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Unit 8 Fourteen Steps By Hal Manwaring. Teaching Points. Pre-reading Questions Structural Analysis Language Points Useful Words and Phrases Text-based Discussion Text-based Exercises. Background Information. San Jose, San Carlos. Split-level. yardstick. driveway. Road shoulder.
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Teaching Points • Pre-reading Questions • Structural Analysis • Language Points • Useful Words and Phrases • Text-based Discussion • Text-based Exercises
Pre-reading Questions • Can an invalid lead a happy and successful life? Please explain. 2. How would you show your appreciation if somebody helps you when you are in trouble?
Main Idea of Fourteen Steps Hal Manwaring was a crippled man who needed a crutch to get around. One dark rainy night, as he was driving home, a tire blew on his car and forced him off the road. Noticing a light on in a nearby house, he thumped slowly along the shoulder to see if someone there could help him. He was feeling sorry for himself that a crippled man should be so inconvenienced.
when a little girl opened the door of the house. He called out that he had a flat tire and couldn’t change it because of his handicap. The little girl went back in the house and soon emerged with an old man who, with the little girl’s help, changed the tire in the pouring rain. Hal offered to pay the old man, but was refused. Nevertheless Hal held out a $20 bill, but the old man didn’t make any move to take it. The little girl came closer to the window and whispered, “he can’t see. Grandpa is blind,” she said.
Hal said he was overcome with horror as the situation played over and over in his mind driving home. He had used his crutch as an excuse and the old man never gave a moments concern that he was blind.
Structural Analysis The text is composed of four parts: • Part I (Paragraph 1-2):about the author’s first life • Part II (Paragraph 3-5):about the author’s second life • Part III (Paragraph 6-8):about the incident that gave the author his third life • Part IV (Paragraph 9-10): the author’s reflection on the help he got from the flat tire incident.
Paragraphs 1-2 The two paragraphs are about the author’s first life which could be further divided into two phases: the first phase was a hard struggle to make a living because of the early death of his father and the support for his paralyzed mother, and the second phase was “a pleasant dream”, because the author had everything that a happy life can offer.
Paragraphs 3-5 The author depicts his life afflicted by the disease, especially the difficulty in climbing the 14 steps. However, what the author attempts to convey is not so much a picture of his struggles against the disease as his painful climbing of the 14 steps. Instead of boasting his strength and courage as one might expect, the author confides to us his frustration and disillusionment.
Paragraph 6-8: The three paragraphs narrates firstly in paragraph 6 how he got a flat tire on one stormy night and desperate for some help. Then in paragraph 7 the author describes in details how a little girl and an old man managed to help replace the tire in the darkness of the gusty wind and slashing rain and his psychological movements while he was waiting for the work to be done. His offer of money to pay for the favor and the old man’s decline were briefed in Paragraph 8.
Paragraph 9-10: The two paragraphs are the author’s reflection on the incident and his own life philosophy, from which he discovered the true value of life in helping others. The realization that the man who had helped him did it as a favor and was blind came as a value shock to him. From then on he stopped being a person who overflowed with self-pity and indifference but one who’s willing to help others, though just in his small way.
Language Points • …a cat has nine lives (Paragraph 1): an English proverb which indicates that cats are very tough. They seem able to survive accidents and hardships. God knows how he’s still alive. He must have nine lives like a cat. • San Carlos (Paragraph 2): a city in the US.
3. …the enormity of the situation swept all over me (Paragraph 6): …the seriousness and helplessness of the situation gripped me. 4. In the next few…I had never felt before (Paragraph 9): In the next few seemingly never-ending seconds I was never so overwhelmed by such shame and horror.
5. …all things whatever…so to them…(Paragraph 10): originally taken from the Bible which is interpreted as “do to other people whatever you would like them to do to you.” The converse part of the saying is: “do not do to other people whatever you wouldn’t like them to do to you.”
1. be inclined to: to be likely or tend to Middle-class victims are more inclined to contact the police. I don’t feel inclined to talk to him. 2. care for: to look after He is very good at caring for sick old people. Caring for a nervous injured bird requires a lot of patience.
3. afflict: to cause severe suffering or pain The old man was afflicted with blindness. Pollution might be one of the major problems currently afflicting Third World countries. 4. with the aid of: with the help of The bacteria can only be seen with the aid of a high-power microscope.
5. install: to set up The cost of installing a computer system can be justified in terms of greater efficiency. All gas stations have now installed pumps for leaded petrol. • to a degree: partly To a degree this course of action was forced upon her.
utterly: completely Without UN help it would have been utterly impossible to arrange the conference. We utterly reject the philosophy of compulsory wage control.
disillusioned: disappointed Disillusioned by his team’s performance, the manager resigned. Impossibly high expectations of the new regime have left many voters disillusioned.
hold on to: to keep one’s grip on; not to let go of Hold on to your ticket—you might need it on the return journey. 10. lead up to: to come before and result in The book describes the trial and the events leading up to it in great detail.
11. steer: to control She has steered the company away from financial ruin. 12. jerk: to pull suddenly and quickly He jerked the string and the light came on.
13. swerve: to turn suddenly to one side The driver swerved sharply to avoid hitting a dog. Next, the pitcher threw a curved ball, which swerved away from me as I lunged forward to hit it.
14 .sweep: to move quickly and smoothly A wave of panic swept over her. A new dance craze swept the country. 15. bundle: to quickly push something or someone into something He had been bundled into the back of a Volkswagen by three masked men. There had just been time to bundle his bloodstained jacket and gloves into the washing machine. .
16. slacken: to become slower or less active The train slackened speed as we approached the station. we slackened our pace as we reached the village. 17: jack up: to lift with a jack Why don’t you jack it up and we’ll have a look at the suspension?
18: frail: weak and poor in health A frail old woman with a walking stick came slowly down to the gate to meet us. His frail arm could barely hold his arm. 19. penetrate: to enter or pass (into or through) Light cannot penetrate a brick wall. Our eyes could not penetrate the darkness.
20. overflow with: to be very full of Kerry handed me a glass overflowing with wine, trying not to let it spill on the carpet. Mother Teresa was respected by the people because she had a heart overflowing with love.
21. indifference: not caring about Though thoroughly apprehensive, he put on a show of indifference. All our requests for government help have been met with complete indifference.
Text-based Discussion • As we know, according to the author he has three lives, through each of which he has different life experiences physically and mentally. Now work in pairs and discuss how he differs in each of the three phases according to the information given in the table. Find as many words as possible that illustrate the differences. When you finish in ten minutes you are going to report to the class by both writing your words on the board and presenting orally.
Text-based Translation Exercises • English into Chinese: 1) I became afflicted with a slowly progressive disease of the motor nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, then my other side. • I managed to keep my health and optimism, to a degree, because of fourteen steps. • Those steps were a gauge of life. They were my yardstick.
2. Chinese into English • 你可能以为走在这里的是一位充满了勇气和力量的人(a man of…)。 • 随着我年龄变老，我变得越来越失落（disillusion, frustrate）。 • 可能会有过路司机停下的念头立即被打消（dismiss)。 • 现在雨似乎在一点点减弱 。(slacken)。
You might think that here walked a man of courage and strength. • As I became older, I became more disillusioned and frustrated. • The though that a passing motorist might stop was dismissed at once. • The rain seemed to be slackening a bit now.
Oral Work Work in groups of four and discuss the following issue: • Why do you think some handicapped people have negative attitudes towards life? How should we help them?
