Unit 2 of Advanced English
Hiroshima— Hiroshima—the “liveliest” city in liveliest” Juestions:
• • Where is the city of Hiroshima? For what is Hiroshima a city of world renown? Talk as much as you know about Hiroshima.
The Japanese crowd...... that I had:
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seem, look, appear Seem suggests a personal opinion based on evidence that satisfies the judgment. Look implies that the opinion is based on a visual impression. Appear may convey the same implication as look, but it sometimes suggests a look, distorted impression produced by an optical illusion, a restricted point of view etc. e. g. The setting sun made the spires
• How does the usher strike you? • In what special place is mayor’s meeting with the mayor’ reporters? • Did the other visitors share the same feeling as the author at the meeting? How do you know? • How does the author explain his emotion to a small Japanese man? • Why don’t the Japanese in Hiroshima want to don’ mention the hard truth of being atomized?
Glide, rather close to slide, means to move smoothly, quietly and continuously as is characteristic of dances, but it may or may not imply unintermittent contact with a surface and, apart form its context, it seldom carries any suggestion of danger. Skid is employed especially in regard to wheeled vehicles the tires of which on an icy, wet, or dusty road fail to grip the roadway, thereby causing the wheels to slide without rotating and the vehicle to go out of control,
Slip often carries a stronger implication than slide of a frictionless and unobstructed surface but a weaker suggestion of continued contact; it typically suggests involuntary rather than voluntary sliding, often definitely implying a loss of footing and a fall, when only swift, easy notion is implied, slip heightens the emphasis upon quietness, stealth, or skillfulness, e.g. e.g. He had hurt his elbow through dropping his stick and slipping downstairs.
on one's mind: occupying one's thoughts, esp. as a source of worry 1. I’m glad you want to talk about this. It’s been on my mind for weeks. 2. I think I know what’s in your mind. Cf: A. be of the same mind, B. be of one mind, be out of one’s mind, C. be in one’s right mind, D. dismiss from one’s mind, bring to mind, E. call to mind, F.give one’s mind to/keep one’s mind on/set one’s mind on,
The very act of stepping on this soil..'''' any reportorial assignment I'd previously taken: ) stepping on this soil: putting my feet down on this soil; landing in Hiroshima reportorial assignment: reporting work for a newspaper The fact that I was now in Hiroshima was in itself a much more exciting experience for me than any trip I had taken or any reporting work I had done in the past.
• How do you interpret the title? • What style of writing do you classify the text into? What is the most important idea the author wants to convey to readers in the description? • This is a piece of description distinct from others. Can you mention any of the distinctions after the first reading? • The whole text can be divided into two main parts. What are the main ideas of each part?
Was I not at the scene of the crime? I was now at the place where the first A-bomb was dropped
Information provided in the first paragraph:
1 ) The author was here on a reportorial mission. 2) Hiroshima was not the author's first assignment. 3) He was preoccupied with some sad thoughts--the thoughts--the crime of the A-bomb. He was tortured by a Aguilty conscience. 4 ) He didn't understand Japanese.
And secondly, because I had a lump in my throat and a lot of sad thoughts on my mind...''' might say: I had a lump in my throat: I was choked with emotion; I was so overcome with emotion that I could not speak or think clearly. a lump in one's throat: a feeling of pressure in one's throat, caused by repressed emotion‘ There is a lump on his forehead when it hit the wall.
Questions on the overall structure of the text:
Questions on the first part:
• What is the central idea of the first part? • Why couldn’t the author understand what couldn’ the stationmaster said? What is on his mind? Why did he think his journey was the greatest adventure? • What does the author describe in the second paragraph? • What impression do you have on the Japanese taxi driver?