新世纪英语高二全部课文及重点词组

　　When you are sure of something, you can say, “It’s in the bag.”

　　This phrase seemed to have arrived with the modern paper bag. Before, Americans used to say, “It’s all wrapped up.” Then, things you bought were wrapped in plain brown paper, or sometimes in old newspaper.

　　Another widely used expressions is “to let the cat out of the bag”, meaning to reveal a well-kept secret.

　　No one can explain how the cat got into the bag, or why it remained there. But there is an old story about it. Long ago tradesman sold things in large cloth bags. Once a woman asked for a pig. The tradesman held up his cloth bag. Inside there was supposed to be a live pig. The woman asked to see it. When the dishonest tradesman opened the bag, out jumped a squealing cat, not a pig. The tradesman’s secret was out: he was tricky, and now everybody knew it.

　　18. English proverbs

　　Characters

　　Teacher of English: Ms Smith (MS)

　　Students: Li (LI), Mao (MA), Anne (AN), Rivera (RI)

　　MS: Good morning, everyone. I hope you all know what we are here for. The topic of our discussion this morning is “English Proverbs”.

　　LI: So, I’m in the right group.

　　MA: Me, too.

　　RI: Me, too.

　　MS: But I was told we would have four…and yet…

　　AN: I’m coming. Good morning. Am I late?

　　MS: Morning. “Speak of angels and you hear their songs.”

　　AN: Is that a proverb referring to my coming?

　　MS: Exactly.

　　LI: We have a saying in Chinese, which I think is very close in meaning…

　　MA: Speak of Cao Cao and he appears.

　　MS: Right. Well, “first things first”. A proverb is a traditional saying which offers advice or presents a moral in a short and brief manner. A proverb normally is a sentence, into which the writer often works rhyme. For instance, “East or west, home is best.” Sometimes it comes out in the form of a phrase.

　　MA: I’ve seen dictionaries of proverbs.

　　MS: Well, there are thousands of proverbs. They fall into three main categories. Those of the first type take the form of abstract statements. They express general truths. Here are two good examples: “One is never too old to learn.” and “A man who neglects his studies in youth will regret it in later years.”

　　RI: I think there is some truth in both proverbs. To encourage a person who has had little education for some reason as a young man, we may use the former. With us, I guess the latter works.

　　MS: So you have to keep this in mind. Never use proverbs out of context. “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”

　　LI: I see. Then, what is the second type?

　　MS: The second type uses specific observations from everyday experience to make a general point.

　　AN: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Does it fall into the second category?

　　MS: You’re right, dear. Then the third type consists of sayings from particular areas of traditional customs and beliefs. “After dinner, rest a while; after supper, walk a mile.” is an example of this type. Such proverbs are often related to agriculture, the seasons, and the weather.

　　LI: Many people hold the opinion that proverbs are going out of fashion. Is that true?

　　MS: The fact is, as some old ones are falling into disuse, new ones are being created. The computer world has recently given us lots of them.

　　AN: I’ve got one: “Rubbish in, rubbish out.”

　　MA: It also goes “Garbage in, garbage out.”

　　MS: I think it is more common to say “Garbage in, garbage out.” Well, I hope, today “You’ll have something nice out as you have had something nice in.”

　　AN: Thank you, Ms Smith. By the way, do we have an assignment as usual?

　　MS: Yes. You are to collect some proverbs of the first type, that is, proverbs that express general truths.

　　LI: I’d like to collect some on studies.

　　MS: Good! I’m so glad to have been with you. (To the four students) “Strike while the iron is hot.” See you next week.

　　19. Tips on making a public speech

　　It is interesting to note that speeches are always “given” or “delivered”. They are never “said”. When giving a speech, therefore, it is useful to think of yourself as playing a part, i.e. acting. This kind of acting calls for an integration of verbal and nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication chiefly involves the speaker’s stance and gestures, the eye contact between the speaker and the audience, and a good control of the presentation speed of talking/speaking.

上一页  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]  下一页