备 课 纸 任教课程：《综合英语》（二） 年 月 日
rampage.
(Para. 12) another aesthetic experience What struck the author as very beautiful?
The city at night, viewed from what was meant to be an escape from it (shimmering).
What kind of beauty is it? Can the author describe it? Why can’t he find the vocabulary to describe the appeal of the city?
Does he like the city? Or hate the city? Sum up his attitude toward the Park. Mixed feeling toward Central Park. (More examples)
Part 4 (Paras.13-25 ) : My sleep over in the wood When and where was he now? The North Woods at 1:30 a.m.
(Paras. 18—24) my encounter with raccoons Do you find the ending of the essay interesting?
What kind of effect did the author want to create by describing the raccoons? Can you understand his imaginary dialogue with raccoons? (Para. 25) the ending
I woke up after rain and chirps of birds. A natural, naturally beautiful sound.
How do you sum up the author’s attitude to the park? Ambivalence/ mixed feelings:
1) the pride and love of the city and the park for its cultural richness and its beauty (both natural and man-made);
2) the fear of the crime associated; the darkness in the wild
3.1.3 Plot: travel descriptions combined with everything he has heard, read, observed and experienced in connection with the place: his movements in Central Park, the events and famous people associated with its history, the beauty of New York at night, the crime of fear it’s inspired 3.1.4 Setting: Central Park in New York
3.2 Writing Devices
3.2.1 Onomatopoeia;
3.2.2 Euphemisms are mild, pleasant or indirect words or phrases in place of harsh, unpleasant, more direct or accurate ones.
3.2.3 Irony: a strange, funny or sad situation in which things happen in the opposite way to what you would expect．
The basic element of irony is a discrepancy between what is expected and what actually happens. (unexpectedness)
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备 课 纸 任教课程：《综合英语》（二） 年 月 日 3.3 Sentence Paraphrase
1. Anybody who knows anything about New York knows the city’s essential platitude—that you don’t wander around Central Park at night—and in that, needless to say, was the appeal: it was the thing you don’t do. (Para. 1)
Everybody who knows New York knows that you should not wander in Central Park at night because it is too dangerous. (Essential platitude:) This is known to all and has been said over and over. ( In that was the appeal:) However, precisely because of the risk there are always people lured to visit Central Park at night. They just wish to do what people normally don’t do. appeal: a quality that something has that makes people like it or want it Examples:
the appeal of horror movie
But that’s the appeal of the place, say many residents and visitors. It’s a place where many come to find a slower pace for a lifetime or just a weekend.
Parties on river-boats have lost their appeal since one sank last year killing thirty-three people. 2. If you should happen after dark to find yourself in Central Park… (Para. 1)
―Should‖ is used after ―if‖, ―in case‖ or with subject and verbs inverted to suggest that an event is not likely to happen. Examples:
If you should change your mind, do let me know.
Should Tom phone, can you tell him I’ll phone back later? He could persuade her to stay should this be necessary.
3. … and this could have been an outdoor summer-stock Shakespeare production anywhere in America, except in one respect. (Para. 3)
And tonight’s performance could be any outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s play one regularly finds in summer in America (It’s a cultural tradition in America to put on free Shakespeare productions in summer). There was only one difference.
Note:
stock: used as an adjective, meaning ―usually kept in stock and regularly available‖ 常备的 Examples:
Intensive Reading is one of our stock courses. Toothpaste is stock merchandise in a drugstore.
4. One of the first events in the Park took place 140 years ago almost to the day: a band concert. The concert, pointedly, was held on a Saturday, still a working day, because the concert, like much of the Park then, was designed to keep the city’s rougher elements out. (Para. 7)
One of the first events in the Park took place almost exactly on this day 140 years ago: a band concert. The concert was deliberately held on a Saturday when ordinary people were all working so as to keep them out.
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备 课 纸 任教课程：《综合英语》（二） 年 月 日
5. The Park at night must have seemed luxurious and secluded—a giant evening garden party. The Park was to be strolled through, enjoyed as an aesthetic experience, like a walk inside a painting. (Para. 7)
①quiet and private; away from ordinary laboring people ②a formal party for a lot of people, held in a large garden
③an occasion to enjoy beautiful scenery and music as well as the company of well-dressed People, behaved in refined Manners, talking about arts: painting, musical,etc.
6. The irony was that by the end of the Moses era the Park was dangerous. (Para. 10)
Moses did a lot to turn Central Park into an efficient people’s park. But the outcome was quite unexpected and sad: by the end of his era the Park was dangerous.
7. But there was no escaping the recognition that this city—contrived, man-made, glaringly obtrusive, consuming wasteful and staggering quantities of electricity and water and energy—was very beautiful. (Para. 12) ①cleverly made but not natural
②very conspicuous or showy with everything glittering or shining ③shocking
But there was no denying the fact (you have to admit) that the city was very beautiful, although it was not a natural kind of beauty, it was artificial and showy, and it used up a great amount of water and energy.
8．But there it was: the city at night, viewed from what meant to be an escape from it, shimmering. (Para. 12)
there it is/was: used to summarize a situation
People come to the Park to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. But it was precisely in the Park that day that I found the city at night was extremely beautiful.
Part Four Language Study
4.1 Phrases and Expressions
4.1.1 Word list:
1. bolt; curl; drizzle; embolden; obliterate; perplex; platitude; scurry; secluded; shriek 1. bolt
vi. a) to run away quickly 猛冲，逃跑 b) to move; to break away 迅速移动
vt. c) to fasten with strong rods and bar 拴住，使······和在一块
d) to swallow food or drink hurriedly 匆匆吞下，咽下 Examples:
a) He bolted out of his house.
b) Eyes bolted towards the stranger. c) He bolted the door on the inside. d) He bolted down a hurried breakfast.
a bolt from (out of) the blue 晴天霹雳，意外的事
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备 课 纸 任教课程：《综合英语》（二） 年 月 日
bolt upright 笔直
make a bolt (for it) 赶快逃走 2. curl
v. a) to form into a spiral or curved shape卷曲，扭曲；缠绕 b) to grow in or form curls or ringlets（烟）缭绕升起；蜷曲 Examples:
The hairdresser curled Mary’s hair.
She kept curling her handkerchief around one finger. Smoke curled from the chimney.
A snake curled around the trunk of a tree. 3. drizzle
v. to rain in fine drops Examples:
It drizzled throughout the night.
The insecticide drizzled over the plants. The dew on the branches drizzled our hair. 4. embolden
v. to give courage or confidence to sb. Examples:
He smiled and this emboldened her to ask him for help. Emboldened by drink, he walked over to speak to her. 5. obliterate
v. to rub out or blot out Examples:
The heavy rain obliterated all footprints. Anne was eager to obliterate her error.
They tried to obliterate the enemy’s bomb base. 6. perplex
v. to cause to be puzzled or bewildered over what is not understood or certain; to make complicated and confused Examples:
The question perplexed him. The boy perplexed his parents. to perplex an issue
adj. perplexed/perplexing n. perplexity 7. platitude
n. (fml.) (derog.)
boring and meaningless commonplace remark or statement, esp. when it is said as if it were new or interesting because it has been said so many times before
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备 课 纸 任教课程：《综合英语》（二） 年 月 日
陈腐平凡的，老生常谈，陈词滥调 Example:
This speech was full of empty platitudes about (of) peace and democracy. adj. platitudinous v. platitudinize n. platitudinarian 8. scurry
v. / n. to run with short quick steps Examples:
It began to rain and we scurried home.
We heard mice scurrying about in the kitchen. Dark clouds were being scurried across a grey sky by the wind.
a scurry of footsteps in the passage 急促脚步声 Huge snow scurries. 9. secluded
adj. not visited or seen by many people; away from the company of others Examples:
This is the quietest and most secluded area of the city.
secluded life/monk/valley v. seclude (from) n. seclusion
adj. seclusive 10. shriek
v. / n. to shout in a loud high voice because you are frightened, excited, or surprised Examples:
The woman trapped under the piles of debris raised her voice to a shriek. She shrieked an alarm at him.
4.1.2 Phrases and expressions list:
1. come upon; curl up; drift out; drop off; in view
2. not to mention; on one’s hands; on the/a rampage; to the day; wind one’s way 1. come upon
碰上，偶然遇上; 冲向，袭来 Examples:
I came upon an old friend when I was shopping in the store. Fear came upon her as she waited. 2. curl up 卷起，撅起（嘴唇）；（因恐惧、羞愧、厌恶）使蜷缩，扭曲身体 Examples:
She curled her mouth up in anger.
She curled herself up in the big armchair with a good book.
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