The Loons Margaret Laurence

Unit 9: Teaching Aims the comprehension of the text and the language points the paraphrase of complicated sentences the enlargement of the vocabulary the appreciation of the styles of composition and devices of figuration

Lecture 1 background information; rhetorical devices; structure analysis; paragraph 1 to 2 Lecture 2 paragraphs from 3 to 37 Lecture 3 paragraphs from 38 to 62 Lecture 4 paragraphs from 63 to the end

Unit 9(4): Procedures Detailed Study of paras. 63-70 1 Detailed Study of paras. 71-75 2 Assignment 3

An Analysis of Piquette’s Death.

Section 4 (Para. 63-70) The death of Piquette What’s mom’s attitude when talking about her death? Why did Piquette die?

Section 4 (Para. 63-70) That somehow had not found its way into letters…: (things) we had not written in the letters for some reason perturb: to make someone worried or anxious I was perturbed by his lack of interest Her sudden appearance did not seem to perturb him in the least.

turb=stir搅动 turbine“涡轮机” turbulent“狂暴的，骚动的，动荡的” turbulent weather狂暴的天气 turbulent crowd骚动的人群 turbulent period动荡的时期

Section 4 (Para. 63-70) sullen: silently showing anger or bad temper gauche: Awkward in dealing with people. a gauche teenager/manner

Section 4 (Para. 63-70) She kept house: she did the cleaning, cooking and other things in the house. slattern: a messy and dirty woman

Section 4 (Para. 63-70) any old how: in a careless or messy way E.g. The books were piled up all over the floor any old how.

Discussion What do you think of Piquette’s death?

Group 1: An Analysis of the Loons

Part 3 (para. 71-75) What had happened to the shore now? The pier had disappeared. The national park The change of name of the Diamond Lake Several dozen stores A flourishing resort

Part 3 (para. 71-75) Settlement—place a place where people have come to live and make their homes, especially where few or no people lived before What was the most important change in the Diamond Lake was that she couldn’t hear the long-drawn call of the loons, half mocking and half plaintive, spearing through the stillness across the lake. 她再也没能听到那划过寂静的湖面传来的、拖长尾音的、半是凄厉半是冷嘲的鸟叫声。

Spear: to throw or push a spear or other pointed object through something or someone

Part 3 (para. 71-75) I did not know…lived or not. Die out, why? What can you see from the author’s thought? This paragraph reminds us of the lot of Piquette, who had once sought the society desperately, but finally failed tragically. We are wondering whether she died accidentally or simply because she ceased to care if she lived or not.

Part 3 (para. 71-75) This paragraph and the concluding one reveal the relevance of the loons to the central theme of the story. Who had heard the crying of the loons: Who had truly understood the meaning and emotion conveyed in the crying of the loons. Why?

Analyzing What’s the similarities between the loons and Piquette?

自主学习测试

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