take/run a risk when driving.

We’ll take /run the risk of being late.

He was determined to get there even at the risk of his life.

v. risk+ n.

-ing

To save that traveler, they had to risk getting caught in the storm.


start n.

[c] sudden movement of surprise, fear etc.

He sat up with a start.

The news gave him a start.

startle vt.

give a shock or surprise to

She was startled to see that man so pale.

What startling news it was that the building caught fire!


concerning prep.

This book deals with questions concerning China’s diplomatic policies.

synonyms:

regarding

with reference to

with respect to


command:

1. order

The officer commanded his men to fire.

The officer commanded that his men (should) fire.

2. control; hold back

command oneself / one’s temper

commanding adj.

He said in a commanding tone.

He is now in a commanding position.


blink: vt & vi. shut and open the eyes quickly

blink one’s eyes

blink away one’s tears

(fig) refuse to consider; ignore

blink at the law 无视法律你不能忽视那个事实。 You can't blink that fact.


gaze stare glance glimpse examples: We stood there, gazing at the beautiful scenery. They stared at her clothes in amazement. He stared at her straight in the eye. She glanced at her watch. He glanced through the report. He caught a glimpse of the Town Hall clock as

he drove past.


Ex. 6. 2) on P. 275

to glance at to stare at to gaze at

1. Miss Zhou __________ the memo and said my appointment with the president was at 4:00 p.m.

2. He just __________ her. He simply could not recall where he had met her.

3. I __________ the envelope and immediately recognized my mother’s handwriting.

glanced atglanced at

gazed atgazed at

glanced atglanced at


Ex. 6. 2) on P. 275

to glance at to stare at to gaze at

4. My father would sometimes sit at his desk, __________ the photo of my grandparents with tears in his eyes.

5. Why are you __________ me like this? What have I done wrong?

6. We call it the Moon Festival because on the night of that day, people will go outside and __________ the moon.

gazing atgazing at

staring atstaring at

gaze atgaze at

Word FormationWord Formation Word FormationWord Formation

Word formation: compound nouns1. n.+ n. doorbell seaside2. n.+v. heartbeat headache 3. adj. + n. greenhouse shorthand4. n.+ gerund daydreaming sun-bathing5. gerund + n. frying-pan sleeping-bag6. v. +adv. breakthrough dropout7. adv.+ v. income outbreak8. n.+prep.+n. sister-in-law mother-in-law 9. v.+pron.+adv. forget-me-not touch-me-not

Word FormationWord Formation Word FormationWord Formation Word formation: compound adjectives1. n..+ -ed thunder-struck sun-tanned 2. n.+ -ing peace-loving fault-finding meat-eating English-speaking3. n.+ adj. seasick taxfree knee-deep nation-wide 4. adj.+ -ed open-minded hot-tempered quick-witted cool-headed5. adv.+-ing hardworking everlasting well-behaved new-built

Word FormationWord Formation Word FormationWord Formation

Word formation: compound adjectives6. compound adjectives formed from phrases : 1) They kept a round-the-clock watch on the house.2) The police made an on-the-spot inspection.3) Jack is of the look-before-you-leap sort.4) He told the whole story in a matter-of-fact tone.5) I’ll cherish those never-to-be-forgotten days.6) …you will see a paper…come to me in the next-last-step of its journey into official hands.

Try to act out the movie.

After-class Assignment

unit 11 unit 11 the midnight visitor the midnight visitor robert arthur robert arthur robert arthur...

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