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II. Paraphrase
1. “?here will be an old abusing of God’s patience and the King’s English”. (Par. 12) （1）abusing: this word may be used in two senses: 1) take unfair or undue advantage of, trying
(one’s patience) 2) improper or incorrect use of language
（2）God’s patience: God is more patient than any human being. No matter how patient you are,
you won’t be able to bear him, because he will even try God’s patience.
--There will be a great trying of one’s patience and plentiful misuse of the King’s English. 2. After five centuries of growth, of tussling with the French of the Normans and the Angevins and the Plantagenets and at last absorbing it, the conquered in the end conquering the conquerors. English had come royally into its own. （Par. 13）
-- After 500 years of development, after struggling and contending with the French
elements, English survived and became once more the universal language of England. English earned proper recognition and was used by the king.
3. The Elizabethans blew on it as on a dandelion clock, and its seeds multiplied, and floated to the ends of the earth. (Par. 14)
(1) Dandelion clock: 蒲公英的绒毛头 (2) Multiply: spread (3) A simile, comparing the English language to the seeds of dandelion. --The Elizabethan writers spread the English language far and wide. 4. Yet there had been something in the remark of the Australia. (Par.15) --What he said was meaningful to a certain degree.
(1) Something : 1 )very important 2) An idea that is quite good and should be considered seriously 3) a little comforting 4) playing a trick, to sth. unpleasant e.g.: You think you are something, don’t you?
There is something in what you say.
It’s something to be home again without an accident. At least, we didn’t lose any money. That’s something?. By the look on her face, I guess Mary is up to something.
5. The rebellion against a cultural dominance is still there. (Par.15)
--There is still a spirit of opposition to the cultural authority of the ruling class.
6. There is always a great danger that “Words will harden into things for us.” Words are not
themselves a reality, but only representations of it. (Par. 16)
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--There is always a great danger that we might forget that words are only symbols and take them for things they are supposed to represent. For example, the word “dog” is a symbol representing a kind of animal. We mustn’t regard the word “dog” as being the animal itself.
7. The King’s English, ?is a class representation of reality. (Par. 16) --the King’s English only represents the language used by the ruling class. 8. I have an unending love affair with dictionaries. (Par. 17)
(1) metaphor, comparing his eager interest in dictionaries to having a love affair. --I have always had an intense and eager interest in dictionaries. Part4: (Par.18-21)
1. sit up: (colloquial) to become suddenly alert
e.g.: We become suddenly alert and interested because the phrase is so vivid . 2. Edward Morgan Forster, (January 1, 1879-June 7, 1970) -- English novelist, short story writer, and essayist.
-- known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society. --“Only connect”
3. Be justified in doing sth.: to have a good or proper reason to do sth. e.g.: (1) I think I am completely justified in asking for her resignation.
(2) The policeman was justified in shooting the criminal in self-defense.
4. salon: a French cultural institution consisting of a weekly social gathering at the private house
of an aristocratic lady, at which social, artistic, and scientific questions are discussed. From the early 17th century to the early 19th, several important literary and philosophical salons provided a social base for French writers.
5. Talk sense: 讲话有理、讲得合情合理 cf. talk nonsense
e.g.: (1) Talk sense and behave yourself. You are not a kid any more.
(2) I wish I could talk some sense into you.
II. Paraphrase
1. Para 18: ? the King’s English slips and slides in conversation. --Alliteration, metaphor.
--To slide on a slippery surface, to lose footing, hence to make a mistake, fall into error: --Even the most ? people don’t use the standard, formal English all the time in their
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conversation.
2. When E. M. Foster writes of “the sinister corridor of our age”, we sit up at the vividness of the phrase.
(1) “the sinister corridor of our age”:
--metaphor, comparing the things we do, the road we travel in this age to a corridor. (2) --In our age people are traveling along a sinister road doing all kinds of evil things. 3. the great minds (Par. 19): synecdoche. people with great minds; the distinguished and eminent
people
4. One would not have been engaged by interest in the musketeer who raised the subject? (Par. 21)
（1）Musketeer: the bar friend, the woman
---One would not have thought with interest about the woman who raised the question. 5. The bother about ? and so ruin the conversation. (Par. 21)
---a biting satirical sentence, deriding people who ruin good conversation by trying to talk “sense”. They behave just like chimpanzees which have been taught to talk.
Unit4 Inaugural Address Part1
I.Words and Expressions
1. solemn oath: the presidential oath, traditionally administered by the Chief Justice, is prescribed
in Article II, section 1 of the Constitution of the United States.
--\do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. \
2. forebear (n.) : an ancestor 祖先，祖宗
3. prescribe (v.): to set down as a rule or direction；order；ordain；direct命令；指示；规定，
订立
e.g.: (1) What punishment does the law prescribe for this crime?
(2) What medicine did the doctor prescribe for your illness? (3) 法律规定对这种不法行为从严惩. (4) 条文规定必须由律师拟定此公文。
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4. mortal (adj.)
e.g.: (1) It’s beyond mortal power to bring a dead man back to life.
(2) All things that live are mortal.
(3) He was struck down by a mortal blow upon his head.
5. And yet the same revolutionary belief for which our forebears fought is still at issue around the globe…
at issue: in dispute; to be decided; in disagreement. 有争议的 e.g.: (1) 在那个国家的少数民族的国籍问题上仍有争论。
(2) 争论的焦点是这个行业总的前景.
(3) 意见的分歧之处在于考试对于学生能力的影响程度.
6. the rights of man: \hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. \
7. temper: vt. to strengthen through experience or hardship 锻炼 e.g.: (1)艰难困苦锻炼了他的革命意志。
(2)经受战斗锻炼的军队
8. discipline: to train, control, subject to discipline 训练 e.g.: (1) It showed that they had been well disciplined.
(2) Students must learn to discipline themselves.
9. undoing: gradual abolishing, the act of bringing to ruin，disgrace or destruction毁灭；破坏 e.g.: (1) It‘s better for the doer to undo what he has done.
(2) That mistake has undone all our good work. (3) What is done can’t be undone.
10. commit: 1) to do sth. illegal and bad; 2) to commit money or resources to sth.—to use it for a
particular purpose; 3) to commit oneself to a course of action or way of life/ or to a person
commitment n.
e.g.: (1) I would advice people to think very carefully about
committing themselves to working Sundays. (2) You don’t have to commit anything on the phone. (3) The company committed its profits to building new
factories.
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