Unit2Home,SweetHome
PartIDescription(Places)Activity1
Practicingthebasicsofdescription
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Analyzethefollowingdescriptiveselections,pointingoutthedominantimpressioneachcreatesanditsmethodoforganization.TheReadRoomThedescriptioncreatesagloomyandlifelessimpression,whichmaywellsendachillthroughyouandfrightenyou.Theselectionisorganizedbyspatialorderandbyusingthesenses—inthiscase,sight.PemberleyHouseTheselectiondescribesthesurroundingsofPemberleyHouse,creatinganimpressionofharmonybetweenmanandnature.Theselectionisorganizedbyspatialordertoo.RainbowMagicThedominantimpressionofthedescriptionisthebreathtakingbeautyofrainbowsinthemountainsofMaui,Hawaii.Thewriterchieflyusesthesenses—again,primarilysight.?
Studyeachpairofthefollowingtopicsentencesforadescriptiveparagraph,indicatewhichoneisbetter,andexplain.Agoodtopicsentenceforadescriptiveparagraphconveysthedominantimpressionofwhatitdescribes.Itshouldbeconcreteandinteresting.Ofthetwointhefivepairs,thefollowingarebetter.Theothersaretoovague.1.2.3.4.5.a.Outside,themoonwasfullandtheworldwasallwhitewithsnow.b.Thestudentdininghallwassonoisythatwecouldbarelytalkabovethenoiseoftheclatteringdishes.b.InMay,thegardenbelowourbalconyisablazeofcolor—white,yellow,pinkandred.b.Withaplaceforeverythingandeverythinginitsplace,myroomiswellorganized.a.FacingthesouthandhavingalargeFrenchwindow,ourlivingroomgetsalotofsunshine.Activity2Readingsonthetopic
(1)Roosevelt’sStudyQuestionstothinkabout1.Modelshipsthatshowthepresident’slifelongloveofthesea;lithographsdepictinglifealongtheHudsonRiver,indicatinghisnostalgiclongingforhisnativeplace,HydePark,whichtheriverpassesby;aportraitofaRevolutionaryWarnavalherowhoisprobablyapersonheadmired.Theseobjectsshowthekindofpersonthepresidentwas.12.Thefirstsentenceoftheparagraph:“…theovalstudyhadbecomethecenterofRoosevelt’spresidencyduringhisnineyearsinpower.”3.First,theroomwasclosetohissecond-floorbedroom.Workinginthestudymadeiteasyforthewheelchair-boundpresidenttomovebetweenthetwoplaces.Second,fromtheroom,hecouldseethesouthlawnoftheWhiteHouseandtheWashingtonMonumentinthedistance.4.Thepresidenthosteda7:15p.m.cocktailhourforhissenioraides.Hemixedthedrinksskillfully.5.Itwasaplacewherehecouldsettleintopursuehislifelonghobbyofstampcollection,aformofrelaxationthathebadlyneededasanationalleaderwithhugeresponsibilities.6.Bylistingthreestrikingfeaturesofthestudy:thedecorationsthatshowthekindofpersonFDRwas;thefactorsthatmadetheroomthecenterofthepresident’snine-year-longpresidency;thefunctionoftheroomasaretreatwhereFDRcouldrelaxbyprivatelypursuingahobby.拓展：Theuseofparallelism(1)“…aroomwhereThomasJeffersonplayedhisviolinandAbrahamLincolnreadtheBible…”(Twoclausesconnectedbyand.)(2)“Henotonlyconductedthenation’sbusiness…buthosteda7:15p.m.cocktailhourforhissenioraides…”(Twoverbphrasesconnectedbythecorrelativepronounnotonly…but.)(3)“…hislongtimefriendandtrustedaide…”(Twonounphrasesconnectedbyand.)(2)NickelandDimedQuestionstothinkabout1.ThewriterliststhreemotelsnotoriousfortheirbadreputationandthenpointsoutthatnoneofthethreecreateaworsepublicimagethantheClearviewInndoes.2.Itisstatedinthesentence:“Still,theClearviewInnleavesthecompetitioninthedust...”3.Listingofdetails:(1)minimalfurniture;(2)inadequatefacilities:noACorfan,awindowwithoutascreen,adoorwithoutabolt,asee-throughcurtain;(3)poorhygiene:mousedroppings;(4)unsafeenvironment(poorfacilitiesplusneighborswhoarenotreliable).Thesecharacteristicsarelistedfromtheleasttothemostundesirable.(3)TheBeautyofBritainQuestionstothinkabout1.Itisaverysmallcountry.Everythingthereissmall,butsuitabletothesizeoftheislanditself.2.Theyarevariety,surprisesandmoderation.Variety:Smallasitis,ithaswhatbigcountrieshave—plains,riversandlakes,thoughtheylackthegrandeur/splendorofthoseofbigcountries.Surprises:Inasmallarea,atravelermayseedifferentgeographicalfeatures.Moderation:ThismeansharmonybetweenNatureandMan.3.Helovesandisproudofhiscountry;heseesgreatbeautyinit.Hisloveandprideareshown2inhischoiceofwordsandthewayhedescribesitsbeauty.Forexample,hereferstotheLakeDistrictas“apieceofluckofours.”4.TheuniquecharacteristicfeaturesofBritain’sbeauty.5.BylistingandanalyzingBritain’scharms.拓展：Theuseofparallelism(1)“Thebeautyofourcountryisashardtodefineasitiseasytoenjoy.”(Twoinfinitivephrasesconnectedbythecomparativeconjunctionas…as.)(2)“…aswrongasaplain400mileslong,ariverasbroadastheMississippi.”(Twoparallelnounclauses.)(3)“…thatdoesnotmeanthatourmountainsarenotmountains,ourplainsnotplains.”(Twoparallelclauseswiththelinkverbare,arebeingomittedforthesakeofbrevity.)Morecasesofparallelism:(1)“…here,nocity;there,thecity.”(2)“…onefootinthecityandoneinthecountry.”(3)“…compromisebetweenwildernessandcultivation,NatureandMan.”(4)“Liveandletlive.”Activity3
1.Readingswrittenbyyourpeers
2.3.Theybothconsistofthreesections,orparts:theintroduction,thebodyandtheconclusion,althoughthebodyofthefirsthasoneparagraphwhilethebodyofthesecondhasthreeparagraphs.Thebodyofthefirstessay,whichconsistsofasingleparagraph,usesthelistingmethod,describingthespecificpositionofeachpieceoffurniture,thepictureandthePC,whilethatofthesecondisorderedaccordingtoaspatialprinciple.Allthreeparagraphsadoptthesamepatternoforganization:Topicsentence+abriefdescriptionofthespot+anincidentthechildrenexperiencethere.PartIIEffectiveSentence(Parallelism)Activity4
Practicingparallelconstructions
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Recognizetheparallelconstructionsinthefollowingsentences.1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.twoinfinitives:doandwaittwopastparticiples:saidanddonetwoimperativeclausesconnectedbyasemicolonfournouns:blood,toil,tears,andsweattwoinfinitivephrases:tobealiveandtobeofservicetosomebodytwonounphrases:alivingdogandadeadliontwogerundphrases:crawlingdownamountainandclimbingup(amountain)threeverbphrases:answerthephone,attendtovisitorsanddosometyping.twonounphrasesjoinedbyapairofcorrelativeconjunctionsnotonly…buttwoobjectclausesconnectedbyand(Note:thesecondclauseshouldbeintroducedbytheconjunctionthat.)3?
Identifythewayeachoftheparallelstructuresiscreated.1.Youcantakeaboyoutofthecountrybutyoucan’ttakethecountryoutoftheboy.(Twoparallelclausesconnectedbybut.)2.Notart,notbooks,butlifeitselfisthetruebasisofteachingandeducation.(Threenounphrases,connectedbybut.)3.Whatweknowisnotmuch.Whatwedonotknowisimmense.(Twoparallelsentences.)4.Thestupidneitherforgivenorforget;thenaiveforgiveandforget;thewiseforgivebutdonotforget.(Thethreeparallelclausesformaparallelstructureconnectedbythreesemicolons;anotherparallelstructureisimbeddedintheclause.Thetwoparallelelementsaretwoverbsconnectedbyneitherandnor.)5.Smalldeedsdonearebetterthangreatdeedsplanned.(Twonounphrasesconnectedbythan.)6.Lovetruth,butpardonerror.(Twocommandsconnectedbybut.)7.Somethinkit’sholdingonthatmakesonestrong,butsometimesit’slettinggo.(Twoclausesconnectedbybut.)8.Weallhavetheopportunitytoaffectotherpeople’slivesforthebetter,orfortheworse.(Twophrasesconnectedbyor.)9.Thepriceiswhatyoupay;thevalueiswhatyoureceive.(Twoclausesconnectedbyasemicolon.)10.Youthisnotatimeoflife—itisastateofmind.Youareasyoungasyourfaith,asoldasyourdoubt;asyoungasyourself-confidence,asoldasyourfear;asyoungasyourhope,asoldasyourdespair.(Inthefirstsentence,therearetwonounphrases,connectedbyadash“—”.Inthesecondsentenceareembeddedthreeparalleladjectivephrasesconnectedbythreeadjectiveclauses.)?
Correctanyfaultyparallelisminthefollowingsentences.1.2.3.4.Mycousinlikesswimming,runningandplayingtabletennis.Chemistryusedtobetaughtfromatextbook;nowitistaughtinthelab.Youcanforceachildtoattendclassbutnottothink.XiaoLincouldnotdecidewhethertostartcollegerightafterhighschoolortogetajobfirst.5.Theessayisdifficulttounderstandnotbecausethevocabularyistechnicalbutbecausethesentencestructureiscomplicated.6.Wemusteithermakenuclearpowersafeorstopusingitaltogether.(or:Eitherwemustmakenuclearpowersafeorwemuststopusingitaltogether.)7.ThedayIlefthomewasdark,cold,andrainy.8.Acarelessdriverrisksnotonlythelivesofhisownpassengers,butalsothoseofothers.9.E-mailisnotonlyfastandeasybutalsosavespaperandtheworkofmovingpaperfromoneplacetoanother.(or:Notonlyise-mailfastandeasy,butitalsosavespaperandtheworkofmovingpaperfromoneplacetoanother.)10.Hebelievesthatgivingisasmuchajoyasreceiving.(or:Hebelievesthattogiveisasmuchajoyastoreceive.)4Activity5ReadingsontheTopic
(1)TheCaptain’sHouseQuestionstothinkabout1.ThenarratorwasasailorandhadworkedwithCaptainPriceonthesameocean-goingship,andtheyweregoodfriends.2.Itwasanextremelyunusualandqueerhouse,peculiarintheeyesofhisneighbors.3.Thedoorwasinthebackofthehouseonthesecondfloor,anditlookedjustlikeanupperportholeofaship.4.Byclimbingaropeladderinthewaysailorsenterandleaveaship.5.Thewindows—therewere12ofthem—weresmallandroundlikeaship’sportholes.6.Theorderisspatial,fromthewindowstothedoor.7.“Ifoundthehouseeasilyandknewitwashis.”(Twoparallelverbphrasesconnectedbyacoordinatingconjunctionand.)“Icountedthem:sixoneachside,fourupandtwodown.”(Twoparallelphrasesconnectedbyand.)“Anupperportholeopenedinwards,andaman’sfaceappeared...”(Twoparallelclausesconnectedbyand.)8.No,Idon’tthinkso.Gettingintoandoutofthehousewouldbeabigproblem,nottomentionotherinconveniences.Perhapshehadbeenasailorforsolongthathewasusedtoandlovedthelifestyleonocean-goingships.9.CaptainPrice’stwo-storyhouselookedandwasstructuredlikeanocean-goingship.Insteadofwindows,thehousehadtwelveportholes.Anupperportholeatthebackofthehouseservedasthedoor.Therewerenostairs.Peoplehadtogetinandoutbyaropeladder.Theupperroomatthefrontwasthemostimportantroom.Thecaptainreferredtothisroomasthebridge.(69words)(2)MyRemoteSpotQuestionstothinkabout1.Thenarratorisacitydweller,whospendsaweek-longspringvacationinaremoteplaceinnorthernWisconsin.2.Thewriterpresentsthethesisofheressay:sheleavesherhecticlifeinthecitytoenjoythepeacefulnessofaremotearea.3.Chronologicalorder.Paragraphstwoandthreedescribewhattheplacelookslikeinthemorning;Paragraphsfourandfive,theafternoonviewsheenjoysattheriverbank;Paragraphsix,thesoundsandnoisesintheevening.4.Othermethodsused:thesenses:sight(theclear,cloudlessbluesky,animaltracks,pinecones,babytreessproutingup,wildflowers,abaldeaglesoaringabovethetreetopsandtheblacknight,thefullmoonintheevening;soundsandnoises:chipmunkschattering,twigscracking,bluejayssinging,frogscroaking,abobcatscreeching,coyoteshowling,etc.Another5
Answers to activities-Unit 2
