Michael Welzenbach

Warm-upWarm-up

Pre-reading discussions:1) Introduce one of your best friends to your classmates.

2) Are there things in common that lead to your friendship?

3) Why do we need friendship? What can we get from it?

4) Can you give us some tips to better cultivate friendship?

5) List out the ingredients you think of importance to true friendship.

Story TellingStory TellingWork in groups.

Your imagination is encouraged!

Make up a story with the following elements.

woodlands an owl

a boy

Shortbread

an old ladya cottage

Compare your story with

the text. Have you found

anything unexpected?

Story TellingStory Telling

Michael Welzenbach (1954—2001) was an art

critic as well as a poet and novelist. He wrote some

of the most stimulating criticisms of art and music

for the Washington Post.

AuthorAuthor

Robin Hood is a legendary hero of a series of English ballads, some of which date from at least the 14th century.

He was a rebel, and many of the most striking episodes in the tales about him show him and his companions robbing and killing representatives of authority and giving the gains to the poor.

Their most frequent enemy was the Sheriff of Nottingham, a local agent of the central government. Others included wealthy ecclesiastical landowners.

Berkshire, a county of southern England, that occupies the valleys of the middle Thames and its tributary, the Kennet, immediately to the west of London. Its area is 485 sq mi (1,256 sq km), and it is divided into six districts: Bracknell, Newbury, Reading, Slough, Windsor and Wokingham.

BerkshireBerkshire

Please mark out Berkshire in the

map given.

Kennet & Avon Canal

BerkshireBerkshire

Picture Tour of Berkshire

Shaw House—15th century Elizabethan Manor House

Picture Tour of Berkshire

Berkshire Berkshire

the Weir at Streatley

the sun setting over the River Thames

Picture Tour of Berkshire

BerkshireBerkshire

William I the Conqueror (reigned from 1066 to 1087) built the original fortress.

Windsor CastleWindsor

a modern town

situated on the south bank of the River Thames and to the west of London

today a residential and local service center

Rural Life in Rural Life in BritainBritain

__

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Cottages: Picturesque cottages are most people’s idea of the typical country building. Cottages dating from the late 16th century are generally the earliest to survive.

All manner of materials were used to build England's country cottages: stone, slate, wood, flint, clay, cob, thatch, boulders and pebbles, and turf. Whatever material was used, traditionally this would have reflected what was locally available. thatched cottages in Berkshire

Word study 1. attachment

As a teenager she formed a strong attachment to one of her teachers.

She has already formed a strong attachment to her baby brother.

feel a strong attachment to one's family

2. extend

The man extended his hand: "I'm Chuck."

He refused to take the hand I extended in friendship.

He extended his hand in greeting.

3. identify

She was asked to identify the criminal.The dead man has been identified as Mr. James Gould.They have now identified the main cause of the problem.

Word study 4. inclineHer arguments incline me towards a different view of the matter.I incline to get tired easily.He inclined his head in greeting.    5. proceedThe work is proceeding according to plan.He paused to consult his notes, and then proceeded with his questions.Passengers for the New York flight should now proceed to Gate 13.  6. regardShe regarded him curiously for a moment.I have always regarded him highly.You have no regard for my feelings.

Word study 7. roamThe lovers roamed across the fields in complete forgetfulness of the time.Crowds of youths roamed the streets looking for trouble.    8. suspectThey suspect him of murder. The police have arrested two suspects.  9. as it wereI'd understood the words, but I didn't, as it were, understand the question.He is, as it were, a walking dictionary.The English, the Scots and the Welsh are all, as it were, members of the same family.  10. not nearly enoughIt's not nearly enough.There weren't nearly enough people to settle all that land.

Sentence Paraphrase

1. When I was 12 years old, my family moved to England , the fourth major move in my short life. (1)

  When I was 12 years old, my family moved to England ,

which was the fourth major move in my short life.   

2. Loving nature, however, I was most delighted by the endless patchwork of farms and woodland that surrounded our house. (2)

  However, as (because) I loved nature, I was really very

happy to enjoy the endless pieces of farms and woods around our house.

Sentence Paraphrase

3. Keeping to myself was my way of not forming attachments that I would only have to abandon the next time we moved. (3)

I did not try to make many friends because in that way I did not have to give up my friendship the next time I had to move.

  4. My own breathing rang in my ears, and the slightest stirring of any woodland creature echoed through this private paradise. (4)

I could even hear my own breathing, and even the lightest movement of any bird or animal in the wood could be heard throughout this paradise.

  5. I proceeded quietly, careful not to alarm a bird that might loudly warn other creatures to hide. (5)

I moved quietly and carefully so that I would not alarm any bird which might loudly warn other animals in the woods to hide.

Sentence Paraphrase

6. Soon I saw a small brick cottage that glowed pinkly in the westering sun. (18)

Soon I saw a small brick cottage shining with a pink color in the sun that was moving toward the west.

  7. …and my well of knowledge about natural history began to brim

over. (24) I began to know much about natural history, too much for a boy

of my age.  8. Familiarity sometimes makes people physically invisible, for you

find yourself talking to the heart—to the essence, as it were, rather than to the face. (26)

When people get to know each other really well, sometimes they don't notice physical changes. The boy did not see that his friend, the old lady, was getting weaker and weaker because all the time he was talking to her heart, rather than to her face.

Sentence Paraphrase

It is a wisdom tutored by nature itself, about the seen and the unseen, about things that change and things that are changeless, and about the fact that no matter how seemingly different two souls may be, they possess the potential for that most precious, rare thing—an enduring and rewarding friendship. (37)I learn a lot of knowledge, taught by nature itself, about the things I can see—the birds, insects, trees, and flowers, and the things I cannot see—ideas, scientific laws and principles. I also learn a lot about the things that change, including life itself, as well as the things that are changeless like friendship, love, and many basic values.

True friendship is both rare and precious. It exists deep in heart and does not change. It is enduring and rewarding.

Theme of the Story

 Detailed Discussion of the text

1) The theme of the story is summed up at the very end. It is about “ a wisdom tutored by nature itself, about the seen and the unseen, about things that change and things that are changeless, and about the fact that no matter how seemingly different two souls may be, they possess the potential for that most precious, rare thing---an enduring and rewarding friendship.”

2)  The story is not very subtle, nor is it particularly dramatic, but it is nevertheless beautiful. It is beautiful not just because it contains some beautiful descriptions of the Wood, but because it is about a beautiful friendship.

3)  What is interesting is the fact that this is a friendship between two souls who are “seemingly different” in every way: one is an American boy of twelve,; and the other is an old English woman.

A: They are both lonely: the boy is lonely because he is in a foreign country with his father, the woman is lonely because she has just lost her dear

husband.

B: They have the common interest in nature and knowledge.

C: The shortbread the woman keeps supplying for the boy is also one of the

reasons.

D: The real reason for their friendship is the old woman’s selfless interest in

the boy. It is often said that true love is in the giving and not in the taking. So is friendship. The woman not only gives the boy good food to eat, shealso gives him a new vision of the beautiful nature, the key to the

treasury of human knowledge, and above all, her care, concern, love and

affection.

5)  In this world, there are many things you can see and there are many things you can’t see, and friendship is what you can’t see, unlike your worldly

belongings, because it exists deep in your heart. In this world there are also

things that change and things that do not change, and true friendship does not change. It is rare and precious. It is enduring and rewarding.

Part 1 (paras. 1─ )about:Part 2 (paras. ) about:

Part 3 (paras. ) about:

Part 4 (paras. ) about:

Text Text AnalysisAnalysisStructure of the Text

4

5─23

24─27

28─37

The lonely boy found his pleasure in Bear Wood.

The boy met Mrs. Robertson-Glasgow in the Bear Wood and they became best friends.

Mrs. Robertson-Glasgow became sick and dead while their friendship flourished more than ever before.

The revelation of true love.

How did the boy come to live in England?

How did he like the frequent moves?

What did he usually do to amuse himself?

Why did Bear Wood become his favorite?

How did the boy come to meet Mrs. Robertson-Glasgow?

How did they become friends?

Further Discussions

Why did they enjoy each other's company so much?

What did the boy discover about the elderly woman?

Can you imagine what kind of life she had had?

How did the boy suddenly lose his dear friend?

Why did the boy remember so fondly his days in the Bear Wood?

Further Discussions

Writing DevicesWriting Devices

eg ： the twitter of birds;

the gurgle of the water;

the cracking of the fire;

the rumbling of the waves;

the tick-tock of the clock.

Onomatopoeia: More Examples

• A friend is, as it were, another self.• 可以说，朋友是自己的化身。• Old friends and old wines are best.

• 陈酒味醇，老友情深。• Everything is good when new, but friends when old.

• 东西新的好，朋友老的佳。• A friend to all is a friend to none.• 滥交者无友。• Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.• 择友不宜快，绝交更须慢。• Better alone than have a false friend for company.

• 交损友不如无友。

Extensive WorkExtensive WorkDo you know the meaning of these proverbs?

Topics for Debating

1. People who are very different in age can develop a rewarding friendship.

2. Old people know more about true friendship.

3. Cross-age friendship should be encouraged.

Extensive WorkExtensive Work

Lesson 4 - Wisdom of Bear Wood

Writing On Friendship

1. What is true friendship?

2. Why can't we live without friendship?

3. How could we gain true friendship?

Extensive WorkExtensive Work