(Text 1)    Dealing with AIDS

 

1. Dealing with AIDS strengthens the bond of friendship, encourages emotional and mature growth. Before the sixteenth of October 1995, I was the most carefree person in the world. I had no worries and was just living life up. I never thought that anything could happen to me or myfriends. We were invincible. That is, until the word AIDS came into my life.

 2. For 10 years David and I were the best of friends. Then we got to high school and things started to change. We were in different classes, so we didn’t hang out as much.It bothered me but I thought that we were both just growing up, and there were more friends where he came from. Then I began to notice that he wasn’t in school a lot, and was sick more than usual. So I called him and he hung up onme. I didn’t know what to do, so once again I blew it off. Then one day I saw David in the mall and I confronted him as to why we were not friends any more. He pulled me aside and broke down in tears and said that he was dying. I didn’t believe him. Sure, I had heard about AIDS, but hat it was a homosexual disease and it didn’t affect young people, so I said that it was a sick joke and left.

3. When I got home things started to make sense. I ran to my room and cried. David was only 17; he couldn’t die. Then I felt so bad that we had grown so far apart. I called David, asking him to come over so we could talk. When he came over I saw a seriousness in him that I had never seen before. He looked so old, too old for his age. I asked how it happened. David had had unprotected sex once and now had to pay with his life. I was so angry. I have never felt so powerless in my whole life. When things had gone wrong before this, I could always rely on my parents to make things better. There was nothing that they could do this time. I had to handle it all on my own.

 4. David and I became very close again, and it seemed that I was the only one there for him. David made the decision to tell people about his disease. There was no use in hiding it; sooner or later people would find out. People looked at him as if he had a plague, and our friends from school wanted nothing to do with him. Soon after that they wanted nothing to do with me. All of a sudden I felt that I had the disease. I didn’t know what to do. My whole life was changing so fast thatI couldn’t keep up. Once again I was growing up and realized that our friendship meant everything to me. Also, I couldn’t turn my back on him when heneeded me the most. So I stuck it out and lost most of my friends. The ones that still talked with me didn’t come too close in fear that they would catch the disease. The thing was, I didn’t even have AIDS, so why did my friends treat me like this? I was being treated this way because teenagers are not used to dealing with situations like this, and don’t know how to react. So how could I  blame them since I would have done the same thing?

5. As time went on, David became very ill. There was nothing that I could do but watch him die. David found out that he had full-blown AIDS. This to me meant death was sure to come and all too quickly. I wasn’t ready to let him die, not yet anyway. There were so many things that Iwanted to do and say, but couldn’t find the words. I went to doctor after doctor with him, and saw him go through so much. Everyone said that I must keep a positive attitude for his sake, because attitude means everything. So, in times of stress I was the one that had to keep things together. I pushed all my emotions aside and was strong for him.

6. My mom had had a trip planned for the whole family for some time now, and still wanted to go. She thought that the trip would do me good; she said that I was not the one that was dying. I couldn’t believe that she said that to me, but to make her happy I went. We were gone for about two weeks, and when I came back the first thing I did was go to see David. That was when I saw AIDS for the first time. I didn’t even recognize him. David had lost weight, had purple lesions all over his body, and was very pale. He couldn’t even get up when he saw me. He was bedridden. I still had to be the strong one and keep everything in. I had brought him stuff from the ocean, his favorite place. We talked about my trip and anything else we could think of. Then he fell asleep because he could no longer stay awake for long periods of time.

7. On the second of May 1996, David was put in hospital. This gave him the feeling that there was no more hope left, and that he was going to die. I still had to maintain my positive outlook for him. He needed that in me. One day he looked at me and said, “Faye, I am dying; let’s accept that and deal with it. I know what I did was wrong and now I have to deal with it. All I want you to do is to remember me, enjoy life and becareful.” For the first time in front of him, I cried. I knew that it wouldn’t be long before he was gone forever. He shouldn’t have to deal with this at sucha young age. Towards the end of May he became so sick that the hospital staff had a bubble around him, so he wouldn’t catch our bad germs. I hated to see him like that, and every day it became worse. I had come to realize that any day now he would die. At night I would wonder if he would make it through. School was over now, so I spent every hour I could in the hospital. He was everything to me. I felt bad for the time that we had lost and how I wasn’t even going to fight for our friendship.

8. The fifth of June, 1996 marked the end of my bestfriend David’s life. He went peacefully. That was a comfort all in its own. In a way I was glad that it was over, for he was no longer in pain. All the emotions that I had held in came rushing out as I realized that I would never see David again. His mother said that I had kept him alive and that she was grateful that I was her son’s last friend. It hasn’t been a year yet, but I have done so much since then that I am no longer that carefree teenager. I now educate people about AIDS, which to me is keeping David’s memory alive. Even though David is gone, he is still with me and always will be in mind and spirit.

 

 

Detailed Analysis of Paragraphs 1

Questions     

1.What does the first sentence of Paragraph 1 tell us?

   It points out the significance of dealing with AIDS,which is the theme of the text.

2. The last sentence of Paragraph 1 is a sentence fragment. It is actually part of the preceding sentence. Why does the author separate them from each other?

   By separating them from each other, the writer succeeds in accentuating the two parts of the sentence with more information. It is precisely for the purpose of emphasis that a sentence is divided into two or more than two parts by means of full stops.

 

 

Words and Expressions

1. strengthen: vt. to make something stronger or more effective, or to become stronger or more effective

e.g. The wind strengthened during thenight.    夜里风刮得更大了。

 They have been strengthening their border defense in preparation for war.

 他们已加强了边界的防守，作好了战争的准备。

 His battle against cancer has strengthened his belief in God.

The accident strengthens the case for better safety measures at fair grounds.

Antonym：weaken: vi.

Derivations: strength:  n.   strong:  adj.

Synonym: consolidate

 

2.bond: n.

 

1) a close connection joining two or more people

e.g. Commontastes form a bond between the two men.   共同的爱好使两人结为朋友。

 In societies with strong family bonds (= relationships), peopletend to live longer.

2) an official paper given by the government or a company to show that you have lent them money that th ey will pay back to you at an interest rate that does not change

e.g. I invested some money in savings bonds.

    We entered into a solemn bond.  我们缔结了一份正式合约。

 

3. mature: adj.

1) Mature people behave like adults in a way that shows they are well developed emotionally.

e.g. Oh,grow up! Behave in a more mature way.

       噢，别那么不懂事了（表现得成熟些吧）！

 He's very mature for his age.

2) A mature decision is one which is made after a lot of careful thought。

e.g. Upon mature reflection, we find the accused guilty.

Synonym: ripe

Derivation:  maturity n.

 

4. carefree: adj. having no problems or not being worried about anything

e.g. The music of this song sent her carefree and joyous.  这支歌的乐曲使她心旷神怡。

 I remember my carefree student days.

Synonym: unworried

  

5. invincible: adj. impossible to defeat or prevent from doing what is intended

e.g. Our manager has an invincible will.    我们的经理有着坚强的意志。

 We have an invincible army.  我们有一支不可战胜的军队。

Synonyms: unbeatable, unconquerable

Derivation: invincibility  n.

 

 

Activity: Sentence Making

Direction：You are supposed to make sentences by using the following words as many as possible.

  strengthen, bond, mature, invincible, carefree

 

 

                                Paraphrasing and Translation

Dealing with AIDS strengthens the bond of friendship, encourages emotional and mature growth.(Paragraph 1 )

Explanation:A IDS is an acronym for AcquiredImmune Deficiency Syndrome（获得性免疫缺损综合症）.

Translation: 对付艾滋病能强化人们之间的友谊，培养感情并使人更加成熟。

  

Detailed Analysis of Paragraphs 2-4

Questions

1. Why did David hang up on the author? (Paragraph 2)

  Suffering terribly from AIDS, David realized that he was dying,which would make his friend bitterly sad about his illness. And David didnot want to run the risk of giving the infectious disease to his best friend. So he cut off all communication with evenhis best friend.

2. How did David, the writer’s friend, catch AIDS? (Paragraph 3)

  David had had unprotected sex once. Thus, he caught AIDS.

3.  What attitude did the writer adopt towards David? (Paragraph 4)

  The writer adopted a friendly attitude towards David. Because their friendship meant everything to David. He couldn’t turn his back on David when he needed him the most.

4. How did other people react to David’s illness when it was made known? (Paragraph 4)

  Other people looked at him as if he had a plague, and the writer’s and David’s friends from school wanted nothing to do with him and even with the writer.

  

                                             Words and Expressions

6. hang out: to spend a lot of time in a place or with someone

e.g. They normally hang out in the pub.  他们经常在酒吧里鬼混。

    Where have you been hanging outthese days?  你这些日子里都在什么地方？

    She used to hang out with her goodfriends in the woods.

  

7. confront：vt. to face, meet or deal with adifficult situation or person

e.g. A soldier often has to confront dangers.  士兵常常要身临险境。

       They confronted the prisoner with his accusers.   他们让犯人与原告对质。

Synonyms: face, encounter,  meet

Comparison: meet, encounter, face, confront

meet：to experience something

e.g. I've never met that kind of problem/system before.

He met his death (= he died) in the icy waters of the South Atlantic.

  encounter: (formal)to meet someone unexpectedly; to meet a difficulty or setback

e.g. On their way home they encountered a woman selling flowers.

   One rainy night the policeman had a chance encounter with a gang of smugglers.

  在一个雨夜，那个警察正巧碰上了一伙走私犯。

  confront：vt.to face, meet or deal with adifficult situation or person bravely

e.g.  We must confront future with optimism.

  face:I f you face a problem, or a problem faces you, you have to deal with it.

e.g. This is one of the many problems faced by working mothers.

   You're faced with a very difficult choice there.

Derivations: confrontation: n.  a fight or argument

                   confrontational: adj

 

Collocation: be confronted with: face a difficulty or something bad

e.g. The new system will be confronted with great difficulties at the start.

    这种新的制度一开始将会面临很大困难。

  

8. break down:

1) to be unable to control your feelings and to start to cry

e.g. He broke down and wept when he heard the news.  他听到这个消息时不禁痛哭起来。

2) If a machine or vehicle breaksdown, it stops working.

e.g. The telephone system has broken down.  电话系统失灵了。

3) to collapse, fail to function oroperate

e.g. Our air-conditioner broke down on the hottest day of this year.  

       我们的空调在今年最热的那天坏了。

  

9. affect: vt. to have an influence on someone or something, or to cause them to change

e.g. Both buildings were badly affectedby the fire.

 The divorce affected every aspect ofher life.

 It's a disease which affects mainly older people.

Synonym: influence

Derivations:  affection n.  affective adj.

Comparison: affect, influence

affect: It usually refers to something produces negative effect on somebody.

e.g. The climate affected his health.  气候影响了他的健康。

       He was much affected by the sad news. 这个悲惨的消息使他非常难过。

influence: It usually refers to the imperceptible effect on one’s personality, thought or behavior, sometimes it also refers to the effect produced by the natural power.

e.g. Don't let me influence your decision. 不要让我影响你的决定。

 

10. make sense: to be reasonable or logical or comprehensible

e.g. Does itm akesense to let children play with matches? 

       让小孩玩火柴有意义吗？

 His argument does not make sense. 他的争论没有意义。

11. handle: vt. to deal with, have responsibility for, or be in charge of

e.g. He's not a very good teacher — he doesn't know how to handle children.

 他不是一个好的老师 — 他不懂得如何对待孩子。

 An officer must know how to handle his men. 当军官的应懂得怎样统率士兵。

  I thought he handled the situation very well.

       Some people are brilliant with computers, but have no idea how to handle (= behave with) other people.

Synonyms: cope with, deal with

  

12. keep up: to be able to understand or deal with something that is happening or changing very fast

e.g. I read the papers to keep up with what's happening in the outside world.

       I think it's difficult to keep up with the recent development.

Synonym:  follow

Collocation: keep up with :

1) If someone or something keeps up with someone or something else, they do whatever is necessary to stay level or equal with that person or thing.

e.g. He started to walk faster and the children had to run to keep up with him.

 Wages are failing to keep up within flation.

2) to change your ideas, opinions or way of living or working to make them modern

e.g. I don't really like working on a computer, but I have to keep up with the times, I suppose.

  

13. stick it out: to continue to the end of a difficult or unpleasant situation

e.g. He hates the job but he's determined to stick it out because he needs the money.

 他讨厌那工作——但因为需要钱，只好横下心来干下去。

      I know things are difficult at the moment, but if we just stick it out, I'm sure everything will be OK in the end.

  

14. blame: vt. to say or think that someone or something did something wrong or is responsible for something bad happening

e.g. The driver was not to blame for the accident. 这次事故不能怪司机。

Synonyms: condemn, accuse, find fault with

Collocations:

blame sb. for sth./ doing sth.: find fault with; censure 指责

blame sth. on sb.: place responsibility for sth. 把…… 归咎于……

Translation:

1) 许多孩子害怕讲英语时犯错误而受责备。
    Many children are afraid of being blamed for making mistakes in speaking English.
       
2) 警察把那起交通事故归咎于杰克的粗心驾驶。
    The police blamed the traffic accident on Jack's careless driving. 

   

Activity: Story Making

Direction：The class is divided into several groups. Each group is supposed to make a story of a person they happened to know and who was confronted with trouble and finally went through it with great efforts.

Words and phrases to be used:

hang out  confront  break down affect  make sense  handle keep up  stick it out  blame

 

 

Paraphrasing and Translation

1. I blew it off.(Paragraph 2) 

Paraphrase: I didn’t take it seriously.

2. When things had gone wrong before this, I could always rely on my parents to made things better. There was nothing that they could do this time. I had to handle it all on my own.(Paragraph 3)

Translation:在这之前，若事情出了差错，我总是可以向父母求助，使事情转危为安。这一次他们也无能为力，我不得不自己来处理应对一切。

3. There was no use in hiding it; sooner or later people wound find out.(Paragraph4)

Translation: 隐瞒病情没有用，人们迟早会发现真相的。

4. Also, I  could not turn my back on him when he needed me the most.(Paragraph 4)

Paraphrase: When he needs my help, I could not just leave him alone.

Translation: 而且，在他最需要我的时候我不能不管他。

  

 

Detailed Analysis of Paragraphs 5-7

Questions

1. What did David say to the writer one day in the hospital? (Paragraph 7)

  David said to the writer one day in the hospital, “Faye, I am dying; let’s accept that and deal with it. I know what I did was wrong and now I have todeal with it. All I want you to do is to remember me, enjoy life and becareful.”

2. How did the writer take care of his friend David? (Paragraph 5/6/7)

  The writer maintained an active attitude for the sake of his friend David and showed great concern for him. To be more specific, the writer contained his emotions in front of his friend; hewent to see one doctor after another with him, brought him stuff from the ocean—his favorite place; he spent every hour he could accompanying his friend in the hospital,where David was being treated until his last breath.

 

 

                                          Words and Expressions

15. go through: to experience a difficult or unpleasant situation

e.g. He's amazingly cheerful considering allthat he's gone through.

       鉴于他经历过的种种遭遇，他的乐天达观令人惊叹。

    The country has gone through too many wars.  这个国家经历了太多的战争。

       How can she keep smiling after what she’s gone through?

       她在经历了这一切之后怎么还能保持满脸笑容？

 

16. for one’s sake/ for the sake of: in order to help or bring advantage to someone

e.g. Don't inconvenience yourself formy sake.请不必为我麻烦。

   Please do it, for David's sake.

   Their parents only stayed together for the sake of the children.

 

17. stress:

1) great worry caused by a difficult situation, or something which causes this condition

e.g. People under a lot of stress may experience headaches, minor pains and sleeping difficulties.

      I can't bear the stresses and strains of modern life.  我不能忍受现代生活的压力和紧张。

2) emphasis

e.g. During his speech, he laid particular stress on the freedom of the press.

 在他的发言中他特别强调了新闻媒体的自由.

Synonyms:  strain, pressure, tension, emphasis

 

18. do sb. good: to benefit sb. 

e.g. Exercise will do you good.  运动对你会有好处的。

 Eat more fruit— it will do you good.  多吃水果，这对你有好处。

 A week’svacation will do you a lot of good. 休假一周对你有很多益处。

Antonym: do harm to sb.: to be harmful to sb.

e.g. Smoking does harm to your health.  吸烟对你的身体有害。

       Being exposed to sunlight for much time will do harm to one's skin.

 

19. bedridden: adj. confined to bed (by illness)

e.g. I have to stay where I am. From now on I'm bed-ridden.I'm under doctor's orders.

      我要留在这里，从现在开始我要遵循医嘱卧床休息。

20. keep sth. in: to conceal or hide an emotion; to restrain sth.

e.g. He could scarcely keep his indignation in. 他愤怒得难以自持。

               Hearing the news that she had been admitted by the university, she could hardly keep her excitement in.

21.maintain: vt.

1) to continue to have; to keep in existence, or not allow to become less

e.g. The army has been brought in to maintain order in the region.

   Mankind have been trying every means to maintain the balance of nature.

   人类采用一切手段保持生态平衡。

   Anna and Mary maintained their friendship for many years.

   Despite living in different countries, the two families have maintained close links.

2) to keep a road, machine, building,etc. in good condition

e.g. A large house costs a lot to maintain.

 The roads around the town have beenvery poorly maintained.

      Frank maintains his car very well.  弗兰克把自己的车子保养得很好。

3) to support

e.g. Mr. Smith maintains his son at college. 史密斯先生供养念大学的儿子。

4）to express firmly your belief that something is true

e.g. He maintains that he once saw a UFO.  他坚持称自己见过飞碟。

Derivation:  maintenance n.

 

22. deal with

1) to take action in order to achieve something or in order to solve a problem

e.g. How do you intend to deal with this problem?

       I think we should work out a strategy to deal with this situation.

      我想我们应该制订出一项行动计划，来应对这种情况。

2) to be about or be on the subject of something

e.g. Her new film deals with the relationship between a woman and her sick daughter.

      The author has tried to deal with(= write about) a very difficult subject.

      The meeting will deal with these problems.    本次会议将就这些问题进行讨论。

Synonyms: cope with, handle

 

Activity: Making a Story

 

Direction：Make a story by group discussion. Use as many of the words and expression in paragraph 5-7 as possible.The representative from each group should tell the story in front of the classand will be judged by other groups.

Make sentences by using the following phrases and expressions.

 go through;  for one’s sake;  stress; do sb. good;  bedridden;  keep sth. in;  maintain; deal with. 

                                             Paraphrasing

… the hospital staff had a bubble around him.(Paragraph7)

Paraphrase:… the hospital staff put him under a large clear plastic tent.

 

Detailed Analysis of Paragraphs 8

 

Questions

 

1.  How did the writer feel about hisfriend’s death?

  The writer had mixed feelings. In a way he was glad that David was no longer in pain. But all the emotions came rushing out as he realized that he would never see David again.

2.  How does the writer keep David’s memory alive?

  The writer educates people about AIDS. It is in this positive way that he keeps David’s memory alive.

 

 

Words and Expressions

23. in a way:to a certain extent, but not entirely; in a sense

e.g. The article is well written in a way. 从某种程度上来说，这篇文章写得不错。

Synonyms: to certain degree, to some extent

Comparison: in a way, in no way,in the way

     in a way: in a sense

     in no way: not at all, not in the least

    in the way: being an obstacle

Translation:

1. 在某种程度上，你犯那个错误我倒感到高兴，因为它可以对你敲响警钟。

    In a way, I am glad thatyou made that mistake, for it will serve you as a warning.

2.他们毫无相似之处。

They are in no way similar to each other.
3. 告诉那个男孩别挡道碍事。

Tell the boy not to stand in the way.

 

24. hold in : to conceal; to holdback; to keep from being perceived by others

e.g. Shannon became quiet, holding in her hurt and resentment.

     香农安静了下来，压抑着自己的伤心和怨恨。

      I felt an irresistible desire to hold in my own for a moment the hand Jeffrey Aspern had pressed. 

    我感到一种抑制不住的欲望，想亲手握一下杰弗里·阿斯彭曾紧握过的手。

Synonyms: keep in, constrain

 

25. grateful: adj. showing or expressing thanks, especially to another person

e.g. This is Teachers' Day and atime to be grateful to all teachers. This profession deserves the special recognition and respect. 

     时逢教师节，是向所有教师表达谢意的日子。这个职业值得受到特别的重视和尊重。

 I am grateful for all your past kindness  承蒙关照，万分感激。

Synonyms: thankful, appreciative

Antonym: ungrateful

Derivations:  gratitude  n.  gratefulness  n.

 

26. keep sth. alive: to cause sth. to remain living; to make sth. continue to exist

e.g. After years of sophistication, she still kept the old memory of her childhood alive.

      在经历了多年的坎坷后，她对孩提时的时光仍然记忆犹新。

      Many local traditions arestill kept alive in the place.

Synonyms: survive, remain

 

                                          Activity: Making a Dialogue

Direction：Make a dialogue in pairs. Use as many of the words and expressions in Paragraph 8 as possible.

 

 

                                   Paraphrasing and Translation

8. In a way I was glad that it was over, for he was no longer in pain. All the emotions that I had held in came rushing out as I realized that I would never see David again.(Paragraph 8)

Paraphrase: To some extend, I feel happy that it came to an end; because he would never suffer from the pain. The floodgate of my long hold emotions was open, as soonas I realized that I would never see David again.

Translation: 在某种意义上，我很高兴一切结束了，因为他不再痛苦了。当我意识到再也见不到大卫时，压抑了很久的情感一下子都爆发了出来。