1. In the Kitchen S10227015 張鴻翌 S10227017 王詳勛

2. Q: The word kitchen in the title takes on two meanings in the essay. What are they ？ A:The word kitchen stands for the place where author’ s mother carried out the process of straightening her client’s curled hair and the most irresistible curled hair at the back of a head.

3. Q: Gas was used in Gates’s kitchen even though people had turned to electricity in the 1960s. Why ？ A: Writer’s mother preferred to use gas, which she had been adapted to for a long time, so that she could heat up the fine-toothed iron instrument with gas fire.

4. Q: What does the writer mean when he states that his mother “did hair” ？ A:The writer is referring to his mother transforming the curled hair of her clients to a smooth, soft and straight one.

5. Q: What does the word turn(par.6) describe ？ A: The smooth and silky hair of a new born infant will turn curled and then return to it’s nature.

6. Q: What is the history behind “good”and “bad” hair ？ A: The notion of good and bad hair is rooted in black people’s mind; even when they were contending for equal status in society during sixties, the distinction between good and bad hair still prevailed among them.

7. Q: As a child, how did Gate worry about his hair ？ eeeExplain. A:The way indicates he worried about his hair is how he attempted to improve the quality of his hair.

8. Q: Describe the two things all hair-straightening eeetechniques have in common. A:Grease and application of pressure. Black people use grease to make their hair flexible, so that they can brush it into wavy. Pressure is intended to make hair of male flat and soft. Pressure usually take on the form of a hat.

9. Q: What was it about Nat King Cole’s hair that EEEimpressed this writer so much ？ A:The hair style of Nat King Cole was compatible with himself. People tend to consider his artificial hair style part of his body and thus his hair style was too unique for others to emulate.

10. Q: How were the hot iron used to straighten hair ？ A: Make the iron touch the hair and sweep it through the hair in a slow and steady pace, from scalp to strand’s end.

11. Q: Hearing a Nat King Cole song while in Zanzibar, EEEthe writer says he had to “blink back tears.” Why ？ Because the voice of that singer recalled the image of him to the writer, who knows the fact that a pop star alters his appearance by trimming off his features as a black person represents a lack of confidence among all black people. Then he felt pitiful about the situation in which black people strive to recognize themselves.

12. Q: Find the thesis and paraphrase it. A: Paragraph 14. Black people are not changing how they look just out of envy of white people’s features. They don’t want to be as same as white people but to improve their appearance in a way they are distinguished from white people.

13. Q: What process does Gates describe in paragraph 3 ？ eGive examples of the process he describes there. A: wash hair -> dry it -> smear Bergamot grease on scalp thoroughly -> strike the hot irons through hair from scalp to the end of strands-> splash hair with hot water- > wash hair with shampoo

14. Q: Given the detailed description of de-kinking hair, what EEEEaudience does the writer had in mind in employing this EEEEstrategy ？ Non-black people.. Because straightening kink is black people’s unique culture, the writer targets the audience outside the phenomanon for his detailed description.

15. Q: Where in the essay does the writer make a transition to describe two of most common processes of hair straightening ？ How are these processes detailed ？ A:paragrath 18. Author attracts readers’ attention on how black people implement the process. He depicts the nature of wax in such a lively way that I can envision how a person clean wax off the face and bush hair into a wavy one.

16. Q: Though the other de-kinking processes mentioned in the essay are detailed, the most famous one(Nat King Cole’s) is not descriobe at all, what might this suggest about the writer’s attitude toward this subject ？ A: His attitude can be interpreted as evasive. Usually, a write will mention the details of well-known examples to guide readers to the core of the subject. Because he choose other minor examples to made up the absence of most acceptable one, he avoid relating crucial information in purpose for some unknown reason.

17. Q: What makes Gates’s concluding paragrph different from others more common in essays ？ A: He conceal his personal opinion on this subject behind a narrative. In stead of stating out explicitly what he really think about black people changing the nature of hair, he implicitly reveal to reader what he feels through his reaction.

18. Thank you for your attention