I. Understanding the Text

1. Text Organization

The Story of the “Perfect Aryan”Child                        2.Comprehension Check

2.1 Focusingon the main ideas

Hessy Levinsons Taft was born in Germany right afterHitler came to power. When she was six months old, her parents hadher picture taken. They put it on the piano as a private family photo.Nonetheless, to their horror, the picture soon appeared on the cover of a Nazi magazine.Being Jews/Jewish,they were afraid of publicity. So they contacted the photographer to find outwhat had happened. The photographer explained that he had sent in his 10 bestpictures for a competition/contest runby the Nazis, and that he had included Hessy’s picture in his submissions as ajoke. As it happened, Hessy was picked as the perfect Aryan baby.Within weeks, Hessy’s picture was seen everywhere. The whole story was theultimate irony forthe Nazi racist theory.

2.2 Digginginto detail

1.They wereLatvian Jews who wanted to make it big in singing.

2.It refers tothe fact that the girl chosen as the perfect “Aryan” was actually Jewish.

3.He accepted aposition at a local opera house, but his contract was cancelled when thecompany found out his Jewish origin.

4.His realpurpose was to make fun of the Nazi racist philosophy.

5.She would havebeen killed.

2.3Understanding difficult sentences

·        1) B

·        2) A

·        3) B

·        4) A

·        5) A

II. Focusing on Language inContext

1. Key Words& Expressions

1.1

1.The reports ofterror attacks in Paris were splashed across newspapers andwebsites.

2.Today’sassignment is to go to the library and find out more about what happenedto Jews during World War II.

3.Thebloody images inthis war film are not suitable for young viewers.

4.All TVentertainment shows have been cancelled because this is aspecial day for the state memorial service in Nanjing.

5.The professorhas just come outwith a new book on war and world politics.

6.This is aprecious photo of my family. Now beautifully framed, it stands on my desk.

7.Save sometopics like income, love life and politics for private conversations.

8.Encryptionshould be used when a secret message is delivered online.

9.During the ColdWar years of the last century, China made remarkable achievements indeveloping nuclear weapons.

10.Anyone whowants to complain about unfair treatment must submit a written report to thecommittee.

11.When you visita new place, try to talk to local people and taste local foodfor a better understanding of the culture.

12.The word“Nazi” is claimed tocome from the first letters of German words for Hitler’s National SocialistGerman Workers’ Party, but it may not be true.

1.2

·        1) surged

·        2) made it big

·        3) Definitely

·        4) fled

·        5) throughout

1.3

1.During the airattacks by German Nazis, Londoners took refuge in the Undergroundstations.

2.After World WarII, women gavebirth to 77.3 million babies in the U.S., and thebirthrate reached a record high.

3.YadVashem has a(large) collection of personal stories, photos and itemsfrom the Jews who were killed by the Nazis.

4.An arms racerefers to a competitionbetween/among countries to produce more and betterweapons during peace time.

5.Refugees whocannot return to their country of origin will have to beresettled in other countries.

2.Collocation

1.Oldbuildings areprone to damage in severe weather if no proper measuresare taken to protect them.

2.The wholeworld is amazed at howfast China has been developing in the past thirty years.

3.Now in thefifth year of our marriage, my wife is pregnant with our second child.

4.The China-Japanwar fought between 1931 and 1945 is known as the War of ResistanceAgainst Japanese Aggression in Chinese history.

5.Beijing, amixture of the old and the new, is full of surprises and fun.

3. SentencePatterns

1.Believe in yourself, and you’llwin the speech contest.

2.Leave your address, and we’lldeliver the framed picture to you next week.

3.Just listen to her, and youwill be amazed at the remarkable progress she has madein learning English.

4.As smart as/Smart as he was, heachieved little throughout his life.

5.As hard as/Hard as we triedto contact and invite him, he did not show up.

4.Comprehensive Practice

Reporter:Yes,indeed, Prof. Taft, because we know, you have parents of Jewish origin.

Prof. Taft:You’reright. My mom exclaimed inhorror at the news about me appearing on the Nazi magazine, becausepeople would findout the baby was Jewish. So she went back to thephotographer to ask what had happened. He explained that there was a contest topick the most beautiful Aryan baby, and he had deliberately submitted the picture/photo.

Reporter:Did theNazis discover who you were and did they find you?

Prof.Taft:Fortunately, no, for my family fled Germany in 1938. We movedfirst to Latvia, then tookrefuge in Paris until the Nazis took control of the city.We had a visa problem with the U.S, so we stayed in Cuba before we finally cameto settle in the U.S. in 1949.

Reporter:Yourstory sounds horrible. Are you angry at the photographer?

Prof. Taft:No,actually as I reflect on my personal story, I’m thankful that this outstanding photographerdid what he did. I’m also pleased that I’ve added my story to the numerous revelationsabout how ridiculous the Nazis were. I do hope I’ve delivered themessage to the world in my way.

Reading 1

1.Comprehension Check for Reading 1

·        1) T

·        2) F

·        3) T

·        4) T

·        5) T

·        6) T

·        7) F

·        8) T

·        9) F

·        10) T

2.Translation

1.这是一个讲述幸存的故事，一个难以置信的故事：一个6岁犹太男孩设法逃脱纳粹灭绝犹太人的种族大屠杀，并将自己幸存的经历隐藏了半个多世纪。

2.无论身处何地，他都得时刻警醒，知道自己生活在假面之下。

3.这些秘密他守了50多年，直到最后他觉得一定要回答从二战一开始就萦绕心头的问题。

4.他唯一的线索是那么多年来脑子里一直念念不忘的一个词：科伊达诺夫。

Reading 2

ComprehensionCheck for Reading 2

1.Germany invadedher country and she fled from Poland along the Trans-Siberian Railway beforeshe made it to Shanghai.

2.She madeChinese and Jewish friends and they played together; she went to a great Jewishschool and did very well at school; life in Shanghai was harsh but safe.

3.She enjoyed heryears in Shanghai very much and recalled her life with nostalgia.

4.The expressionmeans that it was almost unbelievable that while so many Jewish children losttheir lives in their home countries under the Nazi rule, Jewish childrenenjoyed their childhood and grew up fairly well in Shanghai, a world apart fromthe horrors of Europe.