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2. Unit 1 Little House in the Big Woods By Laura Ingalls Wilder

3. Unit Overview In this unit you will :  • Read about the life in the wilderness in the United States in the early days • Learn how to preview a book • Take a test in fast reading • Know a story about a Christmas present • Read more about how children feel towards their dear ones

6. About the author: Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in Pepin, Wisconsin, in February 1867. She was the second of four daughters born to Caroline (Quiner) and Charles Philip Ingalls. Wilder's early life was spent constantly moving from place to place. Her father called himself a pioneer man and dreamed of going west to explore and settle on unknown territory. They traveled through thick woods, over barren prairies, through the swollen Mississippi, and over icy waters all in their covered wagon. They moved from Missouri, to Kansas, to Wisconsin, to Minnesota, to Iowa and finally settled in De Smet, South Dakota, where her father claimed a homestead. Laura and her three sisters grew up in De Smet. Wilder, however, never could quite see this place as home. The many moves in her early childhood made Laura come to the conclusion that the only way to know that she was truly home was to have her family around her. Following in her father's dreams, Wilder called herself a pioneer girl and made her home where her family took her. Wilder did not begin writing her first book, Little House in the Big Woods, until 1931 and it was released the following year. The instant success of the

7. book led to the Little House series, which became popular with young readers. Wilder took great care with each book to make sure that the point of view was consistently from that of a child. All except Farmer Boy were Newbery honor books and the entire series was reprinted in 1953. In 1954 the American Library Association established the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in her honor and Wilder was the first recipient. The award is now given every five years to the author who has made a substantial contribution to children's literature. Most recently it was presented to Virginia Hamilton, who was also the first black author to win the Newbery Medal. A weekly television series, Little House on the Prairie, which was based loosely on Wilder's books, began in 1974 and ran for many seasons. Wilder died in February 1957 in Mansfield of a stroke. Forty years after her death, children continue to read and enjoy her books.

8. About the story • Laura's daughter Rose grew up listening to her mother's stories of those pioneer days. She urged her mother to write them down so that other children could enjoy them as well. So in the 1930s and 40s, Laura recorded her memories of those days of long ago in a children's series known as the Little House books which includes • Little House in the Big Wood (1932)Farmer Boy (1933)Little House on the Prairie (1935)On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)The Long Winter (1940)Little Town on the Prairie (1941)Those Happy Golden Years (1943)

9. Cultural background notes 1.      Westward Movement in America Westward movement in America carried settlers across America, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The westward movement began in the early 1600's with European settlements along the Atlantic Coast of North America. It continued until the late 1800's. By that time, the western frontiers of the United States had been conquered. An abundance of land and other natural resources lured America's pioneers westward. Fur traders, cattle ranchers, farmers, and miners led the push to the west. Merchants and other business people followed. These hard-working men and women faced great dangers, endured severe hardships, and suffered loneliness and boredom in the hope of making a better life for themselves and their children. Some of them looked to the west for wealth or adventure. Others sought to improve their social position or increase their political power. 

10. The pioneers struggled westward across hills, mountains, and prairies on foot and on horseback. Some floated through the Erie Canal on barges or traveled down rivers on flatboats and steamboats. Others crossed the rugged wilderness in covered wagons. For many pioneers, the Cumberland Gap, the Oregon Trail, and other roads west became paths to opportunity.   The American frontier shifted westward in stages. The first American frontier ran along the Atlantic Coast. Settlers began to cross the Appalachian Mountains after territory west of the mountains came under British control in 1763. During the early 1800's, the next push westward took settlers into the Great Lakes region, the Mississippi River Valley, and the plains along the Gulf of Mexico. By the mid-1840's, adventurous pioneers had reached what are now California and Oregon in the Far West. The last frontier was the Great Plains between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. The settlement of that region began in the 1860's.  In 1890, the U.S. Bureau of the Census reported that no frontiers remained in the United States. The pioneers had conquered the West.

11. 2.      Results of Westward Movement (1) Patterns of migration.  For almost 300 years, the westward movement influenced American history. However, the westward flow of people was not constant. Migration halted when Indian hostilities or wars with other nations made the frontiers unsafe. But once peace was restored, pioneers resumed their westward march. People also tended to migrate during prosperous times, when money was available. During periods of depression, migration often slowed to a trickle. Sometimes, as in the case of the Great Plains, technology spurred settlement. The invention of barbed wire and improvements in the windmill and in farm machinery helped open the Great Plains to settlers. (2) The frontier influence. The frontier was more than a place on a map. It was an experience that shaped many American institutions and ideas. The frontier environment presented challenges that produced creative solutions. For example, frontier settlements were much less complex than the established communities of the East. As a result, pioneers set up simple forms of government that met frontier needs. Similarly, the elaborate social customs of the East gave way to the simpler pleasures of barn dances and corn husking contests.  

12. The frontier experience promoted democracy. Established leaders rarely migrated from the East, and so the frontier brought a wide range of people into government. Class lines also blurred in frontier societies. It became difficult to distinguish a permanent upper or lower class because anyone might strike it rich or suffer a setback. The frontier's abundant resources were equally available to all.     The frontier experience also encouraged the development of certain "American" characteristics. Frontiers were isolated places, and so pioneers had to make many items they might otherwise have traded for or bought. They built their own houses and barns and produced their own food. They made their own candles, clothing, furniture, pots, tools, and other necessities. As jacks of all trades, pioneers became inventive and self-reliant. In addition, frontiers offered opportunities for success to those who worked hard. As a result, pioneers tended to be optimistic about the future and concerned with material wealth. Boastfulness and self-confidence emerged as frontier traits as well.  

13. Unfortunately, the pioneers also became extremely wasteful because they lived among such plentiful natural resources. Pioneers cut down vast areas of forests, lost large amounts of gold and other minerals in careless mining operations, and exhausted the soil.   The continual pursuit of a better life made Americans more restless than their European ancestors. The French historian Alexis de Tocqueville remarked that in America "a man builds a house to spend his old age, and he sells it before the roof is on. . . . He brings a field into tillage and leaves other men to gather the crops; he embraces a profession and gives it up; he settles in a place, which he soon afterwards leaves to carry his changeable longings elsewhere." As people moved from place to place, they lost their attachment to a specific region. They began to identify more with the nation as a whole and to see themselves as "Americans." In that way, the westward movement promoted nationalism. Many historians believe that such frontier traits as nationalism, inventiveness, and optimism survive in the American character today.

14. Questions • Where did the family live? • What did the father do one morning? • Can you describe the surroundings of the li8ttle house? • What did Ma do when her husband didn’t come back one night? • After they saw the bear, what did Ma and Laura do? • What did they see in the barnyard? • What did they think of the bear? • Were they safe in the end? • What did the father bring back?

15. Language notes 1. Pa said he must go to town to trade the furs of the wild animals he had been trapping all winter. （爸爸说他必须去城里一趟,卖掉他一冬捕获的兽皮。） The word trade is often used as a noun. But here trade is a verb, means to buy and sell goods. There are many such conversions in English. • He watered the wine before drinking it. （water, verb,掺水） The earth orbits the sun. （绕…轨道而行）Point this pencil for me, please. （削尖）Oil the machine before you operate it. （上油）She journeys to Europe once a year on business. （去…旅行） 2. Ma was worried, but Pa said that by starting before sun-up and walking very fast all day he could get home again before dark. （妈妈很担心。但爸爸说，如果日出前就出发，并且快些走，他可以在天黑前赶回来。） Sun-up is an American expression for sunrise. Note that sometimes American English and British English have different words for the same thing.

16. British English    American English 商店      shop     store 汽油 petrol gas 电影院 cinema movie theatre 铁路 railway railroad 裤子 trousers pants 公寓 flat apartment 出租车 taxi cab 出纳员 cashier teller 分数 marks grades 人行道 pavement sidewalk 秋天 autumn fall 电梯 elevator lift 橡皮 rubber eraser 药房 the chemist's the drug store 理发店 hairdresser's beauty parlor 糖果 sweets candies

17. 3. The sun sank out of sight, the woods grew dark, and he did not come. Ma started supper and set the table, but he did not come. It was time to do the chores, and still he had not come.太阳已经不见了, 森林也渐渐暗了下来, 爸爸没有回来。妈妈准备好晚餐, 摆好了桌子, 爸爸还是没有回来。到了平时干杂活的时间, 他依然没有回来。） Note that the sentence he did not come has been repeated three times in this short paragraph. The repetition stresses the anxiety with which the children are waiting for Pa's coming back. 4. Its sides were of tin, with places cut in them for the candle-light to shine through. （灯笼壁是用锡皮做的, 上面有一些豁口，以便烛光透出来。） The preposition of here means made from. e.g. The dress is of silk.The crown is of gold. 5. The woods were dark, but there was a gray light on the snowy path, and in the sky there were a few faint stars. （森林里已经暗下来。铺满白雪的小路隐隐泛着灰色的光，夜空中悬挂着几颗暗淡的星星。） Note that the word woods is different word from its singular form, wood. Woods mean a place trees grow thickly, smaller than a forest. In English, some nouns will carry on new meanings when they are used in their plural forms. See more examples:

18. Singular  Plural color 颜色 军旗 custom 风俗,习惯 海关，关税 damage 损害 赔偿金 pain 疼痛 努力 regard 注意 问候，致意 spectacle 场面 眼镜 spirit 精神，情绪 酒精 wit 机智 理智 6. "But he could have hurt us, couldn't he?" she asked. （“但刚才它本可能伤到我们的，是吗？”她问道。） Note that the question is put in its subjunctive mood. From the context we know that Ma's consoling remarks make Laura feels better. When she asks this question, she knows well that the bear will not hurt them because they have protections. So what she really implies is that without those protections, the bear will have hurt them. 7. She was sitting up late, waiting for Pa, and Laura and Mary meant to stay awake, too, till he came. （劳拉和玛莉原也想等爸爸回来再睡，但最后还是睡着了。） The phrase mean to do something is synonymous to intend to do something, or plan to do something.

19. Text 2 Language notes 1. The front window was full of beautiful old things: jewelry of a hundred years ago, gold and silver boxes, carved figures from China and Japan and other nations. （橱窗里放满了漂亮的旧物件：一百年前的珠宝，金的和银的盒子，还有来自中国、日本和其他国家的雕像。） The word figure here means representation of a person or an animal in drawing, painting, sculpture, etc. Note that the word figure has many meanings:e.g. I could see a figure in the far distance, but I couldn't make out who it was. (the shape of a whole human body)He was one of the leading political figures of this century. (a person of a particular type)Write the number in words and in figures. (any of the number signs from 0 to 9)They are asking a high figure for their house. (an amount, especially of money) 2. Pete studied her with his cold eyes. （他冷漠地看着那个小女孩。） Study here means to examine carefully. 3.The happy look in her big blue eyes struck him like the pain of an old wound. （那大大的蓝眼睛中流露的快乐触动了他，就像是一处旧伤被击痛一样。） If sth strikes sb (like sth, as sth, or in a specified manner), it has produced a certain effect on him/her. The sentence above means that Pete was reminded by the happy look in the little girl's blue eyes of his beloved girl who was long dead and he felt the pain of an old wound.

20. 1. Why did Ma say that Laura was a good girl? Ma said Laura was a good girl because in their encounter with a bear, Laura followed Ma's instructions exactly and did it quickly, without asking why. 2. What kind of people were Laura‘s parents? Laura's parents were typical American frontier people who lived in the sparsely populated big west. Pa did some outdoor undertakings such as hunting and trapping animals in the woods while Ma was responsible for housework and other indoor work. They lived almost self-sufficiently. 3. Discuss the kind of life the family lived in the big woods.  The family lived in the Big Woods. In winter, Pa usually trapped animals so that they could trade the furs for some daily necessities in the next spring. They lived far from the town. The children in the family had not even seen a store. As natural threats such as a bear's breaking in were always around, they had to learn to cope with the harsh surroundings.

21. Questions on Text 2 Why did Pete become the loneliest man on that day? Why did the girl go into the shop? What did Pete look like? Why did Pete study the little girl with his cold eyes? Why did Pete close his hand cover the price mark? Why did Pete feel more alone than ever after the little girl left his shop? Why something about Jean Grace and her string of beads had made him feel once more the pain of his old grief? Did the young woman want to buy something when she came in Pete’s shop? What is the hope and happiness?

22. 1. Why did Pete close his hand over the price mark on the necklace? Pete closed his hand over the price mark on the necklace so that the little girl could not see it. The little girl had no idea how much the necklace would cost and she took it for granted that with the handful of pennies which she had saved, she could buy the lovely present for her sister. Pete was struck by the happy look in the girl‘s eyes and he just couldn’t tell her the price of the necklace to discourage her. 2. Why was the present so wonderful? The present was wonderful because it is a sign of love. Pete had been in love with a girl, but unfortunately, she died in a car accident. Since then, Pete felt that he had nothing left in the world except his grief. He lost the ability to love others and became the loneliest man in town. But Jean Grace's visit to his shop changed his life. The fact that he gave the valuable necklace to the girl means that he regained his ability to love others. Later when Jean Grace's sister came and asked him about the necklace, Pete's answer further indicates that he had totally changed from the past self and became a man who could love again.