Lesson Two

1. Book I Lesson Two Hiroshima --- the "Liveliest" City in Japan

2. 教学大纲 • I. Teaching objectives • Get to know the background of the first atomic bomb in the human history • Learn how to use effective action verbs • Get to know some important figures of speech employed in this text • II. Teaching tasks • Pre-reading questions • Background knowledge • Detailed Study of the text • Rhetoric devices • Follow-up discussion • Exercise and Homework

3. III． Important and difficult points • The separation of the anti-Japanese psychology of the Chinese students’ with the author’s repentance for the A-bomb cataclysm. • What is a narration? • The understanding and comprehension of the contradiction between the sorrowful mentality of the author and the humorous language of the text. • Some useful expressions such as to be preoccupied, to be oblivious, and etc. • IV. Important words • reportorial, kimono, preoccupation, oblivious, ritual, lurch, intermezzo, heave, barge, moor, arresting, tatami, twinge, linger, inhibit, agitated, reverie, heinous, formaldehyde, have a lump in one’s throat, on one’s mind, rub shoulders with, by trade • V. References • 高级英语（修订本），第一册，张汉熙主编，王立礼编，外语教学与研究出版社， 1995.6 。 • 高级英语（修订版）学习指南，第一册，张鑫友主编，湖北人民出版社，2000.8。 • 高级英语（修订本）教师参考书，第一册，王立礼编，外语教学与研究出版社， 1995.6。 • 高级英语精读精解, 姚兰，西南交通大学出版社，2004。 • 英语名篇精品，马洵，天津大学出版社，2000。 • 英语语体和文体要略，秦秀白，上海外语教育出版社，2002.4。

4. I． Background information

5. Japan • National Name: Nippon • Geography: Four main islands: Honshu (本州), Hokkaido (北海道), Kyushu (九州), and Shikoku (四国) • Area: 371,857 sq.km. • Population: 122,700,000 (1988). • Capital: Tokyo • Sept.1, 1939 Hitler invaded Poland. France and Britain declared war on Gr. immediately, officially beginning World War II • Jun.22, 1941 Gr. invaded USSR • Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbour • Sept. 1943 Italy surrendered • May. 7, 1945 Gr. surrendered unconditionally • Aug. 6, 1945 the first A-bomb exploded in Hiroshima • Aug. 8, 1945 USSR declared war on Japan and occupied Manchuria • Aug. 9, 1945 the dropping of the second A-bomb on Nagasaki • Aug. 14, 1945 Japan announced its surrender

7. Hiroshima • first build in 1593, meaning "broad island", made up of 6 delta islands; • more than 80 bridges connecting them with one another and with the mainland; capital of Hiroshima prefecture ; • important position on the key land and water routes • Chief industrial and population center of the Chugoku region; • industries including iron and steel, shipbuilding, cars and trucks, machinery, textiles and paper; • before World War II, 7th largest city in Japan, with a population of 350,000; • during the war, regional army headquarters, major rail center and producer of war materials;

8. the Atomic Explosion • struck by the first atomic bomb at 8:15 a.m. on August 6,1945; • explosion near the center of the city, destroying almost everything within a radius of 2 km; • over 71,000 people killed instantly, many more later died of injuries and the effect of radiation; • survivors still dying of leukemia, pernicious anemia and other diseases induced by radiation; • almost 98 % of the buildings destroyed or severely damaged;

11. Postwar Hiroshima • ruin of the Institute of Industrial Development preserved as a symbol of terror of destruction; • Peace Park laid out nearby including a cenotaph memorializing the victims and a museum housing the relics; • a special hospital built to treat radiation victim and to conduct research into its effects

12. Some Japanese Items • 1) Kimono --- a loose Japanese robe with wide sleeves and a broad sash , traditionally worn as an outer garment by the Japanese. • 2). Tatami --- straw matting used as a floor covering in a Japanese home. It is a custom of the Japanese to remove their shoes once they go indoors, walking on the tatami matting in their socks.

13. II. Analysis of the text

14. 1. the title Why does the author put the word "liveliest" in quotation marks? 1) what the city is said to be 2) considers it ironic to use the word "liveliest" to describe a city that had been atomized.

15. 2. Paragraph 1: My arrival at Hiroshima and my emotion • The fastest train in the world slipped to a stop, • Not understand what the Japanese stationmaster shouts, • A lump in nay throat and a lot of sad thoughts on my mind • Reportorial assignment • Scene of the crime

16. 3. Paragraph 2: First impression of the Japanese people • Not appear to have the same preoccupation, • No difference from other Japanese cities, • Little girls and elderly ladies in kimonos--- teenagers and women in western dress • Serious looking men oblivious of the crowds, bobbed up and down, exchanged ritual formula

17. 4. Paragraphs 3-7: Find the place for interview with much difficulty • Cab driver: zealous but not very helpful • Speed through narrow streets, lurched from side to side, not knowing the way • City Hall usher: Polite and helpful; bowed deeply, heaved a long, musical sigh, sketched a little map • Restaurant: Canal embankment, barge with a roof like one on a house, Traditional houses on boats, adrift amid beige skyscrapers, rather arresting pectacle

18. 5. Paragraphs 8-19: Interview with the mayor • Restaurant: Low-ceilinged rooms, little floating house, soft tatami matting • The author--- remove shoes, meet the mayor in my socks, feel embarrassed; • Mayor---tall, thin, sad eyed and serious, mentioned the name of Hiroshima several times, praising southern Japanese sea food • Guests--mostly Japanese few Westerners (Americans and Germans)-- inhibited, agitated, puzzled • Hiroshima--oysters? Not the bomb, the misery and the heinous crime?

19. 6. Paragraphs 20- 27: Conversation with a small Japanese man • The Japanese man: small, with large, thick glasses, almost an old man, tell the true feelings • Two schools of thought: • (1) Preserve traces of the bomb • (2) Get rid of everything, even the monument, the atomic museum "gayest city in Japan", while many people with hidden wounds, and burns

20. 7. Paragraphs 28-38: Interview with an atomic explosion victim • Hospital: smell (formaldehyde, ether), stretchers and wheelchairs, nickel-plated, send shivers down the spine • Atomic Section: third floor, 17 beds, a handful of patients kept alive, by constant care ,others died of illness or committed suicide • The old man: fisherman, ill for 20 years, something wrong inside; Saw the fire ball, no burns on the body, ran all over the city Hair began to fall off, belly turned to water, felt sick • Why commit suicide? Humiliating to survive, Children encounter prejudice, marriage affected People afraid of genetic damage • Lucky birds: of brightly colored paper, a new one each day, as a congratulation

21. 8.Paragraph 39: Reflections after the interview • Tear into pieces the notebook with questions for patients Read the answer in every eye

22. III. Language points

23. 1. Hiroshima--the "Liveliest" City in Japan: • The word "liveliest' is put in quotation marks to show that this is what the city is said to be and the writer perhaps considers it ironic to use the word "liveliest" to describe a city that had been atomized.

24. 2. "Hiroshima! Everybody off!" • 1) off: down from • 2) Everybody should now get off the train • These words were chanted by the sationmaster to inform the passengers that the train had arrived at its terminal destination and all passengers were to detrain.

25. 3. That must be slipped to a stop in Hiroshima Station: • l) "Must" here expresses strong probability as the author didn’t understand Japanese and could not have been sure. • 2) in the Japanese stationmaster's uniform: • in : (of dress) wearing something e.g. in white; in mourning; in rags; in silk • stationmaster : the official in charge of a railway station

26. 3) slipped to a stop : came to a stop smoothly and effortlessly, in a gliding manner slide, slip, glide Slide implies accelerated motion without loosing contact wit the slippery surface. Slip often suggests involuntary rather than voluntary, sometimes even definitely implying a loss of footing and a fall. Glide, rather close to slide, means to move smoothly, quietly and continuously as is characteristic of dances, e.g. Plan glided down to the airfield.

27. 4. And secondly, because I had a lump in my throat and a lot of sad thoughts on my mind might say 1) I had a lump in my throat: I was choked with emotion; I was so overcome with emotion that I could not speak or think clearly. 2) a lump in one's throat: a feeling of pressure in one's throat, caused by repressed emotion 3) a lot of sad thoughts on my mind: I was troubled about some sad events; I was occupied with some sad thoughts. 4) on one's mind: occupying one's thoughts, esp. as a source of worry 5) to have to do with: to be a concern of; to be about; to be connected with 6) My sad thoughts had no connection with what the stationmaster might say.

28. 5. The very act of stepping on this soil any reportorial assignment I’d previously taken: 1) very: itself and nothing else 2) stepping on this soil : putting my feet down on this soil; landing in Hiroshima 3) far greater: adverbial modifiers of adj. or adv. in the comparative degree 4) adventure: an unusual journey or an exciting or remarkable experience 5) reportorial assignment: reporting work for a newspaper 6) The fact that I was now in Hiroshima was in itself a much more exciting experience for me than any trip I had taken or any reporting work I had done in the past.

29. 6. Was I not at the scene of the crime?: 1) scene: place of an actual event 2) the crime: the dropping of the A-bomb on Hiroshima 3) Rhetorical questions are usually asked only for effect, as to emphasize a point, no answer being expected 4) I was now at the place where the first A bomb was dropped

30. 7. Information provided in the first paragraph • 1) The author was here on a reportorial mission. • 2) Hiroshima was not the author's first assignment. • 3) He was preoccupied with some sad thoughts--the crime of the A- bomb. He was tortured by a guilty conscience • 4) He didn't understand Japanese.

31. 8. The Japanese crowd that I had: • 1) did not appear to have--did not seem to have; judging by appearances, the author could not have been absolutely sure that the Japanese crowd did not have the same preoccupations • 2) seem, look, appear • Seem suggests a personal opinion based on evidence that satisfies the judgment. • Look implies that the opinion is based on a visual impression. • Appear may convey the same implication as look, but it sometimes suggests a distorted impression produced by an optical illusion, a restricted point of view etc. e.g. The setting sun made the spires appear ablaze.

32. 9. From the sidewalk things seemed much the same as in other Japanese cities: 1) sidewalk: chiefly used in the U. S.; British: pavement; New Zealand : footpath 2) much the same: about the same; much here tones down rather than emphasizes the word same 3) Seem is used to indicate that things are actually not so.

33. 10. Little girls in western dress: • 1) elderly: approaching old age, past middle age • 2) rub shoulders with : (informal) meet and mix with (people) • e.g. The foreign visitors said that they would like to rub shoulders with ordinary Chinese people. • During those two terms at the hoarding school, she rubbed shoulders with the rich. • This is not the sort of club where the great rub shoulders with the humble. • 3) teenager: boy or girl from 13 to 19 • 4) This sentence gives the impression that in Japan traditional style and western style exist side by side.

34. 11. Serious looking men : “Tomo aligato gozayimas" : • 1) to be oblivious of (or to) : to be unaware of e. g. Oblivous of each other, the two men flashed past on their separate missions; We should not be oblivious to the reality that Soviet restraint resulted only from our forcing of the issue and determined persistence. • 2) They were so absorbed in their conversation that they seemed not to pay any attention to the crowds about them. • 3) bob up and down repeatedly in little bows: bow repeatedly • 4) bob up and down: move up and down automatically (humourous description of the bows) • 5) ritual: all the rites or forms connected with a ceremony; particular form of any procedure regularly followed; here used as an adj. meaning "done as a rite" • 6) formula of gratitude and respect: form of words used regularly such as "How do you do?" "Excuse me."

35. 12. Others were using little red telephones that hung on the facades of grocery stores and tobacco shops: • 1) facade: front or face of building towards a street or open place • 2) grocery store : a store where tea, butter, sugar, tinned food and such household requirements as soap and soap powder are sold

36. 13. cab driver: (chiefly American) taxi driver. • We might infer from the use of such words as "sidewalk" "store" and "cabdriver" that the author is most likely an American. • 14. whose door popped open at the very sight of a traveler: • 1) as soon as the taxi driver saw a traveler, he immediately opened the door • 2) pop open : burst open with a short, sharp, slightly explosive sound • 3) at the sight of: on seeing • 15. City Hall: a building which houses the offices of a municipal government

37. 16. He grinned at me in the rear-view mirror: 1) grin: smile broadly as to show teeth, originally expressing amusement, foolish satisfaction or contempt etc., but in current English, tending to imply naive cheerfulness 2) rear-view mirror: driving-mirror inside a motor-vehicle for seeing out of the roar window • 17. We set off at top speed: l) set off: start (a journey, race etc. ) 2) the taxi-driver drove very fast"

38. 18. The tall building of the martyred city in response to the driver's sharp twists of the wheel: 1) martyred city: the city that has been made to suffer 2) flash by: pass swiftly 3) lurch : roll or sway suddenly forward or to one side 4) in response to: in answer to 5) sharp twist: abrupt change of direction 6) The high buildings passed swiftly and when the driver made abrupt changes of direction, we sometimes swung to one side, sometimes to the other side in response to the swaying motion of the car.

39. IV. Rhetorical devices

40. 1. Anti-climax: a common literary device to achieve humor, surprise, satire etc. • e.g. Hiroshima ... a town known throughout the world for its --- oyster

41. 2. Alliteration: the appearance of the same initial consonant sound in two or more words. • e.g. .. and ever since then they have been testing and treating me

42. 3. Rhetorical question: • question asked only for effect, as to emphasize a point, no answer being expected. • e.g. Was I not at the scene of the crime?

43. V. Writing skills

44. 1. American English words: • Sidewalk, store, cab driver, etc, • The use of these words indicates that the writer is very likely an American.

45. 2. Narration: • To give an account of an event or a serious of events, including stories, biographies, histories, news items, and narrative poems. • Often goes hand in hand with description, one for the story, the other for its setting and characters

46. Five aspects to consider when planning a narrative: • Context: circumstances at the beginning (when, where, who); • Context of details: relevant, useful and effective --- (purpose); • Organization: usually in chronological order, also by using flashback; • Point of view: first person,-more graphic and lifelike, but limited scope; • Purpose: to prove a theory, to illustrate a concept, to praise a virtue, to condemn a vice, etc,

47. 3. Writing skills in this passage: • 1) Narration combined with description; • 2) Good use of humorous language; • 3) Good use of Anti-climax; • 4 ) In chronological order; • 5) Well chosen details

48. VI. Exercises

49. 1. Oral work in Class • 1). Answer the questions listed on Page 19, • 2). Discussion: • Why do you think the author put quotation marks over "liveliest" in the title? • 2. Going through some exercises in the text. • 3. Homework: Write a short composition on the topics: My Visit to…

50. The End