Part Three

1. Part Three Text Appreciation ENTER

2. Text Appreciation Contents I. TextTheme II. Text Structure III. Text Analysis IV. Sentence Paraphrase V. Writing Devices

3. Theme of the Text • Text Theme 1) The text describes, from a boy’s perspective, how the telephone affected people’s way of life in a Lebanese mountain village: It broke the seclusion of the village. 2) The text raised us a question: what attitude we should adopt toward new things, whether we should welcome them or boycott them. The end of Text Theme.

4. Structure of the Text Ⅱ.Text Structure • Part 1 (Paras. ) : • Part 2 (Paras. ) : The author introduced the story by providing background information: very detailed description of the villagers’ way of life before the telephone came. 1—10 11—25 How the telephone was installed, and what changes it brought about in the village. The end of Text Structure

5. Ⅲ.Text Analysis Plot of the story Setting of the story Protagonist of the story

6. Ⅲ.Text Analysis For reference Plot: The coming of telephone brought some changes into a small village, both personally and socially. Setting: social setting: in the early 20th century before the process of modernization story setting: in the village in Lebanon Protagonist: “I”—when the author was young To be continued on the nest page.

7. Part 1 (Paras. 1—10): village life before the telephone came Ⅲ.Text Analysis (Para. 1) Q1: What was the overall picture of the this village before the telephone arrived?What specific details did the narrator give to present this picture? A:from its geographical location; (Para. 1) from the detailed description; (Paras. 1—3) from the carefully-chosen words To be continued on the nest page.

8. Ⅲ.Text Analysis (Paras. 2—7) Q2: What do you make of the fact that the people in the village had no calendar and clock and had no need for them? What kind of society is it that does not need so much to keep track of the hours, days, months, and years? For more reference in the text A: Not industrialized countryside. Everything is slow and there is no need to hurry. To be continued on the nest page.

9. Ⅲ.Text Analysis (Para. 4) Q3: What can we infer from the fact that the roof of the mayor’s house caved in under the heavy snow? A: Snow was usually heavy. It was a good sign of heavy snow. To be continued on the nest page.

10. Ⅲ.Text Analysis (Paras. 8—9) Q4: How did the people there keep track of the important events in their lives? A: The important events were always remembered with time marked by the mentioning of earthquakes, droughts, floods, locusts, and pestilences To be continued on the nest page.

11. Ⅲ.Text Analysis Q5:What interesting things happened the year of the drought which the narrator remembered so vividly as a boy? A:Arguments escalated into full-blown, knockdown-dragout fights for water. (Paras. 9—10) Boy’s memories reveal anything important? To be continued on the nest page.

12. Part 1 (Paras. 1—10) Ⅲ.Text Analysis Q: What impression did you get about the life in the small village according to the text? A: The very traditional countryside society. Q: Retell the normal life in the small village. To be continued on the nest page.

13. Part 2 (Paras. 11—25): changes brought by the telephone Ⅲ.Text Analysis (Para. 11) Q1:Why did the narrator say that it was one of the worst years for him? What happened? A:Magdaluna decided to install its own telephone. Q2: Why does the author introduce the subject of the telephone so late in the article? Does it indicate poor organization and lack of coherence on the part of the author? Do you find the decision-making process interesting? To be continued on the nest page.

14. Ⅲ.Text Analysis (Paras. 12—18) Q3:Why did the narrator think the telephone installment was a big event? Find more examples in the text to demonstrate it. Well-chosen words to describe people’s reaction to the telephone installment. To be continued on the nest page.

15. Ⅲ.Text Analysis Changes brought by the telephone (Paras. 19—21): the shifting of the village center as a result of the installation of the telephone A: The home of Im Kaleem Her appearance: short, middle-aged, black-haired, with a loud unpleasant voice Her character: generous, understanding, sensible Her role: confessor, good listener, pressure-reliever and troubleshooter Q4:Where had the village center been in the past? To be continued on the nest page.

16. Ⅲ.Text Analysis Changes brought by the telephone (Paras. 19—21): the shifting of the village center as a result of the installation of the telephone Q5: Where was it now? A. At Abu Raja’s home where the telephone was installed. Why? no longer contented with their way of life; hungry for news from the outside world To be continued on the nest page.

17. Ⅲ.Text Analysis Changes brought by the telephone (Para. 22) Q6:What changes happened to the narrator as a boy? Why? The coming of the telephone ended his role as the messenge boy. To be continued on the nest page.

18. Ⅲ.Text Analysis Changes brought by the telephone (Paras. 23—25) Q7:What other changes took place in the village? Many people were leaving the village for big cities or foreign countries to find jobs and better life. Result:the village reduced to a skeleton of its former self. To be continued on the nest page.

19. Part. 2 (Paras. 11—25) Ⅲ.Text Analysis Q:What was the narrator’s feeling toward the changes? The end of Text Analysis

20. Ⅳ. Sentence Paraphrase 1 Para. 1 … time didn’t mean much to anybody, except maybe to those who were dying. The villagers didn’t think time was important until perhaps when they were dying. go to 2

21. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 2 Inthose days, there was no real need for a calendar or a watch to keep track of the hours, days, months, and years. Note: go to 3 • keep track of: to keep oneself informed about a • person, situation, etc. • cf. lose track of: to fail to remain informed • Examples: • They try hard to keep track of their favorite stars. • He loses track of time whenever he surfs the Net.

22. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 3 Para. 2 But ours was a natural or, rather, a divine-calendar, because it was framed by acts of God: earthquakes and droughts and floods and locusts and pestilences. go to 4 … We used natural disasters to keep track of time and of the important events in our lives. This was a natural calendar though it is more accurate to say a divine calendar, for sunrise and sunset, the change of seasons, and earthquakes and droughts and floods and locusts and pestilences were all works of God.

23. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 4 Para. 4 … that caused the roof on the mayor’s house to cave in. 塌落，倒塌 (of roof or wall) to fall down or inward; to collapse … that caused the mayor’s house roof to collapse. go to 5

24. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 5 Para. 7 You couldn’t be more accurate than that, now, could you? Examples: (spoken) used for giving emphasis to a request, order, or comment • Be careful, now. (order) • Now, what’s going on here? (request) • It’s marvelous, now isn’t it? (comment) go to 6

25. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 6 Para. 8 And that’s the way it was in our little village for as far back as anybody could remember. serve as the object of “for” And that’s how we kept track of the important events in our little village to the extent that/ for as long as the oldest people could remember. go to 7

26. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 7 Para. 8 … because men who would not lie even to save their own souls told and retold that story until it was incorporated into Magdaluna’s calendar. Note … until the event became one of the things by which we kept track of the important events in our lives. to save their lives This shows, to some extent, the way of thinking of the villagers in those days when honesty prevailed. They trusted honest people and didn’t seek any proof for what had been said about past events. go to 8 To be continued on the nest page.

27. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 7 incorporate sth. (into): to add or include sth. as part of sth. else Note: 包含，并入 Examples: • The company decided to incorporate the new feature into their microcomputer. • A number of courses in public relations have been incorporated into our curriculum. back to 7

28. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 8 Para. 9 There was, for instance, the year of the drought, when the heavens were shut for months and the spring from which the entire village got its drinking water slowed to a trickle. Note It didn’t rain for months as if the sky were shut tight. Gradually there was only a small amount of water coming slowly out of the spring. • (literary) the sky go to 9 To be continued on the nest page.

29. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 8 Note: to: used for stating what condition or state sb. or sth. is after a change Examples: • The ancient temple has been restored to its former glory. • The disease has reduced the patient to a bag of bones. back to 8

30. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 9 Para. 9 their napping men and wet babies Cultural Note: Men in Arab countries, especially in the countryside, usually don’t do any housework. their husbands who were taking a nap and their babies who were breast fed go to 10

31. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 10 Para. 10 And sometimes the arguments escalated into full-blown, knockdown-dragout fights. in the most complete and developed form (AmE.) very violent or uncontrolled And sometimes the arguments became so fierce that the women began to fight violently. go to 11

32. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 11 Para. 10 … call each other names that made my ears tingle… cf. call one’s name to abuse them by insulting words … the words they used when they were quarreling were so offensive that we little boys felt uncomfortable… go to 12

33. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 12 Para. 10 I remember the rush, the excitement, the sun dancing on the dust clouds as a dress ripped and a young white breast was revealed, then quickly hidden. Some women were fighting furiously creating dust clouds. The sun was moving quickly on the dust when a young woman’s dress was torn open and her breast exposed. We little boys would rush to steal a glance before it was hidden again. I still remember the excitement I felt at such moments. go to 13

34. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 13 Para. 11 … Magdaluna was not going to get anywhere until it had one. Note … Magdaluna wouldn’t achieve any success without a telephone. go to 14 To be continued on the nest page.

35. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 13 Note: cf. not to get sb. anywhere: won’t help sb. to succeed to get anywhere/somewhere/nowhere: to make some/no progress or have some/no success Examples: • Have you got anywhere in your project? • You’ll surely get somewhere if you persist in it. • Losing your temper won’t get you anywhere with them. back to 13

36. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 14 Para. 11 But they were outshouted and ignored and finally shunned by the other villagers… self-coined word: prefix “out-” + shout those for the telephone were louder (or stronger) than the others in their arguments go to 15 But the majority of the villagers were for the telephone, and they wouldn’t listen to those few people who were finally deliberately avoided for resisting progress.

37. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 15 Para. 20 … when the loud voices of the men talking, laughing, and arguing could be heard in the street below—a reassuring, homey sound. appositive a sound that makes you feel less worried and that is in a pleasant way and reminds you of home go to 16

38. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 16 Para. 21 … the signal that they were ready to toss back and forth, like a ball, the latest rumors going around the village. appositive clause … this showed that now they were ready to exchange the latest news. go to 17

39. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 17 Para. 22 The telephone was also bad news for me personally. It took away my lucrative business—a source of much-needed income. used humorously to exaggerate the boy’s disappointment at his loss For the boy the coming of the telephone deprived him of the opportunity to earn some money. go to 18

40. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 18 Para. 22 On a good day, I ran nine or ten of those errands, which assured a steady supply of marbles that I usually lost to other boys. to make sth. certain to happen Example: Strength and good tactics assured his success at the Asian Games. When I was lucky, I got nine or ten errands to run a day. With the money I earned I could buy new marbles so that I always had an adequate number to play with, although I usually lost them to other boys. go to 19

41. Ⅳ.Sentence Paraphrase 19 Para. 24 Magdaluna became a skeleton of its former self, desolate and forsaken, like the tombs, a place to get away from. With the healthy, the young, and the able-bodied all gone, Magdaluna was not what it had been. The house, the streets and the store were there, but they were no longer alive with laughter and the loud voices of the men talking, laughing, and arguing. It became a much-deserted place, a place to escape from, like a graveyard or cemetery. The end of Sentence Paraphrase.

42. Typical Narrative Techniques Ⅴ. Writing Devices The most striking narrative technique in the essay • the use of figure of speech with a local flavor • We knew what to do and when to do it, just as the Iraqi geese knew when to fly north, driven by the hot wind that blew in from the desert. (Para. 1) To be continued on the nest page.

43. Typical Narrative Techniques Ⅴ.Writing Devices figure of speech with a local flavor • … the two important-looking men from the telephone company, who proceeded with utmost gravity, like priests at communion, to wire up the telephone. (Para. 13) • I wriggled my way through the dense forest of legs to get a firsthand look at the action. (Para. 1) To be continued on the nest page.

44. Typical Narrative Techniques Ⅴ.Writing Devices figure of speech with a local flavor • Her house was an island of comfort, an oasis for the weary village men, exhausted from having so little to do. (Para. 1) • … they were ready to toss back and forth, like a ball, the latest rumors going around the village. (Para.1) • Magdaluna bacame a skeleton of its former self, desolate and forsaken, like the tombs, a place to get away from. (Para. 1) To be continued on the nest page.

45. Ⅴ.Writing Devices—Paradox paradox a situation or statement that seems strange or impossible because it contains two ideas that are both true Examples: • He was shocked by the poverty in the midst of affluence. • She was a devout Catholic and also the village whore. • He is vain about not being vain. To be continued on the nest page.

46. Ⅴ.Writing Devices—Paradox • Her house was an oasis for the weary village men, exhausted from having so little to do. • All mothers know that they sometimes have to be cruel to be kind. • The more we possess, the more we are possessed. • No belief is in itself a belief. The end of Writing Devices.

47. Part Three Text Appreciation This is the end of Part Three. Please click HOME to visit other parts.

48. Bustle verb (vi/vt): to move around in a busy way or to hurry sb in a particular direction. 四下忙碌；催促（某人）. Eg: She bustled around in the kitchen. The nurse bustled us out of the room. noun: busy and noisy activity . 忙乱嘈杂；喧闹. hustle and bustle 忙碌喧嚣

49. Im Kaleem’s house was bustling at just about any time of day, especially at night, when the loud voices of the men talking, laughing and arguing could be heard in the street below – a reassuring, homey sound.(para20) just about : almost ; very nearly. reassuring : making people feel less worried or uncertain about sth. homey : having a feeling of home ; homelike . Paraphrase : ...at that time, you could hear the loud voices of the men talking, laughing and arguing – a sound that made you feel less worried and that was in a pleasant way and reminded you of home.

50. Oasis noun ( pl . oases) 1. an area in the desert where there is water and where plants grow (沙漠中的)绿洲 . 2. a pleasant place or period of time in the middle of sth unpleasant or difficult （困苦中）令人快慰的地方（或时刻）；乐土 . an oasis of calm宁静的一刻