Touched by the Moon Nirmal Gbosb

1. Touched by the Moon Nirmal Gbosb ※ About the Text main idea/ figures of speech/ word study / sentence paraphrase ※ In-class Discussion ※ Answers to the Exercises ※ After-class Activities 1

2. About the Text main idea This article , as the title tells us , is about the moon and about how the author was awe-struck by the sight of the moon during his visit to his friend’s house in Manila as well as on three other occasions: one up in the mountains in India, one in the plains of the same country, and another on the beach in the Philippines. These descriptions are given in the first part of the article. The moon here serves as a symbol .It represents the whole of nature. In the second half of the text , the author begins to express his concerns about our neglect of nature as a result of modernization. The article ends with the author wishing to live in a cottage in the Himalayas for the rest of his life so that he can “touch the moon”.

3. About the TextFigures of Speech Examples:

4. About the TextFigures of Speech A metaphor is also a comparison.The difference is that a simile compares things explicitly--- that is , it states literally that X is like Y. A metaphor compares things implicitly. Read literally, it does not state that things are alike; it says that they are the same thing, that they are identical. Metaphor: （隐喻，暗喻）

5. About the TextFigures of Speech Examples:

6. About the TextFigures of Speech • Q: Can you find some examples of the usage of simile in the text? 1. When the moon was due to rise late or was at its newest---a bright, distant silver of white like a chink of light below a door in the sky. 2.The full moon rose and hung over the sea like a huge lantern in the sky. 3. I t was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence.

7. About the Text ·Word study Jungle : thick tropical forest. Forest: a large area thickly covered with trees. Woods : a small forest. 1). We went for a ride in the country last week and had a lovely walk in the _____ there. 2). We had to call in helicopters to put out the____ fire. 3). There is a nice little _____ behind my uncle’s house. 4). In his eyes, the business world is very much like a_____. keys: woods; forest; woods; jungle.

8. About the Text • word study to point to: to show sb. Sth. By holding up a finger toward it. to point sth. at sb. :to aim sth. at sb.. e.g. He pointed a gun at me. to point out: to tell sb. Sth. That he/ she did not know or has not thought about. e.g. He pointed out my mistakes.

9. About the Text • word study • awe-struck adj. suddenly filled with a feeling of respect mixed with fear and wonder. e.g. I was awe-struck by the sight of the full moon. • calendar n. 1) a list of the days, weeks and months of a particular year. e.g. Do you have next year’s calendar? 2) a list of dates or events of a particular kind. e.g. The Cup Final is an important date in the sporting calendar.

10. About the Text • word study confuse v. 1). To make people feel that they can not think clearly or do not understand. e.g. They confused me by asking so many questions. 2). To put sth. Into disorder; to upset. e.g. Her unexpected arrival confused all our plan. confused adj.

11. About the Text • word study constant adj. 1) going on all the time; without a break. e.g. The entrance is in constant use; do not block it. 2). unchanging; fixed. e.g. Pressure in the container remains constant.

12. About the Text • word study gleam v. 1). To shine softly. e.g. A few faint gleams of sunshine lit up the gloomy afternoon. 2). Brief show of some quality or emotion. e.g. a gleam of hope in an apparently hopeless situation.

13. About the Text • word study shape v. 1). to form; to develop in a particular way. e.g. To shape the wet clay on a potter’s wheel. 2). to have a great influence upon. e.g. His attitudes were shaped partly by early experiences.

14. About the Text • Word study style n. 1). Manner of writing or speaking, esp. contrasted with what is actually written or said. e.g. She is a very popular writer but I just don’t like her style. 2). Manner of doing anything. e.g. a typically British style of living.

15. About the Text • word study to be typical of : having the usual features or qualities of a particular group or thing. e.g. It is the typical of the weather in Beijing. The winter is long and dry and the spring is very short. to bathe in a light: to envelop in a light. e.g. The children bathe in a light doing exercises.

16. About the Text • word study to be due to do sth.: scheduled to do; arranged to do e.g. His book is due to be published in October. · to be at one’s best : to be in the best state e.g. I wasn’t at my best at the party so I didn’t enjoy it.

17. About the Text • word study to gleam white in the moonlight : to shine white softly in the moonlight. e.g. The mountain gleamed white in the moonlight to be flanked by sth: to be placed on each side of or at the side of e.g. The prisoner was flanked by the two detectives.

18. About the Text • word study at the edge of: at the outside limit or boundary of a solid object. e.g. He lived at the edge of the forest. to tumble over sth.: to roll to and fro or over and over. e.g. The stream tumbled over the rock.

19. About the Text • word study to climb away: to goor come in the specified direction. e.g. The road climbed away between the mountain. to leave behind sth:. e.g. The storm left a trial of destruction behind.

20. About the Text • word study to tower above sb.: to be of much greater height than others nearby. e.g. The skyscrapers tower above New York. to lose one’s sense of sth.: to lose one’s understanding of value of sth. e.g. He lost his sense of humor.

21. About the Text • word study to fall on sth.: to descend or drop. e.g. Sunshine falls on his shoulder. a row of : a number of people or things arranged in a line. e.g. He planted a row of cabbages.

22. About the Text • word study the sight of : thing to be seen,esp. sth. Remarkable. e.g. Come and see the sight of London. In anger: having strong feeling of displeasure and hostility. e.g. It was more in sorrow than in anger that he criticized his former colleague.

23. About the Text • Word study to drum sth. Into one’s mind to keep coming into e.g. The noise drummed into my mind. to measure out sth. to give a measured quantity of sth. e.g. He measured out a dose of medicine.

24. About the Text ·Sentence paraphrase1) It had touched many aspects of his life, including those concerning his ordinary daily life. To touch: to have an effect on For many practical reasons in his daily life he had to pay attention to the moon. For example, it could provide some light; it could tell people about the time and possible weather changes, etc.

25. About the text Sentence paraphrase 2) We sat in the sun looking at the scattering of stone-tiled roofs. We sat in the warmth and light of the sun, looking at the few houses spread out over a large area.

26. About the Text ·Sentence paraphrase 3) Energy flies around us. Modern cities depend on energy to provide heat and drive machines, etc, But energy production produces pollutants. The author obviously does not like the fact that “energy flies around us”.

27. About the Text ·Sentence paraphrase 4) The cycles of the sun and the moon are simple but gigantic forces which have shaped human lives. The changes of days and nights, months and seasons, or the changes of the weather are great forces which have long affected human lives.

28. About the Text ·Sentence paraphrase 4) We have lost our sense of wonder at the elements--- our lives are full of forces that are so new and barely understood that we are confused shadows of what we should be. We used to be awed by nature. It filled us with wonder. But now we have lost our sense of wonder. We can no longer enjoy that feeling because our lives are full of new things that are made by ourselves but not quite understood by ourselves. As a result, we are no longer what we should be. We have become difference persons and are totally confused by these changes.

29. ※ In-class Discussion 1).What does nature mean to us? Does it simply mean theprovider of everything we need for oursurvival be? 2).Is nature somethingto used? Or conquered? Oradmired and loved?

30. ※ Answers to the Exercises I. Give the opposite of the following. 1. near 2. gradually 3. near 4. below 5. outdoors 6. fullest 7. plateaus 8. gather 9. new 10. fill 11. normal 12. gentle 13. uncertain 14. unintelligent 15. indirectly 16. roughly 17. brightened 18. sometimes

31. ※ Answers to the Exercises II. Choose the right word and put it in the proper form. 1). (1) lie (2) lies (3) lay (4)lay (5) lay 2). (1) over (2) above (3) over (4) above 3). (1) woods (2) forest (3) jungle (4) wood

32. ※ Answers to the Exercises III. Put in the missing words. 1. saw 2. wonder 3. the 4. our 5. really 6. hardly 7. arrived 8. but 9. lying 10. on 11. preparing 12. because 13. experiences 14. greeted 15. who 16. Life 17. relied 18. daily 19. regularly 20. or 21. lack 22. there

33. ※ Answers to the Exercises IV. Complete the dialogue using the passive. 1) They were all destroyed by a typhoon. 2)The rules must be obeyed by everyone. 3) what could be done in twenty minutes 4) can be heard, of being heard 5) has been taken to the hospital, he has to be operated on 6) Is still being printed 7) Would only be awarded 8) Was offered three jobs, has just been offered a scholarship

34. ※ After-class Activities Have the students describe a beautiful scene of the moon they have experienced.

35. THE END