Part I:
I. Discussion
1. Russell says, “At the age of eighty my mother had her last bad fall…” What inferences can you draw from this sentence?
2. What was his mother’s state of mind after her last bad fall?
3. Russell says, “…when I did phone back she was all right, although she wasn’t all right, of course…” He uses the phrase “all right” twice. Do they mean the same?
4. Russell’s mother stayed in a nursing home. What is a nursing home?
A place where people who are old or who are unable to take care of themselves can live and be taken care of
5. Do you think it is a good idea for children to send their aged parents to this kind of institutions?
II. Language Study
1. On others she presided over family dinners cooked on Sunday afternoons for children who were now gray with age.
preside over/at: be the chairman (at); sit at the head of the table (at a formal dinner
with: because of
for children who were now gray with age. :… for children who were now old people with gray hair
2. Through all this she lay in bed but moved across time, traveling among the dead decades with a speed and ease beyond the gift of physical science. (1)
… traveling among the decades that were past and gone very quickly, so quickly and easily that no physical science would able to manage to do it.
gift: ability, talent
physical science:自然科学
traveling : the present participle phrase as adverbial of attending circumstances
3. She gazed at this improbably overgrown figure out of an inconceivable future and promptly dismissed it.
She looked steadily at me and could not recognize me because I was much too big for the son in her mind. She simply could not imagine the distant future when here little Russell would be that tall and big. Therefore she immediately put that thought out of her mind.
overgrown : to grow beyond normal size
inconceivable : impossible to comprehend or grasp fully
dismiss: to refuse to accept that something might be true
v. a. to force sb. to leave their job
b. to refuse to accept that sth. might be true or important
c. to officially tell people they can leave a place
d. to put out of court without further hearing
Select the proper meaning of “dismiss” in each sentence.
1) He was dismissed from his job for misconduct.
2) She gazed at… and promptly dismissed it. (4)
3) The court dismissed his appeal.
4) The class is dismissed.
4. “ Are you coming to my funeral today?” she asked.
The way she talked about her own funeral was clearly an indication that her mind was going. Just a moment ago she might have been still a young country woman in Virginia. It showed how her mind could wander free in time.
5. It was an awkward question with which to be awakened.
One expected to b hear an important and urgent message when he is awakened so early in the morning. But what Russell heard was simply a question which was silly and impossible to answer.
awkward: difficult; unpleasant; uncomfortable
6. “I’m being buried today,” she declared briskly, as though announcing an important social event.
“ I’m going to be buried today,” she said quickly, as if announcing an important social event.
Notice the passive present continuous tense is used to denote a future event.
Part II
I. Discussion
1. What kind of woman was Russell’s mother when she was young? Give a profile of her. Scan the text and list out the related information.
Appearance: small, short, light-boned, delicately structured
Character
straight- forward | I tell people exactly what’s on my mind, … |
strong-willed | She was a formidable woman, determined to speak her mind, determined to have her way, … |
energetic | She had hurled herself at life with an energy that made her seem always on the run. |
never defeated by life | life was combat, and victory was not to the lazy, the timed, the drugstore cowboy, … |
2. In what way did Russell’s mother’s ways reflect the values of the time she lived in?
The mother was always on the run and working hard because she believed that hard working is the necessary part of one’s life. Life was a struggle, a fight, a battle for survival, for salvation, and for the glory of God. Only by hard working can one be successful in the end. Those who were lazy, timid, loitering and afraid to tell others the true feelings were losers of the life.
II. Language Study
1. There had always been a fierceness in her.
Whatever she did, she did it determinedly, with great effort.
fierce: a. a. involving very strong feelings such as determination, anger or hate
b. (of weather) strong and severe
c. very difficult or unpleasant
1) I thought of a doll with huge, fierce eyes.
2) The fierce thunders roar me their music.
3) It is a fierce examination process.
synonyms: brutal, cruel, ferocious
antonyms: gentle, quiet
2. It showed in that angry challenging thrust of the chin when she issued an opinion, and a great one she had always been for issuing opinions.
This character trait of hers was shown when she expressed an opinion. She would stick out her chin angrily and defiantly. Whenever she had something to say, she would say it, never afraid of speaking her mind.
Ask sts to turn “ and a great one she had always been for issuing opinions” into normal order.
a great one she had always been for issuing opinions : inversion, showing emphasis
thrust : a quick hard push
3. “It’s not always good policy to tell people exactly what’s on your mind,” I used to caution her.
“ It’s not always wise to tell people your opinions,” I used to warn her.
be on one’s mind: to be thinking and worrying about sb/sth
caution: to warn that sth might be dangerous or difficult
4. “I tell people exactly what’s on my mind,” she had been fond of boasting… (para. 11)
“If they don’t like it, that’s too bad,” was her customary reply, “because that’s the way I am.”
Was she apologetic?
We must not think that the author’s mother was really apologetic. No, she was a woman of strong character. She was used to having things her own way. She liked to say exactly what was on her mind, and was proud of it.
5. And so she was, a formidable woman, determined to speak her mind, determined to have her way, determined to bend those who opposed her.
so she was: that was the kind of woman she was
bend: v. a. to lean forwards and downwards
b. to become curved
c. to apply the mind closely
d. to cause sb to submit or yield
Examples:
She bent forwards and whispered in my ear.
The stream bends to the west.
He was bent on making them happy.
Expressions:
bend sb.’s ear谈论不休
bend your mind/thoughts to sth. 专注于
bend before屈服于
be bent on一心想做某事
6. She had hurled herself at life with an energy that made her seem always on the run.
Whatever she did ( housework, raising children, etc.) she did it with great effort and speed, so she seemed to be always running.
hurl..at: to throw at, with a lot of force
on: used to indicate a state or condition of sth
on the run: always busy or in a hurry
a run of good/bad luck一连串的好运/倒霉事
a run on sth. 抢购
in the long/short run 从长远/短期来看
also: on the increase; on the decline; on fire
7. She ran after chickens, an axe in her hand, determined on a beheading that would put dinner in the pot.
determined on a beheading that would put dinner in the pot: determined to kill a chicken and cook it for dinner
Point out the humorous touches in this part
Notice the humorous effect achieved by using a formal word like “beheading” and by describing the dramatic scene of a young country woman running after chickens with an axe in hand.
8. Life was combat, and victory was not to the lazy, the timid, the drugstore cowboy, the mush-mouth afraid to tell people exactly what was on his mind.
In the days of the author’s mother, the Puritan work ethic was still very strong. Life was a struggle, a fight. Work had its moral value. People worked had for salvation and the glory of God.
The lazy, the timid, the drugstore cowboy and the mush-mouth to refer to four types of people that his mother despises. She is exactly the opposite.
Part III
I. Discussion
1. How did the author react to his mother’s senility from a son’s point of view?
at the beginning | I could not accept the inevitable. My impulse was to argue her back to reality. |
later | I soon stopped trying to argue her back to what I considered the real world. (I)tried to travel along with her on those fantastic journeys into the past. |
2. As Russell sat by his mother’s bed, seeing her present state, his impulse was to argue her back to
reality, why?
At the beginning, he tried to argue his mother back to reality from his point of view because he believed that his mother being a normal person would be better for her and her family.
3. What was the doctor’s diagnosis of his mother’s illness? Did Russell agree with him? What did he come to see about his mother’s problem? （After he realized that his mother could recapture happiness in her past memory, Russell stopped trying to argue her back to reality, what did he do instead? What does that mean?）
A hopeless senility or hardening of the arteries. The author thought it was more complicated than that. But later when he began to look at it from his mother’s point of view, he understood his mother was much happier when she could travel back to her childhood when she was loved and needed. So he would like to travel along with her into her past and understood his mother more.
4. Russell recalled a visit to his mother three years earlier. What does this visit show about Russell and his mother? Why couldn’t he understand his mother’s unhappiness? (paras. 39-40)
5. Which period was his mother’s happiest time in her life? Was Russell able to travel along with his mother to the dead decades? Why (not)?
II. Language Study
1. For a time I could not accept the inevitable.
For a period of time I could hardly believe such a strong and formidable person as my mother had become a helpless invalid, and I simply couldn’t face this fact.
the inevitable: the fact that as people are getting on in years, their health deteriorated and they become more and more helpless and dependant.
2. “ Russell’s way out west,” she advised me.
“ Russell’s not around. He’s far away in the west,” she told me.
way out west: far out west, a great distance out west
3. I thought it was more complicated than that.
Physiologically, the doctor was correct. But, the son knew the psychological aspect of his mother’s aging. The sentence expresses his mild objection to the doctor’s diagnosis. The rest of the paragraph explains this.
4. For ten years or more the ferocity with which she had once attacked life had been turning to a rage against the weakness, the boredom, and the absence of love ( common problems of old people) that too much age had brought her.
She once attacked life with fierceness, but now it was gone. In its place was an uncontrollable anger. she was angry about her declining health, her boredom and her loneliness.
with which she had once attacked life : relative clause (preposition +relative pronoun) modifying “ferocity
rage : a very strong feeling of anger
5. Now…she seemed to have broken chains that imprisoned her in a life she had come to hate and to return to a time inhabited by people who loved her, a time in which she was needed.
Now… she seemed to have found a way of escaping from her present life by reminiscing her good, old days when she was loved and needed.
6. I… had written her with some banal advice to look for the silver lining, to count her blessings instead of burdening others with her miseries.
I had written to my mother, advising her to think about the pleasant and good times and about how lucky and cheerful she had once been. I told her not to complain and have other people worry about her.
banal : commonplace, uninteresting
silver lining: sth good that can be found in a bad situation
e.g. Every cloud has a silver lining. 一线光明，一线希望
黑暗中总有一线光明
to count her blessings: to be grateful for the good things in her life；to think about the good things in your life, often to stop yourself becoming too unhappy about the bad things
7. This one was written out of a childish faith in the eternal strength of parents, a naive belief that age and wear would be overcome by an effort of will, that all she needed was a good pep talk to recharge a flagging spirit.
I wrote this letter naively believing that parents’ strength would never drain away, and aging as well as declining health could be overcome by a strong will, and that words of encouragement would fill a tired and weak person with strength and energy again.
eternal strength of parents: Parents would be strong and be able to take care of children forever.
wear: n. a. damage done by continuous use for a long time
b. fatigue, exhaustion
c. clothes that are suitable for a particular activity or group of people
Examples:
There was heavy wear on all four wheels.
… that age and wear could be overcome by an effort of will, … (39)
I didn't bring any evening wear.
effort of will: effort of determination
pep talk :a talk during which sb. encourages you to do sth. better or to work harder
recharge: to give back one’s strength and energy
recharge a flagging spirit : to put the new energy into the weaker spirit
8. She wrote back in an unusually cheery vein intended to demonstrate, I suppose, that she was mending her ways.
She answered the letter cheerfully, which was very unusual, I think she wanted to show that she was acting on my advice and was improving.
in a … vein: in a … way or style
mend one’s ways: to improve one’s ways after behaving badly for a long time. The author deliberately chose this strong word for humorous effect.
9. A world had lived and died, and though it was part of my blood and bone I knew little more about it than I knew of the world of the pharaohs.
The world my mother lived in when she was young was now past. Though I was closely related to them, I knew very little about them as I knew about the ancient Egypt. They were as remote to me as the ancient Egyptian kings.
no more…than:
I know no more Spanish than I know Greek. 我对西班牙语和希腊语同样不懂。
The officials could see no more than the Emperor. 这些官员们与国王一样什么也没看到。
10. The orbits of her mind rarely touched present interrogators for more than a moment.
She could seldom respond to the questions put to her today because her mind was constantly wandering to certain past phases of her life.
Metaphor:
orbits: her way of thinking
Part IV
I. Discussion
1. Why can age stir one’s curiosity about parents’ past?
2. Why was Russell’s childhood hard?
Hint: The Great Depression (migrant family living in the tent; mother of seven children; unemployed people looking for jobs)
3. How did the author understand the relationship with his children from a father’s point of view?
in the past | I had developed the habit of lecturing them on the harshness of life in my day. I tried to break the habit, but must have failed. |
now | Between us there was a dispute about time. |
4. What does the author mean by “a dispute about time”?
parents’ past parents’ future
parents’ childhood parents’ adulthood parents’ old age
children’s childhood children’s adulthood
children’s past children’s future
It is one of the reasons why there is generation gap between parents and children. The parents always like to talk about their past to the children because that was once their “future” they dreamed of and struggled for. But for the children, they are indifferent to the parents’ “future” because it is past for them. They are now dreaming for their future. This is the dispute of time.
5. What is the author’s view on how to handle the disconnection between parents and children?
One important factor contributing to the generation gap is that different generations live in different historical times and may hold different social values, which may lead to the difficulty in understanding each other.
On the part of the parents | |
On the part of the children |
II. Language Study
1. Sitting at her bedside, forever out of touch with her…
Although I was sitting at her bedside, very close to her physically, I never knew what she was thinking or talking about.
Notice the author’s regretful tone. Now that his mother could not recognize him, he regretted not having been a better son.
2. … when age finally stirs their curiosity there is no parent left to tell them.
… when they become old and want to learn about their parents’ past, both their parents are gone.
3. If a parent does lift the curtain a bit, it is often only to stun the young with some exemplary tale of how much harder life was in the old days.
lift the curtain : metaphor, lift the curtain of life and let you see a story serving as a model; to reveal the truth
exemplary tale: a moral lesson; a story that serves as an example for people to learn from
If a parent does tell his children a little bit about the past, he/she will usually just say how much harder life was in the old days. ( it often turns out to be a moral lesson about how hard life was for him or her, which does not make sense to the children.)
4. It irritated me that their childhood should be, as I thought, so easy when my own had been, as I thought, so hard.
should: used for describing a fact or event that someone has a particular feeling or opinion about (表达惊异或不以为然等情绪)
e.g. It’s odd you should mention Ben—I was just thinking about him.
It seems so unfair that this should happen to me.
as I thought: this parenthesis implies that the author now realizes that he was wrong to think that way. He thought their childhoods were easy while his own had been hard. Now looking back, he has to admit it wasn’t fair.
5. At dinner one evening a son had offended me with an inadequate report card…
inadequate: not enough or not good enough for a particular purpose; not up to standard
e.g. The girl realized that her answers were inadequate.
report card: a written statement by teachers about a child’s work at school, which is sent to his or her parents
6. …he gazed at me with an expression of unutterable resignation and said, …
unutterable: beyond description
resignation: acceptance of an unpleasant situation without complaining
He looked at his father steadily, looking calm, seemingly ready to accept what his father would say though he knew he wouldn’t be convinced. The boy knew what was coming. He hated being lectured on, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He had to let it happen. So he had a look of resignation that was hard to describe.
7. I was angry with him for that, but angrier with myself for having become one of those ancient bores whose highly selective memories of the past become transparently dishonest even to small children.
ancient bores : old people who bore the young by endlessly teaching them moral lessons
selective memories: Old people must have made mistakes in their time. But in order to set a good example for their children, they have to select what they consider would be suitable from their memories.
transparently dishonest: clearly dishonest; so dishonest that everybody can see it through
8. He looked upon the time that had been my future in a disturbing way. My future was his past, and being young, he was indifferent to the past.
my future was his past: the author was talking as a boy about what he would do in the future when he grew up. He did it to impress upon his son that he should do the same. But his future was his son’s past.
he was indifferent to the past: it is generally the case that young people are more interested in the present and future whereas old people are more interested in the past.
9. When she was young, with life ahead of her, I had been her future and resented it. Instinctively, I wanted to break free, and cease being a creature defined by her time.
When my mother was young, I was her future. But I didn’t like it. I wanted to be free and independent. I wanted to live my own life and did not want to live my life by my mother’s standards any longer.
10. These hopeless end-of-the–line visits with my mother made me wish I had not thrown off my own past so carelessly.
end-of-the–line visits: visits paid to someone during the last stage of their life
I had not thrown off: subjunctive mood
Those last visits made me wish I had valued my past more, and had paid more attention to the world she represented. ( the visits were hopeless because they did not mean anything to my mother. She was not going to recover. And she did not even know I was there,)
11. We all come from the past , and children ought to know what it was that went into their making, to know that life is a braided cord of humanity stretching up from time long gone, and that it cannot be defined by the span of a single journey from diaper to shroud.
We all come from the past, and children ought to know what made them what they are today. They ought to know that life is a continuous process. Humanity is like a cord made of many people starting from a long time past continuing to the present day. We should all cherish our roots, our heritage.
from diaper to shroud: from birth to death
