高级英语（第二册） Lesson7 The Libido for the Ugly (H. L. Mencken)
truth. The etiology of this madness deserves a great deal more study than it has got.
There must be causes behind it; it arises and flourishes in obedience to biological laws,
and not as a mere act of God. What, precisely, are the terms of those laws? And why
do they run stronger in America than elsewhere? Let some honest Privat Dozent in
pathological sociology apply himself to the problem.
(from Reading for Rhetoric by Caroline Shrodes, Clifford A, Josephson, James R. Wilson )
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高级英语（第二册） Lesson7 The Libido for the Ugly (H. L. Mencken)
NOTES
1. the Veterans of Foreign Wars: generally abbreviated to VFW, an organization created by the merger in 1914 of three societies of United States overseas veterans that were founded after the Spanish-American War of 1899. With its membership vastly increased after World War Ⅰand World WarⅡ, the organization became a major national veterans' society.
2. Guest: Edgar Albert Guest (1881--1959), English-born newspaper poet, whose daily poem in the Detroit Free Press was widely syndicated and extremely popular with the people he called 'folks' for its homely, saccharine morality
3. Parthenon: a beautiful doric temple built in honor of the virgin (Parthenos) goddess Athena on the Acropolis in Athens around 5th century B. C.
4. Presbysterian: a form of church government by presbyters developed by John Calvin and other reformers during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation and used with variations by Reformed and Presbyterian churches throughout the world. According to Calvin's theory of church government, the church is a community or body in which Christ only is head and members are equal under him. All who hold office do so by election of the people whose representatives they are.Mencken assumes that Presbyterians are puritanical, sombrefaced people who never smile or laugh. Hence people are shocked by the unexpected and incongruous sight of a Presbyterian grinning.
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高级英语（第二册） Lesson7 The Libido for the Ugly (H. L. Mencken)
Aims
1.To know the author, Henry L. Mencken
2.To learn the writing technique of description 3.To appreciate the language features
Teaching Contents 1. Henry Louis Mencken 2. Description
3. Detailed study of the text 4. Organizational pattern 5. Language features 6. Exercises
Time allocation
1. Background information (15 min.) 2. Detailed study of the text (120 min.) 3. Structure analysis (15 min.)
4. Language appreciation (15 min.) 5. Exercises (15 min)
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高级英语（第二册） Lesson7 The Libido for the Ugly (H. L. Mencken)
词汇(Vocabulary)
libido (n.) : psychic energy generally；specifically，a basic form of psychic energy，comprising the positive。loving instincts manifested variously at different stages of personality development欲望
lucrative (adj.) : producing wealth or profit；profitable；remunerative有利可图的；赚钱的
hideous (adj.) : horrible to see,hear,etc.;very ugly or revolting;dreadful骇人听闻的;非常丑陋的;可怕的
forlorn (adj.) : in pitiful condition；wretched；miserable可怜的；悲惨的；不幸的
macabre (adj.) : gruesome；grim and horrible；ghastly可怕的；令人毛骨悚然的；恐怖的
computation (n.) : the act of computing；calculation 计算
abominable (adj.) : nasty and disgusting；vile；loathsome讨厌的，可恶的
alley (n.) : a narrow street or walk；specifically，a lane behind a row of buildings or between two rows of buildings that face on adjacent streets胡同；小巷；小街
filth (n.) : disgustingly offensive dirt，garbage，etc．污秽，污物；垃圾
allude (v.) : refer in a casual or indirect way(随便或间接)提到，涉及；暗指
monstrousness (n.) : strange shape奇形怪状
lacerate (v.) : tear jaggedly；mangle(something soft，as flesh)；wound or hurt(one’s feelings，etc．)deeply；distress撕裂；割碎(肉等软组织)；伤害(感情等)；使…伤心
pretentious (adj.) : making claims，explicit or implicit，to some distinction，importance，dignity，or excellence自负的；自命不凡的；自大的
linger (v.) : continue to stay，esp．through reluctance to leave逗留(尤指不愿离开)
downright (adv.) : thoroughly；utterly；really彻底地，完全地；真正地
dormer (n.) : a window set upright in a sloping roof屋顶窗
leprous (adj.) : of or like leprosy；having leprosy麻风的；似麻风的；患麻风病的
rat—trap (n.) : a trap for catching rats捕鼠夹(子)
misshapen (adj.) : badly shaped；deformed奇形怪状的；畸形的
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高级英语（第二册） Lesson7 The Libido for the Ugly (H. L. Mencken)
uncomely (adj.) : having unpleasant appearance不美观的，不好看的
grime (n.) : dirt，esp．sooty dirt，rubbed into or covering a surface，as of the skin(尤指经摩擦而深入或覆盖皮肤等表面的)积垢；污秽
gully (n.) : a channel or hollow worn by running water; small，narrow ravine沟壑，狭沟，冲沟
chalet (n.) : a type of Swiss house，built of wood with balconies and overhanging eaves(瑞士的木造)农舍，山上小舍
highpitched (adj.) : steep in slope said of roofs)(屋顶)坡度陡的
dingy (adj.) : dirty-colored；not bright or clean；grimy不干净的；不明亮的；弄脏的
clapboard (n.) : a thin，narrow board with one edge thicker than the other，used as siding护墙板，隔板
preposterous (adj.) : so contrary to nature，reason， or common sense as to be laughable；absurd；ridiculous反常的；乖戾的；十分荒谬的；愚蠢的
pier (n.) : a heavy column，usually square. used to support weight，as at the end of an arch角柱；支柱
cemetery (n.) : a place for the burial of the dead；graveyard公墓，墓地；坟场
swinish (adj.) : of or like a swine；beastly；piggish；coarse，etc．猪(似)的；鄙贱的；粗俗的
perpendicular (adj.) : exactly upright；vertical. straight up or down垂直的；矗立的
precarious (adj.) : uncertain；insecure；risky不稳定的；不安全的；危险的
eczematous (adj.) : of itching skin disease湿疹的
patina (n.) : a fine crust or film on bronze or copper．usually green or greenish—blue，formed by natural oxidation and often valued as being ornamental(青铜器上的)绿锈
uremia (n.) : a toxic condition caused by the presence in the blood of waste produts normally eliminated in the urine and resulting from a failure of the kidneys to secrete urine尿毒症
loathsome (adj.) : causing loathing；disgusting；abhorrent；detestable讨厌的；厌恶的；令人作呕的
laborious (adj.) : involving much hard work；difficult. industrious；hard—working费力的；困难
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