An Integrated English CourseAn Integrated English Course

Book 1

Unit 3

Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives By the end of this unit, you are supposed to grasp the author’s purpose of writing and make

clear the structure of the whole passage through an intensive reading of Text 1 When Lightning Struck

Make a overall understanding of the structure in Text 1 and be able to follow the plot development of the narrative story.

get a list of new words and structures and use them freely in conversation and writing.

Teaching ProceduresTeaching Procedures

Pre-reading QuestionsText I. When Lightning Struck● Passage● Structure analysis● Main idea of the passage● Language points ● sentence studies ● vocabulary studies

Text II. Dad Had Lost Any Purpose of Life

Pre-reading questionsHave you read anything about an air

crash before? How did it strike you?Not only have I read novels, but also

seen movies about air crashes before. What struck me most is the thrilling plots and horrible ruins from which, sometimes, we are able to perceive the inner feelings of human beings.

Text 1. When Lightning StruckText 1. When Lightning StruckI was in the tiny bathroom in the back of the plane when I felt the slamming jolt, and then the terrible swerve that threw me against the door. Oh, Lord, I thought, This is it! Somehow I, I managed to unbolt the door and scramble out. The flight attendants, already strapped in, waved widely for me to sit down. As I lunged toward my seats, passengers looked up at me with the stricken expressions of creatures who know they are about to die.

“I think we got hit by lightning,” the girl in the seat next to mine said. She was from a small town in east Texas, and this was only her second time on an airplane. She had won a trip to England by competing in a high school geography bee and was supposed to make a collecting flight when we landed in Newark.

In the next seat, at the window, sat a young businessman who

had been confidently working. Now he looked worried. And that really worries me--- when confident-looking businessman look worried. The laptop was put away. “something’s not right,” he said.

The pilot’s voice came over the speaker. I heard vaguely through my fear, “Engine number two…emergency landing… New Orleans.” When he was down, the voice of a flight attendant came on, reminding us of the emergency procedures she had reviewed before takeoff. Of cause I never paid attention to this drill, always figuring that if we ever go to the point where we needed to use life jackets, I would have already died of terror.

Now we began a roller-coaster ride through the thunderclouds. I was ready to faint, but when I saw the face of the girl next to me, I pulled myself together. I reached for her hand and reassured her that we are going to make it. “What a story you are going to tell when you get home!” I said. “After this, London’s going to seem like small potatoes.”

I wondered where I was getting my strength. Then I saw that my other hand was tightly held by a ringed hand. Someone was comforting me--- a glamorous young woman across the aisle, the female equivalent of the confident businessman. She must have seen how scared I was and reached over.

“I tell you,” she confided, “the problems I brought up on this plane with me don’t seem real big right now.” I loved her southern drawl, her indiscriminate use of perfume, and her soulful squeezes. I was sure that even if I survived the plane crash, I’d have a couple of broken fingers from all the TLC. “Are you okay?” she kept asking me.

Among the many feelings going through my head during those excruciating 20 minutes was pride--- pride in how well everybody on board was behaving. No one panicked. No one screamed As we jolted and screeched our way downward, I could hear small pockets of soothing conversation everywhere.I thought of something I had heard a friend say about the wonderful gift his dying father had given the family: he had died peacefully, as if not to alarm any of them about an experience they would all have to go through some day. And then--- yes! ---we landed safely. Outside on the ground, attendants and officials were waiting to transfer us to alternative flights. But we passengers clung together. We chatted about the lives we have felt blessed to be living, as difficult or rocky as they might be. The young businessman lamented that he had not a chance to buy his two little girl a present. An older woman offered him her box of expensive Lindt chocolates, still untouched, tied with a lovely bow. “I shouldn’t be eating them anyhow,” she said. My glamorous aisle mate took out her cell phone and passed it around to anyone who wanted to make a call to hear the reassuring voice of a loved one.There was someone I wanted to call. Back in Vermont, my husband, Bill, was anticipating my arriving late at night. He had been complaining that he wasn’t getting to see very much of me because of my book tour. I had planned to surprise him by getting in a few hour early. Now I just wanted him to know I was Okay and on my way.

When my name was fully called to board on my new flight, I felt almost tearful to be parting from the people whose lives had so intensely, if briefly, touched mine.Even now back on terra firma, walking down a Vermont road, I I sometime hear a airplane and look up at that small, glinting piece of metal. I remember The passengers on that fateful, lucky flight and wish I could thank them for the many acts of kindness I witnessed and received. I am indebted to my fellow passengers and wish I could pay them back.But then, remembering my aisle mate’s hand clutching mine while I clutched the hand of the high school student, I feel struck by lightning all over again: the point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on.

●Structure Analysis ● The passage can be divided into four

parts.● Part One: (Paragraphs 1-4) ● These four paragraphs are

introductory paragraphs, telling us about the setting and the unexpected happening, and introducing some main characters, of whom the writer is one.

●Part Two: (Paragraphs 5-9)

● These paragraphs narrate and delineate the feelings, thoughts, and actions of the writer, the acts of kindness of the glamorous young woman and the behavior of other fellow passengers on the plane when they were faced with the dangerous situations.

● Part Three: (Para. 10-12): ● These paragraphs tells the readers what the

passengers saw and did after they landed safely.

● Part Four: (Para. 13-14): ● These two paragraphs constitute the last

part of this story. From paragraph 13 we get to know that back home the writer sometimes think of her fellow passengers on that fateful, lucky flight and that she is very grateful to them and wishes to do something nice to them in return. Paragraph 14 conveys the purpose of writing this story.: What is important is to make known such nice people and their fine deeds and to pass on their kindness from generation to generation.

● Main Idea of the passage

● The story is the writer’s objective and vivid narration of her extraordinary, unforgettable travel experience on a plane for the purpose of praising good people and their fine deeds and bringing out superb touching human relations witnessed at critical moments.

LANGUAGE POINTSLANGUAGE POINTS● Lightning

● An abrupt , discontinuous natural electric discharge in the atmosphere; a powerful flash of light in the sky caused by electricity passing from one cloud to another or to the earth, usu. Followed by thunder

● E.g. 1) He runs as fast as lightning.

2) The tower has been struck by lightning.

●I felt the slamming jolt, and then the horrible swerve that threw me against the

● I felt the sudden, forceful, and loud shaking of our plane, and then its terrible turning aside that pushed me against the door.

● swerve● 1) n. the act of turning aside or being turned aside from a

straight course;

E.g. The car made a sudden swerve to avoid the dog.

● 2) vi. Suddenly turn to one side while moving along

E.g. The minibus swerve to the right, bumped a tree, and fell into a ditch.

●Somehow I managed to unbolt the door and scramble out

● By some means, I succeeded in releasing the bolt of the door and getting out of the bathroom.

● Strapped in: fastened with a seat belt

●Stricken expression● An expression as if affected by sth. Overw

helming such as disease, trouble, or painful emotions.

● … and (she) was supposed to make a connecting flight…

●(She) had to transfer to another flight that would take her back home when we landed in Newmark.

●vaguely● 1) indistinctly; in a shape or form

which is not clearly seen● E.g. On the misty hillside, we could

see vaguely some sheep coming through the mist.

● 2) described or expressed in a way or manner which is not clear

● E.g. These clauses in the contract are rather vaguely worded.

●…the emergency procedures she had reviewed before take off

●Before the plane took off, the flight attendant had carefully instructed the whole set of actions or steps that the passengers must take in the face of an emergency, an unexpected and dangerous happening which must be dealt with at once.

● procedure● a set of actions necessary for doing sth● E.g. What is the correct procedure for renewing your car tax?

● review ● consider and judge carefully● E.g. The Organizing Committee is reviewing its decision.

●… always figuring that if we ever got to the point where we needed to use life jackets, I would have already died of terror

● … always thinking that if we ever came to the critical juncture where we had to put on life jackets, I would have already died of fear. This sentence was a subjunctive mood, which suggests that the situation that existed in the writer’s mind was not likely to happen.

●“After this, London’s going to seem like small potatoes.”

●After this remarkable and extraordinary ride, your trip to London is going to seem like sth insignificant. This sentence implies that the journey they were going on by plane was much more unusual and exiting than a trip to London.

●During those excruciating 20 minutes ● During those 20 minutes which caused

intense pain or agony to the passengers; during those 20 minutes when the passengers felt intensely painful or agonized.

● As we jolted and screeched our way downward, I could hear small pockets of soothing conversation everywhere

● As our plane was shaking forcefully downward, making a high pitched, strident noise, we could hear small groups of people talking to, comforting and soothing each other here and there in the plane.

●… to transfer us to alternative flight●… to get us moved to other flights that would take

us to our respective destinations.● But we passengers clung together● But we passengers remained close together.● Cling● 1) Hold tightly; refuse to go or let go; stick firmly● E.g. They clung to one another for comfort.● 2) Stay very near; remain too close, esp. due to la

ck of confidence● E.g. The little child is clinging to his mother.● We chatted about the lives we now felt blessed to

be living, as difficult or rocky as they might be● In our talk now, we expressed our gratitude to G

od for the good luck in our lives, which might be very hard and uncertain.

●I am indebted to my fellow passengers and wish I could pay them back

● I am very grateful /thankful to my fellow passengers for their kindness and friendship and wish I could return kindness for their kindness.

● … the point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on.

● … the most important point is not to return kindness for kindness, but to spread it and make it well known to people who are younger or come later./… what counts is not to reciprocate their kindness, but to pass it down to future generations/from generation to generation.

TEXT 2: Dad Had Lost Any Purpose in LifeTEXT 2: Dad Had Lost Any Purpose in Life

We had to watch him getting weaker and weaker, while mum seemed even more energetic than before. She still had a job to do, shopping, cooking and running the flat. She was necessary. Dad felt superfluous. He died six years after they moved into the flat. I think he died in self-defence.

He was the kindest and most generous man I have ever met. Yet I was never able to know him as well as I wished. He was reserved. I I didn’t get near enough to him. He never spoke of things close to his heart. Perhaps he couldn’t. I know that he loved all his children, but I think he loved me in particular. Yet because in our family outward signs of affection were never shown, because mum and Dad never kissed us goodnight, because neither of them said how mush they loved us, somehow I have never at any time been able to express my love for them. I was with dad on the night he died and I longed to be able to kneel by his bedside and say, “Dad, thank you for being so good to us, I love you Dad.” Every time I tried to I was overcome with embarrassment. I felt even at that time he would think it wrong for me to try to clothe in words my private feelings.

After Dad died, all of us rallied round mum. We thought that to have her children calling on her would be some sort of compensation. It was at first. I’d visit her twice a day and listen while she talked about her life with dad. Not for mum, a veil of silence over the dead. She would relate their lives and relationship together from the time she first met him. I think it was right that she did. The conspiracy of silence that so many relations adopt about doesn’t help. It makes it appear as if those that are gone never lived. It was far better to talk about dad, to him alive in spirit. After all death is inevitable, it’s only the way there that is different. The great thing about mum is that she had no regrets. She didn’t keep on about “If only I’d done this or done that.” All she wanted to do was relive their lives together. I remember once when Pat and I had been listening to her all afternoon, mum saying as we left, “Now that I’ve talked to you both I felt ten years younger.” And as we went down the stairs I said to Pat, “And we feel ten years older.” Yet we could both see the value it had had for her. It’s all very well for me to say that dad died in self-defence, that mum dominated and overshadowed him. Perhaps this was what he wanted, someone to make all the decisions. Up to the very end he adored mum and she him. Perhaps towards the end he wanted more quiet, but who are we to say. It’s only since he died that mum felt the need to talk about him; while he was there, her life was complete.

For the next fifteen years mum seemed to grew even more energetic. When she was well over eighty she thought nothing of walking from Hove to Brighton and back. Often she’d start by waiting for a bus but if one didn’t come within a minute, she’d make an expression of disgust and decide to walk. She was always an impatient woman. The thing that annoyed me, and I think my brothers and sisters, was that mum refused to allow us to compensate for dad. We tried so hard, visiting her, talking and listening to her, taking her flowers, chocolates and drink, but she’d always got her grumbles about how lonely she was. I used to say how fortunate she was to have five of us children and her grandchildren going so regularly to see her. She’d just grunt. Then I’d compare her lot with that of so many of the other old people who lived around her, many whom hadn’t had anybody to care for them. “What have they got to do with me?” she’d reply. What can you say to a woman like that? Only agree with her that contemplating other people’s miseries doesn’t help you to bear your own. Mum resented that she was incidental in our lives; with dad she had been the only one.

715 words

Main Idea of Text IIIn this reminiscent writing the author described the life and personality of his father, who was physically weak and self-consciously superfluous; and his mother an energetic woman with a strong love for life but no regrets and that she enjoys dominance over her old man. Mum expressed her affection to dad after his death and thought no matter what her children did for her, she felt unhappy because she thought herself incidental in her lives, no longer enjoying the sense of dominance with her old man.

Comprehension Questions

1. How does the author feel about his father?

He was a kind and generous father who loved all his children, but he never said how much he loved them.

2. What details give an impression of the author’s love for his parents?

On the night of his father’s death, the author did want to say “I love you, dad,” even though he didn’t, for the family were not in the habit of showing outward affections. And after the dad passed away, the author and his brothers and sisters decided to call on their mum regularly to help her overcome her grief and loneliness.

3. What information and dominant impression does the author give us about his parents?

His father was physically weak and self-consciously superfluous, while his mother was always energetic and busy running her home.

4.What purpose does the description of the author’s mother serve?

From what the author tells about his mother, we can see that she is an energetic woman with a strong love for life but no regrets and that she enjoys dominance over her old man.

5.How did the author’s mother convey affection to his father?

By talking about her relationship with the old man to show her intention to relieve their lives together, mum conveyed affection to dad. And she did not feel sorry for her life with her husband.

6.Why didn’t the author’s mother allow her children to call on her regularly?

No matter what her children did for her, she felt unhappy because she thought herself incidental in her lives, no longer enjoying the sense of dominance with her old man.

7.What essential qualities do you think the author’s mother possessed?

She was energetic, impatient, willful and self-important.

Words and Expressions for Text I

Slam: v. shut loudly and with force

Jolt: n. a sudden force shake; v. shake forcefully

Swerve: n. a sudden turn to one side

Unbolt: vt. Unlock

Scramble: v. move quickly

Strap in : fasten in place with seat belt

Lunge: v. make sudden forceful forward movement

Bee: n. a friendly competition

Laptop: n. a computer small enough to be held on one’s knees for use

Put away: put sth. Where it is usually kept

Vaguely: ad. Not clearly

Emergency: n. an unexpected and dangerous happening which must be dealt with at once

Procedure: n. a set of actions necessary for doing sth.

Back to the text

Figure: v. consider

Pull oneself together: control one’s own feelings

Reassure: vt. Say or do sth. In order to make sb. Feel less frightened, worried or nervous

Glamorous: a. having the exciting and charming quality of sth. Usual or special

Equivalent: n. someone equal

Scared: a. full of fear

Confide: v. tell sth. Secretly to a person one trusts

Bring up: talk about

Drawl: n. the manner of speaking of one who speaks with lengthened vowels

Indiscriminate: a. not carefully chosen

Soulful: a. full of feeling

Squeeze: n. an act of pressing hard for a particular purpose

Back to the text

Crash: n. a violent vehicle accidentGo through: suffer or experienceExcruciating: extremely badPanic: v. have a sudden feeling of fear that makes one act without thinking carefullyScreech: v. make an unpleasant loud high soundPocket: n. a small group of peopleSoothing: tending to comfort and calmAlarm: vt. Fill with fear, anxiety, and worry about the futureTransfer: vt. Move or change from one vehicle to another in the course of a journeyAlternative: a. that can be used instead of sth. ElseCling: v. hold on tightly to sb.Blessed: lucky; fortunateRocky: a. unsteadyLament: vt. Feel or express deep sorrowAnticipate: vt. ExpectGet in: arriveIntensely: ad. StronglyGlinting: a. giving out small flashes of lightFateful: a. having an important influence on the future

Back to the Text

Witness: vt. See or notice sth. By being present when it happens Indebted: a. very grateful to someone for help givenPay back: give sth. To sb. In return for help, kindness, etc.Clutch: vt. Hold sth. Tightly, especially because one is afraid or exited

Back to the text

Notes for Text II

He never spoke of the things close to his heart. (paragraph 2) : He never spoke of the things he was deeply concerned about.

He would think it wrong foe me to clothe in words my private feelings. (paragraph 2): He would think it wrong for me to make efforts to express my inner fond feelings for him by saying them out.

It was at first. (paragraph3): Only during the period shortly after the writer’s father died, was the children’s calling on their mum some sort of compensation.

Not for mum, a veil of silence over the dead. (paragraph 3): Mum did not avoid speaking about her life with dad.

I think it was right that she did. (paragraph3): I believe that Mum’s recalling of their lives together was an appropriate way for her not to be overwhelmed by dad’s death.

Back to text II

The conspiracy of silence that so many relations adopt about the dead doesn’t help. (paragraph3): Many relations have agreed not to mention dad in front of mum, but it does not stop mum talking about him.

After all death is inevitable, it’s only the way there that is different. (paragraph 3): In spite of the fact that no one lives forever, one dies a particular type of death./ After all no one is immortal; however, the way one dies varies from person to person.

She didn’t keep on about… (paragraph 3): She didn’t keep saying that she should have done this or done that. By the way, the direct question “If only I’d done this or done that.” functions as the direct object of the preposition about.

Mum resented that she was incidental in our lives; with dad she had been the only one. (paragraph 4): Mum felt angry about being unimportant in our lives; in dad’s life, she was the only person enjoying his attention.

Back to text II