Unit 8 My Forever Valentine

      

Watch a video clip and answer the following questions.

1. What did the girls ask their father to do at the table?

2. How is the relationship between the father and his daughters in the video?

Answers to the Questions:

1. They asked their father to do “Mr. Napkin Head”.

2. It’s very clear that the father loves his daughters very much. He has a great patience to meet the reasonable needs of his daughters. And the girls extremely love and depend on their father.

 

Video Script:

Graham: Oh, hello.

Olivia: Hello.

Graham: Hello.

Olivia: Going on. Blow on mine.

Graham: Aw! Thank you. Excellent timing.

Olivia: Dad, do Mr. Napkin Head.

Graham: No. No, no, no. No Mr. Napkin Head.

Olivia: Please! Do it.

Sophie: Do it. Do it, please.

Olivia: Do it, please. Beg you. Please?

Graham: Please? Ok, I’ll do it quickly

Olivia: [kiss Daddy]

Graham: Oh, well, thank you for that.

Olivia: You’re welcome. Now do it.

Graham: All right. [sigh] Amanda, can I borrow your napkin, please?

Amanda: Oh, yes!

Olivia: Your glasses.

Graham: Pass me those when I need them.

Sophie: Amanda, you’re gonna love this. It’s so funny. I mean, you’ll fall off your chair. It is so funny.

Graham: Hello. Hello. My name is Mr. Napkin Head. Hello, children. Who is this? She’s a stranger?

Olivia: Amanda.

Graham: And why has she got a funny accent?

Olivia: Amanda.

Graham: Yes, but where is she from?

Sophie: Now smoke!

Olivia: Go on.

Graham: [cough] Smoking’s really bad for you.

Everybody: Yeah!

Sophie: Amanda, guess what. We have a tent in our playroom. Do you want to see it?

Graham: No, no, no. Amanda … will not crawl into your tent.

Olivia: You don’t like tents?

Amanda: Ah! Ok, this is seriously cool.

Olivia: Come inside.

Amanda: Wow!

Olivia: Lie down.

Amanda: OK.

Sophie: Here, Amanda. You can use my pillow.

Amanda: Thank you!

Olivia: Lie down!

Graham: Can you please stop being so bossy?

Olivia: Lie down, please. Next to me.

Graham: Ok.

 

I. Main idea

1. What is the story narrated in the text about?

  The text recollects a series of events concerning the narrator’s father, who showed profound affection for his daughter by offering her valentines on Valentine’s Day.

2. Why does the writer focus her accounts and descriptions on her first recollection of the magic

her father brought to the occasion and on the last card and gift from him?

  Because the first and last gifts her father offered her are the most impressive and the most unforgettable ones.

 

Text I

My Forever Valentine我永远的情人

Valentine’s Day (February 14); St. Patrick’ Day (March 17); and Halloween (October 31). In some states, Arbor Day, Bird Day, and Flag Day are school holidays. Child Health Day (the first Monday in October) is widely observed in schools. Many schools and some businesses close on Good Friday.

 

1.             The traditional holidays in our house when I was a child时间标记 were spent timing elaborate meals around football games. 小时候，每到传统节日时，我们家总要根据足球比赛的时间来准备精美的饭菜。 My father tried to make pleasant chitchat and eat as much as he could during half time中场休息.在中声休息时，我父亲努力地逗趣闲谈，并赶着填饱肚子。 At Christmas he found time to have a cup or two of holiday beer and do his holly-shaped bow tie蝴蝶结领结.圣诞节时，他会找时间喝一两杯假日啤酒，骗他的冬青树样的蝶形领带。 But he didn’t truly shine until Valentine’s Day.但只有到了情人节，他才真正地开心快乐起来。

 

2.             I don’t know whether it was because work at the office slowed during February or because the football season was over.我不知道是否因为二月份他单位上的工作闲了下来还是因为足球赛季结束了，总之， But Valentine’s Day was the time my father chose to show his love for the special people in his life.然而，情人节是爸爸向在他的生活中具有特殊意义的人表达爱的日子。(P152-I-1) Over the years时间标记 I fondly亲切地/快乐地 thought of him as my “Valentine Man”.那些年里，我亲切地把他看作我的“情人”。

  

1-2	It gives a brief account of the narrator’s father and points out the theme of the text.

 

 

3.             My first recollection of the magic he could bring to Valentine’s Day came when I was six时间标记.我能想起的父亲最早带给情人节惊喜的事是在我六岁的时候。 For several days I had been cutting out valentines for my classmates.有好几天，我都一直在裁剪给我同班同学的情人节贺卡。 Each of us was to decorate a “mailbox” and put it on our desk for others to give us cards.我们每个人都要装饰一个邮箱，放在桌上以便接收其他人送给我们的贺卡。 That box and its contents ushered in a succession of bittersweet memories of my entrance into a world of popularity contests marked by the number of cards received, the teasing about boyfriends/girlfriends and the tender care I gave to the card from the cutest boy in class. 那只邮箱（盒子）以及其中的贺卡礼物勾起了我一连串酸甜苦辣的回忆：开始攀比收到贺卡的多少和人气的大小、有关男朋友女朋友的逗笑、班里那最可爱的男生赠给我的贺卡勾起我的温柔情思。(P152-I-2)

 The walls of her bedroom and living room are all decorated with pictures of pop stars and film stars.

4.             That morning at the breakfast table I found a card and a gift-wrapped包成礼物的 package at my chair.那天早上，我发现桌上有一张卡片，我的椅子上有一个包成礼物样的包裹。 The card was signed “Love, Dad,” and the gift was a ring with a small piece of red glass to represent my birthstone诞生石, a ruby红宝石.卡片上签了“爱你的爸爸”，礼物是一个戒指，上面镶有一颗小小的红玻璃当红宝石，算是我的诞生石了。 There is little difference between red glass and rubies to a child of six, and I remember wearing that ring with a pride that all the cards in the world could not surpass胜过.对于一个六岁的孩子，红玻璃与红宝石也没什么差别，我记得戴上那个指环时，感受到世界上所有卡片都比不上的荣耀。

  

5.             As I grew older时间标记, the gifts gave way to让路给 heart-shaped boxes filled with my favorite chocolates and always included a special card signed “Love, Dad.” 长大后，我收到的礼物改成是心形的盒子，里面装满了我最喜欢的巧克力，还随附一张很特别的卡片，上面写着“爱你的爸爸”。(P152-I-3) In those years my thank-yous became more of a perfunctory马马虎虎的 response.那些年里，我的道谢变得更像是马马虎虎的回应。 The cards seemed less important, and I took for granted the valentine that would always be there.那些卡片也看起来不那么重要了，我想当然地认为永远都有情人节。 Long past the days of having a “mailbox” on my desk, I had placed my hopes and dreams in receiving cards and gifts from “significant others,” and “Love, Dad” just didn’t seem quite enough.不再是在课桌上放邮箱的岁月了，多少年后，我的希望和梦想已经寄托在收获“特别的其他人”的卡片和礼物，“爱你的爸爸”显得不够了。

 

6.             If my father knew then that he had been replaced, he never let it show.如果父亲发觉在我心目中被替代了，他也从不表露。 If he sensed any disappointment over valentines that didn’t arrive for me, he just tried that much harder to create a positive atmosphere, giving me an extra hug and doing what he could to make my day a little brighter.如果他发现我没收到盼望的情人节礼物而失望时，他就更加用心创造一种积极的氛围，给我额外的拥抱，尽其所能让我的日子更开朗一点。

 

7.             My mailbox eventually时间标记 had a rural address, and the job of hand-delivering candy and cards was relegated to the U.S. Postal Service.我的邮箱终于有了一个乡下地址，亲手相赠糖果卡片的活儿交给美国邮政局了。 Never in ten years was my father’s package late nor was it on the Valentine’s Day eight years ago when I reached into the mailbox to find a card addressed to me in my mother’s handwriting. 10年中，我父亲的包裹从未迟到过，即使在8年前的那个情人节，也是如此。那天，我把手伸进邮箱，拿到的是一张寄给我的卡片，上面是我母亲的笔迹。

 

 

8.             It was the kind of card that comes in an inexpensive assortment box sold by a child going door to door to try to earn money for a school project.它是那种不贵的卡片，是小孩子为了挣学费而提着杂货箱挨家挨户兜售的那种。 It was the kind of card you used to get from a grandmother or an aging aunt or, in this case, a dying father.是那种常常从祖母或年老的阿姨寄来的卡片，而这次，来自即将逝世的父亲。

 

 

9.             It was the kind of card that put a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes because you knew the person no longer was able to go out and buy a real valentine. 它是那种卡片，让你喉咙哽咽、泪水盈眶，因为你明白这个人再也无法外出给你买一张真正的情人节贺卡了。 It was a card that signaled this would be the last you would receive from him.这张卡片暗示，它将是你能从他那里收到的最后一张卡片了。

 

 

10.         The card had a photograph of tulips郁金香 on the outside, and on the inside my mother had printed “Happy Valentine’s Day.”那卡片的外壳上是郁金香图样，内页上是母亲写的“情人节快乐”。 Beneath it, scrawled潦草 in barely legible可辨认的 handwriting was “Love, Dad.” 在那下面，是歪歪扭扭的勉强可以辨认的笔迹：“爱你的爸爸”。

  

3-10	It provides a detailed account of how the father showed profound affection for his daughter on Valentine’s Day.

 

 

11.         His final card remains on my bulletin board today.他最后的那张贺卡直到今天仍保留在我的消息栏上。 It’s a reminder of how special fathers can be and how important it has been to me over the years to know that I had a father who continued a tradition of love with a generosity of spirit, simple acts of understanding and an ability to express happiness over the people in his life.那张卡令我认识到为人之父可以多么出色、在那些年里感受深厚的父爱对我多么重要；父亲以慷慨大度的精神、善解人意的朴实言行和向他生活中的亲友传递幸福的能力实践着爱的传统。(P152 -I-4)

  

12.         Those things never die, nor does the memory of a man who never stopped being my valentine.那些往事永不消失，我对我永远的情人的记忆永不消失。

 

 

 

 

11-12

The narrator tells us how important it has been to her to have such a loving father and that she will never forget her father and his kindness to her.

 

 

 IV Exercises for integrated skills

1. Dictation

I believe my father is a talented man. / He is decisive and efficient in doing things. / By his own talents and efforts, / he has secured for the family a good social position / and a comparatively rich life. / People of all fields come to my house, / and from them I have gained lots of valuable social experience / and seen a lot of joys and sorrows of the world. /

But at home he is a harsh parent. / He has high expectations of me. / When I am idling away my time, / I can see that it hurts him deeply. / When I am doing something great, / such as writing a book, / he is more than excited. / With such a father, / I always remind myself that I must go on and on, never give up.

 

2. Cloze

Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE word you think appropriate.

People in countries as far apart as Japan, the United States, Australia and France send Valentine cards to someone they fancy on 14 February, St. Valentine’s Day. Most cards are romantic and express secret (1) love messages which don’t let on who the (2) sender is.

Senders of newspaper messages, no matter (3) whether they are in Britain, North America or Australia, must get a thrill (4) out of their exhibitionism without (5) letting on who is the secret admirer hidden in the words of the advertisement. The British newspaper and brigades (6) tend to see themselves or the desired ones (7) as animals, with bears being the firm favorites. But fleas, toads, bugs and mice are well represented.

In parts of the English countryside it is still (8) believed that a girl can tell the occupation of her future husband by noting (9) which bird she sees first on 14 February. But if it’s a woodpecker, she will find no man at (10) all. Happy bird-watching! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Tip：

1)love: Here you can use a word meaning “affectionate” .

2)sender: the person who sends the message

3) whether: Here you can use a word to include the all places mentioned.

4) out: Here you can use a preposition meaning “from”.

5) letting: Here you can use a verb meaning “release”.

6) tend: Here you can use a verb meaning “incline”.

7) as: Here you can use a preposition meaning “like”.

8) believed: Here you can use a word meaning “accept as true”.

9) which: Which kind of bird it is?

10) all: The sentence is negative, and “not at all” is a regular collocation.

 

VI. Writing Practice

1. Stringy Sentence纠缠句

  too many clauses are connected. endless. They would be easier to read and understand if they were broken up into separate clauses. To avoid stringy sentences, we can use division, subordination, combination or phrases.

 

A. Division

    to divide the original sentence into several sentences. clauses are of equal importance.

 

B. Subordination

to change some clauses into subordinate clauses, if they are of less importance.

 

C. Phrase

to substitute the clauses in the original sentence.

 

D. Combination

All the techniques mentioned above

 

Improve the following stringy sentences by any method or combination of methods.

1. We must accept the facts and our enormous energy requirements, but it is also important not to forget that attempts to economize on safety provisions in such hazardous industries result in increased risks, and these increased risks may result in terrible tragedy, even in disasters whose consequences exceed national boundaries, although it is certainly true that a nuclear power station working safely, without accident, is ecologically one of the cleanest of all industrial plants.

Revised:

We must accept the facts and our enormous energy requirements, but it is also important not to forget that attempts to economize on safety provisions risks. And these increased risks may result in terrible tragedy, even in disasters whose consequences exceed national boundaries. It is certainly true, however, that a nuclear power station working safely, without accident, is ecologically one of the cleanest of all industrial plants.

[The original sentence is divided into three sentences.]

 

2. Whether it is deceiving yourself or deceiving others, deception requires much time and energy and because deception never really achieves anything of value, it is a great waste of your precious life and resources, but instead, you’d better put that time and energy into successfully dealing with the truth, because after all, you’ll have to deal with it eventually, and the sooner you begin the more you’ll be able to accomplish.

Revised:

Whether it is deceiving yourself or deceiving others, deception requires much time and energy. And because deception never really achieves anything of value, it is a great waste of your precious life and resources. Instead, you’d better put that time and energy into successfully dealing with the truth. After all, you’ll have to deal with it eventually, and the sooner you begin, the more you’ll be able to accomplish.

[The original sentence is divided into four sentences.]

 

3. Giving is more than merely offering objects and when you give, give your time, your attention, your love, compassion, consideration, patience and respect and give a part of yourself, and you will not ever lose it, because that part of you takes on greater influence and value as it touches other lives beyond your own.

Revised:

Giving is more than merely offering objects. When you give, give your time, your attention, your love, compassion, consideration, patience and respect. Give a part of yourself, and you will not ever lose it. That part of you takes on greater influence and value as it touches other lives beyond your own.

[The original sentence is divided into four sentences.]

 

4. Almost every high school student wants to go to college, and tension and anxiety build to a ridiculous point in college candidates, and this spoils their final year in high school.

Revised:

As almost every high school student wants to go to college, tension and anxiety build to a ridiculous point in college candidates, spoiling their final year in high school.

[The first clause is changed into a subordinate clause and the last clause into a participle phrase.]

 

VII. Listening Exercises

 

Valentine’s Day

You are going to hear a short passage about the origin of Valentine’s Day and how people celebrate it.

A.    Listen to Part A first, and supply the missing information.

Date of observance:   February 14th 

“Valentines”:

a   romantic card   decorated with   hearts, flowers or birds 

a   heart-shaped   box of   chocolate candies 

a   bouquet of flowers   tied with   red ribbon    

Messages:

Be   My Valentine 

Be   My Sweetheart 

Be   My Lover 

Will   you be my valentine?    

Signatures:

anonymous

Guess who    

Symbols:

Cupid – Roman   God of Love 

arrow of love

heart

 

B.     Now listen to Part B, and fill in the blanks with what you hear.

It is from the Christians that we   get the stories__ about Valentine’s Day that most people have   come to believe__. One story is about   a Christian priest__ whose name was “Valentine.” He lived   around 250 AD__. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius   refused to allow__ any Roman soldiers   to get married__ for any reason whatsoever. So many Roman soldiers   turned to Christianity__. Together with their girls, they came to Valentine to   be married secretly__ in a Christian way. Later Valentine was   discovered__ and   put in  prison__ by the Roman Emperor. One tradition says that he   wrote notes_  to his friends by   marking on leaves___ and then   throwing them out__ the window of his prison. The leaves were   shaped like a heart__.

 

Tapescript

Valentine’s Day

 

Part A February 14th is a complicated but interesting holiday. First of all, Valentine’s Day is not a holiday from work. No one gets a day off. On Valentine’s Day people usually send romantic cards to someone they love. The cards are called valentines. They are very colorful, often decorated with hearts, flowers or birds, and have humorous or sentimental verses printed inside. The basic message of the verse is always “Be My Valentine,” “Be My Sweetheart” or “Be My Lover.” Besides cards, a valentine could also be a heart-shaped box of chocolate candies, or a bouquet花束 of flowers tied with red ribbon丝带缎带. But in whatever form, the message is always the same –“Will you be my valentine?”A valentine may be anonymous, or sometimes signed “Guess who.” The person receiving it has to guess who sent it. This can lead to interesting speculation推测. And that’s half the fun of valentines.

One of the symbols of St. Valentine’s Day is the Roman God of Love, called Cupid爱神丘比特. Cupid is often printed on the card, a winged naked infant, poised to摆姿势 shoot his arrow into a heart. He would shoot an arrow of love into a person’s heart to make the person fall in love immediately, maybe with the first person to come along. Sometimes one arrow would go through two hearts, holding them together. So on February 14th not only do we have a picture of the Christian St. Valentine but we also have pictures of the non-Christian非基督教的 Cupid, the Roman God of Love.

 

Part B It is from the Christians基督徒们 that we get the stories about Valentine’s Day that most people have come to believe. One story is about a Christian priest基督教牧师 whose name was “Valentine瓦伦丁.” He lived around 250 AD. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius refused to allow any Roman soldiers to get married for any reason whatsoever无论什么. So many Roman soldiers turned to Christianity求助于基督教. Together with their girls, they came to Valentine to be married secretly in a Christian way基督教的方式. Later Valentine was discovered and put in prison by the Roman Emperor. One tradition says that he wrote notes to his friends by marking on leaves and then throwing them out the window of his prison. The leaves were shaped like a heart.

There are many favorite lyrics抒情诗 of Valentine’s Day. Here is one of them: Let me call you sweetheart甜心, I’m in love with you. Let me hear you whisper耳语, that you love me, too. Keep the love light爱的光芒 shining, in your eyes so true. Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you.

 

Text II

Lead-in Questions

1. Have you ever been confined by illness? What does it feel like? 

2. What kind of support does a patient with incurable disease need?

 

Text

Make Today Count算数，有价值

Orville E. Kelly

 Soon after之后不久 the first chemotherapy treatment化学疗法治疗, I asked Wanda to help me clean up the studio工作室. The desk, the bookcases, and the typewriter were deep in dust, but we finally managed to make the room spotless一尘不染. I hadn’t written anything for a long while. Now I began to write again. One of my first pieces was about a Christmas I remembered. I was seven years old, it was during the Great Depression, and we were living on a run-down衰落 farm. In times as hard as those, I didn’t think I would get any presents. A blizzard大风雪 had developed on Christmas Eve, and I had snuggled into a featherbed羽毛铺盖 to keep warm, praying that I would get just a little something for Christmas. When I woke the next morning and went downstairs, I found a decorated Christmas tree in the front room, and underneath it, a pair of lace-up boots系带靴子, a red fire engine消防车, and a sack袋子 of candy.

    “I have seen many other snowfalls降雪,” I wrote, “but for some reason I always remember that night when the blizzard came on Christmas Eve. Whenever I see the snow coming down and hear the wind begin to howl, I remember a dream that came true.”

    I submitted提交 the story to the local Burlington newspaper — the Hawk Eye — for a winter writing contest and received a first prize for it. That was my first Christmas present of the year. And others came, too. Wanda and I had only a little money, although we had been able to make ends meet with the Social Security disability payments社会保险残疾救济金 and Veterans Administration checks老兵管理支票 we had been receiving. But Christmas 1973 turned out to be one of the warmest our family ever had, thanks to the generosity of a few friends, particularly those at the factory where Wanda had worked. We received cash, hams火腿, turkeys火鸡, and countless boxes of candy. Wanda bought a few presents for the children. Most important, the entire family was together.

    The day after Christmas, I decided it was time for me to write about the struggles of a cancer patient. Before I knew that I had cancer, I had thought of it as similar to leprosy麻风病 – a disease that rotted腐烂 people slowly – and visibly away. Life with cancer didn’t have to be that way, and I wanted people to know this. Of course, I didn’t have all the answers, but I wanted to show that cancer could be approached with openness不受限制, and that dying people did have something to live for活的目的活的价值. Although I had read about all the money being spent on cancer research, I had heard very little about the emotional rehabilitation情感康复 of cancer patients and their families. The void空白缺陷 was obvious. No matter how the problem of cancer is handled in a family, all the members of the family are bound to be affected in some way.

 I spent two days writing and editing the piece. “Once,” I wrote in it, “I asked how there could be a God who would let so many terrible things happen. Now I ask myself how I can doubt the existence of God ... when I hear a child’s laughter on a summer evening, or see around me the miracle of life itself. I realize this is life and I am part of it. I know there has to be a God. When I think to myself how lucky I was to have such an understanding person as my wife, Wanda, I know good things happen. When someone does a kind thing for me, I know this is all part of this miracle of living. ”

“On Christmas a Burlington woman called to tell me her husband had been told recently he had lung cancer. She wanted to know if I would come to their house and talk to him. He felt he would like to just sit down and talk to someone with the same problems he had. ”

  “The thought came to me that there should be some kind of organization of people with incurable diseases. These people could help each other, and I am going to work on this...”

  I sent the story to the Hawk Eye, and the editors decided to use it in the Sunday, January 6 edition. The story was carried on page 2, along with a picture of me looking out from our back porch and another of me taking my pills. The day the story appeared, I received several telephone calls from other cancer patients, telling me how strongly they supported my idea of forming an organization. So I arranged for a gathering at the local Elks麋鹿 Club on January 25. With the help of a little publicity from the local newspaper, eighteen cancer patients and members of their families, including Wanda and me, met that night in the upstairs meeting room.

  One of the first things I told the group was that I didn’t think we were there to cry on one another’s shoulders. We weren’t there to find out who was the most seriously ill. We were there to share our mutual problems and to try to work them out找到解决 so that we could live as close to normal lives as possible. We went around the table introducing ourselves and telling our stories as a way to break the ice打破沉默. After some discussion, we decided we should try to get together once a month to talk with one another and to listen to speakers who could help us face our illnesses.

  Several days before the meeting, it occurred to me that if we were going to start a group, we ought to have a name. I had three suggestions: Live Each Day Fully; Live for Today; or Make Today Count.

 When I put the suggestions to a vote, the other seventeen hands were raised in support of my choice.

The vote was for Make Today Count.

 

 

 

Questions for discussion

1. What can we infer from the author’s description of a Christmas about the damaging effect of the Great Depression on American farmers?

1. The Great Depression was devastating to American farmers and their families. Many people lacked adequate food, shelter, and clothing.

 

2. What memories of childhood come alive again whenever the author sees the snow coming down?

2. Afflicted by the Great Depression, his family lived in poverty. On Christmas Eve, he prayed that he would get just a little present for Christmas and his dream came true the next morning.

 

3. What do we know about the author and his family life?

3. He had served in the armed forces. He or his wife was a disabled person. They lived mainly on the money received from the government.

 

4. What did the author think of cancer before he knew that he had cancer?

4. He viewed cancer with great horror. He thought of it as a very serious infectious disease in which the flesh and nerves were gradually destroyed.

 

5. What were the main criticisms directed against the government concerning cancer research?

5. All the money was spent on cancer research, but insufficient attention was paid to the emotional rehabilitation of cancer patients and their families.

 

6. According to the author, what psychological problems may a cancer patient face?

6. Depression and persistent anxiety. He may have low self-esteem, a sense of hopelessness about the future, and a lack of interest in people and activities once found pleasurable.

 

7. What was the author’s intent in writing about the struggles of a cancer patient?

7. He wanted to instill positive attitudes in a cancer patient and hoped that the story would serve as an inspiration for all people with incurable diseases.

 

8. What did he suggest people with incurable diseases should do to mitigate their own problems?

8. They should share their mutual problems, help each other and take part in community life on an equal level with others.