The Date Father Didn’t Keep

1. The Date Father Didn’t Keep 1.Background Knowledge 2.Text Analysis 3.Exercises 4.Questions For Discussion

2. Background Knowledge Denmark: The Kingdom of Denmark, almost surrounded by water, is situated in northwestern Europe, consisting of a peninsula and 482 nearby islands. It is the smallest of the Scandinavian countries with a population of 5,127,000 and Copenhagen as its capital. We call the people of Denmark Danes. The official language of Denmark is Danish. During the Second World War Denmark was occupied by Germany. It recovered rapidly after the war. As a charter member of the U.N. in 1945, it broke a long tradition of neutrality by joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949 and the European Economic Community in 1972. In the late 1980s Denmark allowed its military forces to decline below NATO requirements. Next

3. Background Knowledge Denmark is famous for its butter, cheese, bacon, ham, and other processed foods. The people of Denmark are prosperous, and they have one of the world’s highest standards of living, a highly developed state education system, and advanced social security schemes. Return

4. Exercises 1. True/False Questions 2. Multiple-choice Questions Return

5. True/False Questions 1.Father and son went to Denmark to pay a visit to their old friends. 2.They happened to stay in the very inn where father had once been thirty years before. 3. When they went to have a drink, they saw the woman with whom father had been madly in love. 4.Father had planned to marry that girl.

6. True/False Questions 1.Father and son went to Denmark to pay a visit to their old friends. (F) 2.They happened to stay in the very inn where father had once been thirty years before. 3. When they went to have a drink, they saw the woman with whom father had been madly in love. 4.Father had planned to marry that girl.

7. True/False Questions 1.Father and son went to Denmark to pay a visit to their old friends. (F) 2.They happened to stay in the very inn where father had once been thirty years before. (T) 3. When they went to have a drink, they saw the woman with whom father had been madly in love. 4.Father had planned to marry that girl.

8. True/False Questions 1.Father and son went to Denmark to pay a visit to their old friends. (F) 2.They happened to stay in the very inn where father had once been thirty years before. (T) 3. When they went to have a drink, they saw the woman with whom father had been madly in love. (T) 4.Father had planned to marry that girl.

9. True/False Questions 1.Father and son went to Denmark to pay a visit to their old friends. (F) 2.They happened to stay in the very inn where father had once been thirty years before. (T) 3. When they went to have a drink, they saw the woman with whom father had been madly in love. (T) 4.Father had planned to marry that girl. (T) Next

10. True/False Questions 5.A few days later father changed his mind and broke the date with the young lady. 6.This story took place in a Danish inn, where Father met his old lover unexpectedly. 7. The girl’s father did not object to her love because her lover was an American. 8. Father went back to America to borrow some money to get married on.

11. True/False Questions 5.A few days later father changed his mind and broke the date with the young lady. (F) 6.This story took place in a Danish inn, where Father met his old lover unexpectedly. 7. The girl’s father did not object to her love because her lover was an American. 8. Father went back to America to borrow some money to get married on.

12. True/False Questions 5.A few days later father changed his mind and broke the date with the young lady. (F) 6.This story took place in a Danish inn, where Father met his old lover unexpectedly. (T) 7. The girl’s father did not object to her love because her lover was an American. 8. Father went back to America to borrow some money to get married on.

13. True/False Questions 5.A few days later father changed his mind and broke the date with the young lady. (F) 6.This story took place in a Danish inn, where Father met his old lover unexpectedly. (T) 7. The girl’s father did not object to her love because her lover was an American. (F) 8. Father went back to America to borrow some money to get married on.

14. True/False Questions 5.A few days later father changed his mind and broke the date with the young lady. (F) 6.This story took place in a Danish inn, where Father met his old lover unexpectedly. (T) 7. The girl’s father did not object to her love because her lover was an American. (F) 8. Father went back to America to borrow some money to get married on. (T) Next

15. True/False Questions 9. The girl did not wait for Father. She got married soon after Father went back to America. 10.Father did not keep the date because of a misunderstanding: people from different countries read the date differently. 11.Father felt disappointed when the woman did not recognize him.

16. True/False Questions 9. The girl did not wait for Father. She got married soon after Father went back to America. (F) 10.Father did not keep the date because of a misunderstanding: people from different countries read the date differently. 11.Father felt disappointed when the woman did not recognize him.

17. True/False Questions 9. The girl did not wait for Father. She got married soon after Father went back to America. (F) 10.Father did not keep the date because of a misunderstanding: people from different countries read the date differently. (T) 11.Father felt disappointed when the woman did not recognize him.

18. True/False Questions 9. The girl did not wait for Father. She got married soon after Father went back to America. (F) 10.Father did not keep the date because of a misunderstanding: people from different countries read the date differently. (T) 11.Father felt disappointed when the woman did not recognize him. (F) Return

19. Multiple-choice Questions 1.Father’s attitude on recognizing the woman as his old lover was one of . A)great joy B)great sadness C)mild shock and surprise D) regret Answer

20. Multiple-choice Questions 1.Father’s attitude on recognizing the woman as his old lover was one of C. A)great joy B)great sadness C)mild shock and surprise D) regret Next

21. Multiple-choice Questions 2.When the woman went to fetch beer, father mopped his face with a handkerchief because . A) he didn’t want to see her B)he feared that she might recognize him C)he felt sorry that he had not kept the date D) he was puzzled why she hadn’t recognized him Answer

22. Multiple-choice Questions 2.When the woman went to fetch beer, father mopped his face with a handkerchief because B . A) he didn’t want to see her B)he feared that she might recognize him C)he felt sorry that he had not kept the date D) he was puzzled why she hadn’t recognized him Next

23. Multiple-choice Questions 3.Which of the following can best complete the son’s words “Dad, you don’t have to …”? A)tell the truth B)be worried C) tell mother D) explain Answer

24. Multiple-choice Questions 3.Which of the following can best complete the son’s words “Dad, you don’t have to …”? (D) A)tell the truth B)be worried C) tell mother D) explain Next

25. Multiple-choice Questions 4.How was the woman when father and son saw her at the inn? A)She had forgotten all about her youthful romance. B)She was rather happy. C) She was angry that she had been cheated by that young American. D) She was tired of her life in Denmark. Answer

26. Multiple-choice Questions 4.How was the woman when father and son saw her at the inn? (B) A)She had forgotten all about her youthful romance. B)She was rather happy. C) She was angry that she had been cheated by that young American. D) She was tired of her life in Denmark. Next

27. Multiple-choice Questions 5.Which of the following can support your choice in Question 4? A)Now she was stout and her hair was untidy. B)She had married a local innkeeper. C)The woman’s words: “A wonderful country, America.” D) The woman’s words: “It’s much better here.” Answer

28. Multiple-choice Questions 5.Which of the following can support your choice in Question 4? (D) A)Now she was stout and her hair was untidy. B)She had married a local innkeeper. C)The woman’s words: “A wonderful country, America.” D) The woman’s words: “It’s much better here.” Next

29. Multiple-choice Questions 6.The woman’s father objected to her romance because . A)the young man was an American who had no job B) the young man wouldn’t make a good husband C)the young man would take his daughter away D) the young man could not speak Danish Answer

30. Multiple-choice Questions 6.The woman’s father objected to her romance because A. A)the young man was an American who had no job B) the young man wouldn’t make a good husband C)the young man would take his daughter away D) the young man could not speak Danish Return

31. Questions for Discussion The time difference between November 12th and December 11th in this text is almost 30 days. The girl married another man two weeks after the date she was to marry the man in the story. Do you think she really loved the first man? Why do you think she married the second man so quickly? What do you think is a good reason for marriage? Should it be based on love, financial security, or other reasons? Return

32. Text Analysis In the following story the writer’s father broke an important date when he was young. How did it happen? Read the story and find the answer.

33. Text Analysis It happened in one of those colourful Danish inns which offer service specially for tourists and where English is spoken. I was with my father on a business-and-pleasure trip, and in our leisure hours we were having a wonderful time.

34. Text Analysis “I wish Mother were here,” said I. “If your mother had come with us,” said Father, “it would have been wonderful to show her around.” He had visited Denmark when he was a young man. I asked him, “How long is it since you were here?”

35. Text Analysis “Oh, about thirty years. I remember being in this very inn, by the way.” He looked around, remembering. “Those were pleasant and enjoyable days…” He stopped suddenly, and I saw that his face was pale. I followed his eyes and looked across the room to a woman who was setting a tray of drink before some customers. She might have been pretty once, but now she was stout and her hair was untidy. “Do you know her?” I asked.

36. Text Analysis “I did once.” he said. The woman came to our table. “Drinks?” she asked. “We’ll have beer,” I said. She nodded and went away. “How she has changed! Thank heaven she didn’t recognize me,” father said in a low voice, mopping his face with a handkerchief. “I knew her before I met your mother,” he went on. “I was a student, on a tour. She was a lovely young thing, very graceful. I fell madly in love with her, and she with me.”

37. Text Analysis “Does Mother know about her?” I said suddenly, without thinking. “Of course,” Father said gently. He looked at me a little anxiously. I felt embarrassed for him. I said, “Dad, you don’t have to…”

38. Text Analysis “Your mother would tell you if she were here. I don’t want you wondering about this. I was a foreigner to her family. I was dependent on my father. If she had married me, she wouldn’t have had any prospects. So her father objected to our romance. When I wrote to my father that I wanted to get married he cut off my allowance. And I had to go home. But I met the girl once more, and told her I would return to America, borrow enough money to get married on, and come back for her in a few months.”

39. Text Analysis “We knew,” he continued, “that her father might stop and seize our letter, so we agreed that I would simply mail her a slip of paper with a date on it, the time she was to meet me at a certain place; then we’d get married. Well, I went home, got the loan and sent her the date. She received the note. She wrote me: ‘I’ll be there.’ But she wasn’t. Then I found that she had been married about tow weeks before, to a local innkeeper. She hadn’t waited.”

40. Text Analysis Then my father said, “Thank God she didn’t. I went home, met your mother, and we’ve been completely happy. We often joke about that youthful love romance. I suggest that one day you write a story about it.”

41. Text Analysis The woman appeared with our beer. “You are from America?” she asked me. “Yes,” I said. She smiled happily, “A wonderful country, America.” “Yes, a lot of your countrymen have gone there. Did you ever think of it?” “Not me. Not now,” she said. “I thought so one time, a long time ago. But I stayed here. It’s much better here.”

42. Text Analysis We drank our beer and left. Outside I said, “Father, just how did you write that date on which she was to meet you?” He stopped, took out an envelope and wrote on it. “Like this,” he said. “12/11/13, which was, of course, December 11, 1913.”

43. Text Analysis “No!” I exclaimed. “It isn’t in Denmark or any European country. Over here they write the day first, then the month. So that date wouldn’t be December 11 but the 12th of November!” Father passed his hand over his face. “So she was there!” he exclaimed, “and it was because I didn’t show up that she got married.” He was silent a while. “Well,” he said, “I hope she’s happy. She seems to be.”

44. Text Analysis As we resumed walking I said, “It’s a lucky thing it happened that way. You wouldn’t have met Mother.” He put his arm around my shoulders, looked at me with a heartwarming smile, and said, “I was doubly lucky, young fellow, for otherwise I wouldn’t have met you, either!” Simplified from Reader’s Digest, 1975. Approximately 740 words. Return

45. Word to Know colourful [`kQlEfJl] adj. 富有情趣的，富有特色的 =bright, gay, exciting, vivid e.g. Her hope is to lead a colourful life. 她的愿望是过一种多姿多彩的生活。 Return

46. Word to Know tourist [5tJErIst] n. 旅游者 =traveler e.g. London is full of tourists in summer. 伦敦在夏季有很多观光客。 Return

47. Word to Know leisure [5leVE(r)] n. 闲暇，空闲 =spare time e.g. She has no leisure for sport. 她没有空闲做运动。 Return

48. Word to Know tray [treI] n. 托盘 =flat piece of wood, metal, etc with raised edges for holding light articles e.g. She is holding a tea tray in her hand. 她手里拿着个茶盘。 Return

49. Word to Know customer [5kQstEmE] n. 顾客 =person who buys things e.g. Mr. Smith has lost some of his best customers. 史密斯先生已丧失了一部分最好的顾客。 Return

50. Word to Know stout [staJt] adj. 发胖的 =rather fat e.g. She’s growing too stout to walk far. 她胖起来了，不能走远路。 Return