Lesson 1 Half a Day

1. Lesson 1Half a Day byNaguib Mahfous (1911-2006)

2. Questions before Class • Q1: How did you feel the 1st day you arrived on the campus? Was it the same as you’ve imagined? • Q2: Was it hard for you to leave your parents and learn to be independent? How? • Q3: What do you expect to gain / learn here? • Q4: How do you like the life in the university so far? What attracts you most?

3. For this story, Mahfous uses a strategy commonly used in fiction writing – the protagonist returns to find things have been greatly changed beyond recognition during his / her short absence. The best example is perhaps WashingtonIrving’s (1783-1859) Rip Van Winkle (gist of the story).What deserves our attention is that the setting of the story is not clear, unlike most classical writings, but what the author tries to get across is something universal. This is one of the features of modern writings. Works like this usually embody profound signs and symbols, which are left for readers to interpret themselves.

4. Analysis of the Text • I walked alongside my father, clutching his right hand. “clutching his right hand” : present participle – modify the main verb “walked” , which has the same S. with the main clause. 它表伴随的状态和动作. (find other examples in the text) NOTE: present participle could also modify a noun, 表示动词与主语的主动关系, 经常可与定语从句互换 e.g.: There stood a sign saying “Mind your steps !” • … as this was the day I was to be thrown into school … “to be thrown into (place)”: emphasis the force on somebody. 但这不是一个惯用的组合, 经常用成 “to throw sb. out of” : e.g.: They’ll throw me out of school if I fail three exams. • My mother stood at the window…hoping she would help. “from time to time” : sometimes, once in a while “ hoping she would help ”: help what? Q: What dose the sentence tell us about the boy’s relations with his parents? • We walked along a street lined with gardens… “lined with”: past participle – modify the noun “a street” , 动词与主语的关系是被动的, 这种句子可以被看成是一种省略了的定语从句 (将词句变成定语从句)  规律: 若在定语从句中, 引导词和be动词同时出现的话,两者可省. e.g.: The teacher is walking to the classroom, (who is )followed by a group of students. • It’s a place that makes useful man out of boys. “to make … (out) of sb. / sth.” : to make sb. /sth. become … e.g.: Hardships help make a man (out) of a boy. e.g.: I don’t think you can make a football star (out) of Johnny. • I did not believe there was really any good to be had … huge, high-walled building. “it is no good/use doing sth. 或者 there is no good to be had in doing sth.” : it is not useful to do sth. e.g.: It’s no good crying over spilt milk. (proverb) “to tear sb. away from …”: to (make sb.) leave/separate from sb./sth. e.g.: Can’t you tear yourself away from the TV for dinner? Q: “the huge, high-walled building” indicates what? • Well, it seemed that my misgivings had had no basis. “have no basis”: without good reasons, groundless e.g.: Don’t be bothered by the rumors which have no basis.

5. From the first moments I made many friends and feel in love with many girls. Q: “From the first moments” of WHAT? NOTE: this is a humorous remark to suggest that the boy’s attitude towards school changed a great deal. • “take a nap” = siesta (Spanish) • It was not all a matter of playing and fooling around. “all” : completely “a matter of sth.”: a situation that involves sth. or depends on sth. e.g.: French people like to eat a kind of cheese with fungus but they can’t stand the Chinese stinky tofu. It’s just a matter of habits. “to fool around”: to waste time instead of doing sth. That you should be doing • Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred, or give rise to fighting. “to bring about” : to make sth. happen e.g.: Science has brought about many changes in our lives. “ give rise to sth.” : (formal) to cause sth. to happen or exist e.g.: Poor living conditions give rise to many diseases. • Even more frequently she would resort to physical punishment. “ to resort to sth.” : to make use of sth.; to turn to sth. (esp. sth. bad) as a solution e.g.: They had to resort to threats when they failed to persuade them to leave. • In addition, the time for changing one’s mind was over and gone … returning to the paradise of home. “in addition” = additionally 强调附加功能  furthermore 强调递进功能 moreover/what’s more 强调数量功能 apart from that/besides that 强调包含功能 “over and gone” : ended “there is no question (of sth. happening / sb. doing sth.)”: there is no possibility e.g.: There is no question of their firing you at the moment. Q:How to comprehend this sentence? ( Besides, it was impossible for us to quit school and return to the good old days when we stayed home playing and fooling around all day. Our childhood was gone, never to come back.) • Nothing lay ahead of us but exertion, struggle, and perseverance. “nothing … but …” / nothing but = only e.g.: She ate nothing but an apple for lunch. • Those who were able took advantage of the opportunity … that presented themselves. “to take advantage of sth.”: to make use of sth. (such as a chance ) well

6. e.g.: We must take full advantage of our trip to Britain. NOTE: “ to take advantage of sb.” : to threat sb. unfairly to get what one wants e.g.: I know he wants to take advantage of me on this business since I owed him last time. “to present” : (formal) to happen, appear, stand out e.g.: When to chance to study at Harvard presented itself, I jumped at it. • “in vain”: uselessly; without a successful result e.g.: His parents tried in vain to persuade hum to quit smoking. • High buildings had taken over… “take over” : replace sth. ; occupy sth. e.g.: Through millions of years, the sea was gradually taken over by the mountains. • Here and there stood conjurers showing off their tricks or making snakes appear from baskets. This is an inverted sentence. The S. is “conjurers” , and the main verb is “stood”. Inversion occurs in this sentence because the S. is too long. • … but the stream of cars would not let up. “let up”: (informal) (of an unpleasant situation) to stop or to become less serious e.g.: I tried to sleep, but the noises of cars outside wouldn’t let up. • Extremely irritated, I wondered when I would be able to cross. Q: This is a sentence with past participle, why is it used here? Why not present participle?

7. Discussions after the Analysis Read the following suggestions made by the father. Which ones do you agree with and which ones not? Have you ever been given some suggestions by your parents when entering the university? List them out. • School is a place that makes useful men out of boys. • Don’t you want to be useful like your brothers? • Put a smile on your face and be a good example to others. • Be a man. • Today you truly begin life.

8. Discussions after the Analysis Mahfous told us a somewhat magical story which seems he experienced all his life within half of a day. • As for all kinds of his experiences at school, what dose they respectively stand for, in your understanding? - the boy’s misgivings about school, hardness to be away from mom and home - the boy’s nice feelings about school: rich and colorful even though with discipline and hard work required. - the boy’s discovery of the outside world’s changes beyond his recognition and of his growth into an old man • What are the messages this story tries to convey? - Time and tide wait for no man. - There is nothing permanent in life but change. - Education can never keep up with changes in society. - Life is short and time is precious. - School education is not enough for learning to be a social “man”.

9. CONCLUSION&Assignments • P11-1; P13-3; P14-4; P16-8; P19-3 • Preview “The Edge” on P22 THANK YOU! http://cloakingdagger.blog.hexun.com/