21世紀(jì)大學(xué)英語(yǔ)讀寫(xiě)教程第二冊(cè)第一單元Unit 1

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Unit 1

Text A

Pre-reading Activities
First Listening
1. You're about to hear a conversation about Winston Churchill. Before you listen, take a look at the words below. Which do you think you're likely to hear when people discuss Churchill? Then, as you listen to the tape the first time, circle the words you hear.
prime minister author painter politician World War I romantic fearless serious passionate World War II

Second Listening
Read the following questions first to prepare yourself to answer them to the best of your ability.
2. What was the argument about? Which side do you believe?
3. What do you know about Winston Churchill as British prime minister? What about his personality—do you have any impressions of him as a human being?

Winston Churchill—His Other Life

Mary Soames

My father, Winston Churchill, began his love affair with painting in his 40s, amid disastrous circumstances. As First Lord of the Admiralty in 1915, he had been deeply involved in a campaign in the Dardanelles that could have shortened the course of a bloody world war. But when the mission failed, with great loss of life, Churchill paid the price, both publicly and privately: He was removed from the Admiralty and lost his position of political influence.
Overwhelmed by the disaster — "I thought he would die of grief," said his wife, Clementine — he retired with his family to Hoe Farm, a country retreat in Surrey. There, as Churchill later recalled, "The muse of painting came to my rescue!"
One day when he was wandering in the garden, he chanced upon his sister-in-law sketching with watercolours. He watched her for a few minutes, then borrowed her brush and tried his hand — and the muse worked her magic. From that day forward, Winston was in love with painting.
Delighted with anything that distracted Winston from the dark thoughts that overwhelmed him, Clementine rushed off to buy whatever paints and materials she could find. Watercolours, oil paints, paper, canvas — Hoe Farm was soon filled with everything a painter could want or need.
Painting in oils turned out to be Winston's great love — but the first steps were strangely difficult. He contemplated the blank whiteness of his first canvas with unaccustomed nervousness. He later recalled:
"Very hesitantly I selected a tube of blue paint, and with infinite precaution made a mark about as big as a bean on the snow-white field. At that moment I heard the sound of a motorcar in the drive and threw down my brush in a panic. I was even more alarmed when I saw who stepped from the car: the wife of Sir John Lavery, the celebrated painter who lived nearby.
"'Painting!' she declared. 'What fun. But what are you waiting for? Let me have the brush — the big one.' She plunged into the paints and before I knew it, she had swept several fierce strokes and slashes of blue on the absolutely terrified canvas. Anyone could see it could not hit back. I hesitated no more. I seized the largest brush and fell upon my wretched victim with wild fury. I have never felt any fear of a canvas since."
Lavery, who later tutored Churchill in his art, said of his unusual pupil's artistic abilities: "Had he chosen painting instead of politics, he would have been a great master with the brush."
In painting, Churchill had discovered a companion with whom he was to walk for the greater part of his life. Painting would be his comfort when, in 1921, the death of his mother was followed two months later by the loss of his and Clementine's beloved three-year-old daughter, Marigold. Overcome by grief, Winston took refuge at the home of friends in Scotland — and in his painting. He wrote to Clementine: "I went out and painted a beautiful river in the afternoon light with red and golden hills in the background. Many loving thoughts.... Alas, I keep feeling the hurt of Marigold."
Life and love and hope slowly revived. In September 1922 another child was born to Clementine and Winston: myself. In the same year, Winston bought Chartwell, the beloved home he was to paint in all its different aspects for the next 40 years.
My father must have felt a glow of satisfaction when in the mid-1920s he won first prize in a prestigious amateur art exhibition held in London. Entries were anonymous, and some of the judges insisted that Winston's picture — one of his first of Chartwell — was the work of a professional, not an amateur, and should be disqualified. But in the end, they agreed to rely on the artist's honesty and were delighted when they learned that the picture had been painted by Churchill.
Historians have called the decade after 1929, when Winston again fell from office, his barren years. Politically barren they may have been, as his lonely voice struggled to awaken Britain to the menace of Hitler, but artistically those years bore abundant fruit: of the 500-odd Churchill canvases in existence, roughly half date from 1930 to 1939.
Painting remained a joy to Churchill to the end of his life. "Happy are the painters," he had written in his book Painting as a Pastime, "for they shall not be lonely. Light and colour, peace and hope, will keep them company to the end of the day." And so it was for my father.
(776 words)

New Words

amid
prep.in the middle of, among 在…之中

* disastrous
a. extremely bad; terrible 災(zāi)難性的，糟透的

lord
n. (in Britain) title of some officials of very high rank（英）大臣；大人，閣下

admiralty
n. (the A～)(in Britain) government department in charge of the navy （英）海軍部

campaign
n. 1. a series of planned military actions 戰(zhàn)役
2. a planned series of activities, esp. in politics and business 運(yùn)動(dòng)

bloody
a. 1. very violent, with a lot of wounding and killing 血腥的
2. covered with blood 血污的

mission
n. 1. (usu. military) duty or purpose for which people are sent somewhere ［常指軍事］任務(wù)
2. 天職，使命

privately
ad. 1. not publicly 非公開(kāi)地
2. personally; secretly 在涉及私（個(gè)）人方面；秘密地

private
a. 1. personal; secret 私（個(gè)）人的；秘密的
2. not public 非公開(kāi)的

disaster
n. (a)sudden great misfortune 災(zāi)難，天災(zāi)；禍患

* grief
n. a feeling of extreme sadness 悲哀

* grieve
v. suffer from grief or great sadness （為…而）悲傷；傷心

retreat
n. 1. a place into which one can go for peace and safety 隱居處
2. 撤退；避難
vi. move back or leave a center of fighting or other activity 撤退；退避

muse, Muse
n. 1. (in Greek mythology) one of the nine goddesses of poetry, music, etc. 繆斯（希臘神話(huà)中司文藝的九位女神之一）
2. a force or person that inspires sb. to write, paint, etc. 創(chuàng)作靈感

rescue
n. help which gets sb. out of a dangerous or unpleasant situation 救助；救援
vt. 救助；救援

sister-in-law
n. sister of one's husband or wife 姑子；姨子；嫂子；弟媳

sketch
v. make a quick, rough drawing (of sth.) 素描，速寫(xiě)
n. 素描，速寫(xiě)

watercolo(u)r
n. 水彩（顏料）；水彩畫(huà)

magic
n. 魔法，法術(shù)
a. 有魔力的

* distract
vt. (from) take (one's mind, sb.) off sth. 轉(zhuǎn)移（注意力）; 使轉(zhuǎn)移注意力

* canvas
n. 1. a piece of strong heavy cloth used for an oil painting 帆布畫(huà)布
2. a completed oil painting 油畫(huà)

* contemplate
vt. look at in a serious or quiet way, often for some time （默默地）注視，凝視

blank
a. 1. without writing, print or other marks 空白的
2. expressionless；without understanding 無(wú)表情的；茫然的

unaccustomed
a. not used (to sth.); not usual （對(duì)某物）不習(xí)慣的；不尋常的

accustomed
a. regular; usual 慣常的，通常的

hesitantly
ad. not doing sth. quickly or immediately for one's uncertainty or worry about it 猶豫不決地

infinite
a. extremely great in degree or amount; without limits or end 無(wú)限的；極大的

precaution
n. 1. carefulness 防備，預(yù)防
2. an action taken to avoid sth. dangerous or unpleasant 預(yù)防措施

bean
n. 豆；蠶豆

motorcar
n. a car 汽車(chē)

alarm
vt. excite with sudden fear or anxiety 使驚恐；使憂(yōu)慮
n. 1. a sudden feeling of fear or anxiety 驚恐；憂(yōu)慮
2. a warning of danger 警報(bào)

plunge
vi. (into, in) 1. rush suddenly and deeply into sth. 投身于
2. suddenly fall in a particular direction 縱身投入；一頭扎入

fierce
a. 1. angry, violent and cruel 暴怒的；兇猛的；殘酷的
2. (of heat, strong feelings) very great 強(qiáng)烈的

* slash
n. a long sweeping cut or blow 砍；揮擊
vt. cut with long sweeping forceful strokes；move or force with this kind of cutting movement 砍，砍擊；猛揮

absolutely
ad. completely；without conditions 完全地；絕對(duì)地

* terrify
vt. fill with terror or fear 恐嚇，使驚嚇

* wretched
a. very unhappy or unfortunate 不幸的；可憐的

victim
n. sb. or sth. hurt or killed as a result of other people's actions, or of illness, bad luck, etc. 犧牲者，受害者；犧牲品

* fury
n. 1. a wildly excited state (of feeling or activity) 狂熱；激烈
2. (a state of) very great anger 狂怒

artistic
a. 1. of. concerning art or artists 藝術(shù)的；藝術(shù)家的
2. made with inventive skill or imagination 富有藝術(shù)性的

companion
n. mate; one who associates with or accompanies another 同伴；伴侶

beloved
a. much loved; darling 深?lèi)?ài)的；親愛(ài)的

overcome
vt. 1. (often pass.) (by, with) (of feelings) take control and influence one's behavior ［常被動(dòng)］（感情等）壓倒，使受不了
2. win a victory over; defeat 克服；戰(zhàn)勝

* refuge
n. (a place that provides) protection or shelter from harm, danger or unhappiness 避難（所）；庇護(hù)（所）

alas
int. a cry expressing grief, sorrow or fear 唉（表示悲傷、憂(yōu)愁、恐懼等）

* revive
v. 1. regain strength, consciousness, life, etc.；bring (sb. or sth.) back to strength, consciousness, life, etc. （使）復(fù)蘇；（使）重振活力
2. become active, popular, or successful again 恢復(fù)生機(jī)；復(fù)興；重新流行

glow
n. a feeling of warmth or pleasure 熱烈
vi. emit a soft light 發(fā)光

amateur
a. & n. (a person who is) not professional 業(yè)余（水平）的（運(yùn)動(dòng)員、藝術(shù)家等）

entry
n. 1. a person or thing taking part in a competition, race, etc. 參賽一員
2. entrance; the act of entering or the right to enter 進(jìn)入；進(jìn)入權(quán)

* anonymous
a. (of a person) with name unknown；(of a letter, painting, etc.) written or created by an unidentified person 名字不詳?shù)?；匿名?

disqualify
vt. make or declare unfit, unsuitable, or unable to do sth. 取消…的資格；使不適合；使不能

rely
vi. (on, upon) 1. have trust or confidence (in) 信任；信賴(lài)
2. depend with full trust or confidence 依賴(lài)

* historian
n. a person who studies history and/or writes about it 歷史學(xué)家

* barren
a. (of land) unproductive （土地等）貧瘠的，荒蕪的

awaken
vt. 1. (to) cause to become conscious of 使意識(shí)到
2. cause to wake up 喚醒

* menace
n. a threat or danger 威脅

abundant
a. plentiful; more than enough 豐富的；充足的

abundance
n. a great quantity; plenty 豐富；充裕；大量

odd
a. 1. (infml.) (after numbers) a little more than the stated number ［常用以構(gòu)成復(fù)合詞］…以上的；…出頭的
2. strange or unusual 奇特的；古怪的
3. 奇數(shù)的，單數(shù)的

existence
n. the state of existing 存在；實(shí)有

* pastime
n. hobby；sth. done to pass time in a pleasant way 消遣，娛樂(lè)

Phrases and Expressions

pay the price
experience sth. unpleasant because one has done sth. wrong, made a mistake, etc. 付出代價(jià)

come to sb.'s rescue
help sb. when he/she is in danger or difficulty 解救某人，救助某人

chance upon
meet by chance; find by chance 偶然碰見(jiàn)；偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)

try one's hand
attempt (to do sth.), esp. for the first time 嘗試

plunge into
begin to do sth. suddenly; enter without hesitation 突然或倉(cāng)促地開(kāi)始某事；突然沖入

before one knows it
before one has time to consider the course of events 轉(zhuǎn)眼之間，瞬息之間

fall upon
attack fiercely 猛攻，猛撲

take refuge
seek protection from danger or unhappiness 避難

rely on
trust, or confidently depend on 依賴(lài)，依靠

fall from office
lose a position of authority to which sb. was elected or appointed 離位，下臺(tái)

awaken to
cause to become conscious of 使意識(shí)到

bear fruit
produce successful results 結(jié)果實(shí)；有成果

date from
have existed since 始自

keep sb. company
stay with sb. so that he/she is not alone 陪伴某人

Proper Names

Winston Churchill
溫斯頓·丘吉爾（1874—1965，英國(guó)保守黨政治家、首相［1940—1945，1951—1955］、作家）

Mary Soames
瑪麗·索姆斯

First Lord of the Admiralty
（英國(guó)）海軍大臣

Dardanelles
達(dá)達(dá)尼爾海峽（位于亞洲小亞細(xì)亞半島同歐洲巴爾干半島之間）

Clementine
克萊門(mén)泰因（女子名）

Surrey
薩里郡（英國(guó)英格蘭郡名）

John Lavery
約翰·萊佛利

Marigold
瑪麗戈?duì)柕拢ㄅ用?

Chartwell
查特威爾（宅名）

Adolf. Hitler
希特勒（1889—1945，納粹德國(guó)元首）