Unit 8

Travel

Text A In the Jungle

I. Lead-in

II. Text Analysis

III. Language Points

V. Presentation and exercises

Lead-in

1. Background Information2. Discussion

Annie Dillard (1945--)

A nature writer and Pulitzer Prize winner.

Text A is taken from Teaching a Stone to Talk (Expeditions and Encounters) (1988).

Annie Dillard

Background Information

Amazon river

Amazon river

Amazon river from the air

Amazon （ river ）： river in northern South America ， largely in Brazil ， ranked as the largest in the world in terms of watershed area ， number of tributaries ， and volume of water discharge Measuring 6 ， 400 km （ 4 ， 000 mi ） from source to mouth ， lt is second in length only to the Nile among the rivers of the world With its hundreds of tributaries ， the Amazon drains a territory of more than 6 million sq km （ 2 ． 3 mullion sq mi ）， roughly half of which is in Brazil ； the rest is in Peru ， Ecuador, Bolivia ， and Venezuela ．

It is estimated that the Amazon discharges between 34 million and 121 million liters （ 9 million and32 mullion gallons ） of water per second and deposits a daily average of 3 million tons of sediment near its mouth ． The annual outflow from the river accounts for one-fifths of all the fresh water that drains into the oceans of the world ．The outpouring of water and sediment is so vast that the salt content and color of the Atlantic Ocean are altered for a distance of about 320 km （ about 200 mi ） from the mouth of the river.

Discussion

1. What are some distinctive features of an out-of-the-way, inaccessible place such as a jungle, desert, or remote mountainous area?

2. Why would such a place appeal to many people today? What are the characteristics of those people who are attracted to such places?

Text Analysis

1. Part Division

2. Comprehension

Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas

Part 1 Par. 1-5 Description of the Napo River and surrounding jungle scenery at night, together with the author’s reflections on it.

Part 2 Par. 6-8 Recalling what happened to her at their arrival at the village and what others felt about the Napo River and the people there.

Part 3 Par. 9-18 Detailed description of journeying in the jungle and her feelings about it.

Part Division

Comprehension

1.Where did Dilliard and her group travel in the essay? How many people were they?

2.How does the author describe the summer night in the jungle?

3.What is the point of going to the Napo River in Ecuador according to the author?

4. What animals did they see while canoeing on one of the lakes?

5. What did they eat that night in the village? And what did they see there?

Language Points

1. Vocabulary

2. Sentences

1. out-of-the-way (L1)

(1) (a) far away from cities and difficult to reach; remote; far-off; far-away

We have bought a little cottage, quite out of the way. (b) exceptional; uncommon He has done nothing out of the way. (c ) well resolved I feel better, now that one problem is out of the way.

out-of-the-way (L1)

(2) out of sight (L69): The woman didn’t go into the house until her

daughter drove away and slowly faded out of sight.

(3) out of range(L86): too far away to be reached, seen or heard

in/ within / out of /beyond (firing) range 在射程以内（以外） She was out of range (of my voice).

2. stump (L3)

(1) 树桩；残余部分 the stump of a cigarette, a pencil, a tooth, a limb ( 香烟头，铅笔头， 残牙， 残肢 ) (2) sapling 树苗 , trunk, bark, shade of a tree / tree

shade, shadow of the trees, wart 树瘤 , tree-crown树 冠 , crotch of a tree / fork 树 杈 , leaf, annual ring, branch, bough 粗树枝 , twig 嫩枝 , knot 节疤 , the tip of a tree / treetop 树梢， limb 树主枝

3. spatter (L11)

it suggests larger amounts of paint, mud, blood, etc being thrown at sb. and making him or her dirty.

spatter sth. on /over sb./sth. ; spatter sb./sth. with sth.

e.g. --- spatter oil on one’s clothes / spatter one’s clothes with oil --- The bus spattered them with mud as it passed in the rain.

4. illumine (formal) = illuminate (L12)

• (1) shine light on • ---The sky was illumined by flashes from the

volcano.• ---Torches illumined the picnic areas.• (2) decorate sth. with bright lights for a special

occasion• ---All the streets are illumined at Christmas.• (3) make sth. clear; help to explain • ---This book illuminates the whole problem.

5. tangle (L14) (1) v. (a) (cause sth. to) become twisted into a confused mass

His hair tangles easily.

(b) tangle with sb./sth.---become involved in a quarrel or fight with sb./sth.

I wouldn’t tangle with him, if I were you.

5. tangle (L14)

5. tangle (L14) (2) n. (a) confused mass (of string, hair, etc.) The wool got in a fearful tangle.

Her hair was full of tangles after being out in the wind.

(b) confused condition His mind was in a complete tangle.

6. stir (L17) (L105)

⑴ stir the soup with a spoonI put milk in my tea and stirred.

⑵ (cause sth. to) move slightly A gentle breeze stirred the leaves (her hair, the curtains).

Not a leaf stirred.⑶excite or arouse (a person or his feelings, etc.)The story stirred the boy’s imagination.Old memories stirred as she looked at the photographs.

⑷ stir-fry ： v. （用旺火）快炒 n. （东方式）炒菜

⑸stir : n. Give the soup a stir. The book caused quite a stir. ⑹stirring: very exciting He made a stirring speech and everyone

cheered.

7. twine (L18)

v. (cause sth. to) twist, coil or wind round sth.

编， 搓， 扎 She twined her hair into braids( 辫子 ).

He made a rope by twining strings.

The vine twines around the tree.

A snake twined over the ground.

8. dissolve ( L20)

(1) become incorporated into a liquid so as to form a solution

Water dissolves salt.Salt dissolves in water.Dissolve the salt in water.

⑵ fade away; disappearThe view dissolved in mist.The mountains dissolved behind a thick curtain of

clouds.All his hopes dissolved at the terrible news.

8. dissolve ( L20) ⑶ (cause sth. to) come to an end

Parliament dissolved (or was dissolved).

dissolve a business partnership, a marriage, an agreement

(4) dissolve in sth. 情不自禁 (can’t help doing sth.)

dissolve in tears/laughter/giggles

9. disembark (L25)

disembark from a ship, a planedisembark passengers , goods from the plane the prefix “em” 置于…之内，上…emplane （使）乘飞机；把…装入飞机embay 使入海湾， embed 嵌入bark （三桅帆船）；（诗）小船embark （使）上船或飞机； 搭载

10. slump (L25)

(1) v. (a) sit or fall down heavily He slumped onto the sofa , completely exhausted.(b) ( of prices, trade, business activity) fall suddenly

or greatlyThe company’s shares slumped last month.Sales slumped by 20% last year.(2) n. period when business is bad, sales are few,etc;

depression

Beneath us the brown Napo River was rising, in all silence; it coiled up the sandy bank and tangled its foam in vines that trailed from the forest and roots that looped the shore. (L12)

Translate the sentence and enjoy the aesthetic side of

English.

在我们下方，褐黄色的纳波河水正在涨潮，万籁俱寂；惟见河水沿着沙岸蜿蜒流过，水沫裹挟在蔓生在森林里的藤蔓间以及盘绕岸边的树根上。

Sentences

“It makes me wonder,” he said, “what I’m doing in a tent under a tree in the village of Pompeya, on the Napo River, in the jungle of Ecuador.” After a pause he added, “It makes me wonder why I’m going back.” (L38)

1. What does the structure of “wonder what / why / if / how…” mean?

不知道，感到疑惑 / 好奇，想知道 2. What’s the implied meaning of the sentence?

They enjoy the peaceful life here very much and don’t want to go back to the modern world.

Presentation and Exercises 1. When bees ______ , hundreds of them come together in a great mass.

A. swarm B. sway C. swallow D. swindle

2. The dancers _______ over the floor of the room.

A. gleamed B. glimmered C. glided D. sliced

3. After a whole night of argument we ______ the following plan.

A. thrashed through B. thrashed out

C. thrashed about D. thrashed at

4. I felt his report was deliberately opaque. Here “opaque” means ____.

A. distinct B. obscure C. instinct D. clear

5. When he was young he could ______ onto the back

of a horse.

A. slide B. put C. stumble D. vault

6. She is reputed to be very healthy. Here “reputed” can

be replaced by

______.

A. considered B. refuted C. denied D. required

7. You must _____ this ointment over the wound.

A. smear B. smash C. slump D. swell

8. His prospects for winning the elections were

dissolving rapidly. Here “dissolving” means _______.

A. rising B. disappearing C. appearing D. coming

Thank you!