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1. ,while Mary raked out the live coals that had lain hidden in the ashes on the hearth all night. 2. Outside, cocks were crowing and a white streak was rising from the ground, as it were, and beginning to scatter the darkness.
3.,and his wife looked hardly more than a girl, red-cheeked and blue-eyed ,her black hair piled at the rear of her head with a large comb gleaming in the middle of the pile. 4. Lights were glimmering in the windows of a few cabins.
live/ alive/lively
There was a tank oflive lobsters in the restaurant.
This evening there will be a live broadcast of the debate. He must be 90 if he's still alive.
It's hard work teaching a class of lively children.
streak/ stripe/ strip/ strand
Streak: a long thin mark or line that is a different colour from the surface it is on. Stripe:
1 a long narrow line of colour, that is a different colour from the areas next to it.
2 a narrow piece of colour, that is worn on the uniform of a soldier or police officer to show their rank. Strip:
1 a long narrow area of land, sea, etc.
2 a long narrow piece of paper, metal, cloth, etc. 3 an act of taking your clothes off. Strand:
1 a single thin piece of thread, wire, hair, etc.
2 one of the different parts of an idea, a plan, a story, etc.
The window cleaner left dirty streaks on the windows.
The zebra is a wild African horse with black and white stripes.
By the age of 25 he'd already earned his third stripe and become a sergeant. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.
There are so many different strands to the plot that it's hard to follow.
glare/ gleam/glisten/glimmer/glitter
Glimmer: to shine with a weak unsteady light. Glare: a very bright, unpleasant light. Glisten: of sth wet to shine
Gleam: to shine with a clear bright or pale light,especially a reflected light. Glitter: to shine brightly with small flashes or reflected light.闪亮，闪耀
We sat down under the glare of the moon and stars. In the distance were the camp fires
glistening.
He polished the table until it gleamed.
The grass glistened in the early-morning dew.
The lights of the village were glimmering in the distance.远处村庄微弱的灯光时隐时现。
Her diamond necklace glittered brilliantly under the spotlights.聚光灯下她的钻石项链流光溢彩，光芒四射 Glow:
1 especially of sth hot or warm, to produce a dull, steady light. 2 of a person’s body or face.
This substance is so radioactive that it glows in the dark. The children's faces were glowing with excitement. 孩子们兴奋得满脸通红。
5. And each felt the glamour of that day on which they were to open up the earth together and plant seeds in it.
6. Martin fell over a basket in the half-darkness of the barn, he swore and said that a man would be better off dead than??
7. The little field had been manured with seaweed some weeks before, and the weeds had rotted and whitened on the grass.
swear 1.to use rude or offensive language, usually because yo are angry. 咒骂，说脏话... at 2. To make a serious promise to do sth 允诺 Curse 1 to swear咒骂
2 to use a magic word or phrase against sb in order to harm them念咒语诅咒
I've never opened up to anyone like I do to you.
When the cab driver started to swear at him, he walked away. I don't know anything about what happened, I swear (it).
We could hear himcursing and swearingas he tried to get the door open.咒骂 Things were going so badly - it was as if I'd been cursed.诅咒
8. When she was a little distance down the ridge, Martin advanced with his spade to the head, eager to commence.
9.His eyes had a wild, eager light in them as if some primeval impulse were burning within his brain and driving out every other desire but that of asserting his manhood and of subjugating the earth.
ridge
10. And Martin , absolutely without thought, worked furiously, covering the ridge with block earth, his sharp spade gleaming white as he whirled it sideways to beat the sods. 11. “Yes, isn’t it lovely,” said Mary, looking at the black ridge wistfully. 12.She had to keep blowing at the turf fire with the rim of her skirt.
She saw a mass of bodies whirling around on the dance floor. Swirl a little oil around the frying pan.
After he shot the woman, he whirled the body and swung the gun into the lake . (correct the mistakes in this sentence)
He worked fast, cutting and slicing the turf neatly, heaving the sod to one side.
This is the north ______ of the field. The plane flew across the ______.
He wears a pair of spectacles with gold ______. She was on the ______ of speaking out the secret. The teacup is almost filled to the _____.
Border, margin, edge, verge, brink ,rim, brim
Border refers either to the boundary line (a fence along the border of the property) or to the area immediately inside (a frame with a wide border).
Margin is a border of more or less precisely definable width: the margin of the page.页边空白 Edge refers to the bounding line formed by the continuous convergence of two surfaces: sat on the edge of the chair.
Verge is an extreme terminating line or edge: the sun's afterglow on the verge of the horizon. Figuratively it indicates a point at which something is likely to begin or to happen: an explorer on the verge of a great discovery.
Brink denotes the edge of a steep place: stood on the brink of the cliff.
In an extended sense it indicates the likelihood or imminence of a sudden change: on the brink of falling in love.
Rim most often denotes the edge of something circular or curved: a crack in the rim of the lens. Brim applies to the upper edge or inner side of the rim of something shaped like a basin: lava issuing from the brim of the crater.
13.But now, sitting on the grassy knoll, with the valley all round glistening with fresh seaweed and a light smoke rising from the freshly turned earth, a strange joy swept over her. It overpowered that other feeling of dread that had been with her during the morning.
14.Martin ate heartily, revelling in his great thirst and his great hunger, with every pore of his body open to the pure air.
About the story
“Spring Sowing” is taken from the author’s first collection of short stories which bears the same title published in 1924.
The story describes the first day of the first spring planting of a newly-wedded couple against the background of a traditional agricultural country.
summary of the text
It was in early spring. Martin and Mary , a newly-married couple, woke up at the crowing of cocks , dressed up , ate breakfast and then went to the barn to get the potato seeds, for it was the first day of the spring sowing after they became man and wife. Reaching the little field, they were proud to be the first among the villagers.
Work began.Martin had no other desire but that of asserting his manhood and the head of the family, while Mary felt a little dejected when she realized she was just a helper to her husband in the future life.
When the sun reached a certain point, Mary went back home to prepare lunch and then hurried back to the field where Martin worked on without stopping. They enjoyed the simple meal together and had a short rest.
Work continued. Although their bodies were aching all over , they just repeated the mechanical movements of planting until they forgot their tiredness. In the afternoon,when it was warm enough, Martin's grandfather came out to check the young couple's work and also give them some advice, to which they paid no heed.
By sundown, when it was time to go back home, both of them were too weary to utter a word. But Martin had a good opinion about himself and his woman. Mary , in spite of a momentary flash of rebellion against the slavey of being a farmer's wife, felt happy at having done all this work with her husband.
Theme analysis
What do you think the author is trying to tell us? Is he trying to tell us how potatoes are planted? Or is he trying to recall the past hardships and sufferings for the benefit of the younger generation? Or is he missing those days and getting nostalgic?
The simple life, honest nature and good wishes of the newly-married couple are presented through the descriptions of their spring planting in minute detail.
It reveals the traditional virtues of a typical farmer: hard work, diligence, simple living, discipline, rugged individualism , self-reliance, and above all, strong sense of responsibility for the happiness of his wife and family.
The ability to accept responsibility is the measure of the man. -----Roy L.Smith
About the author
Liam O’Flaherty was born in Ireland in 1896. He wrote in English and Irish. He is one of the most significant and important modern Anglo-Irish authors. His novels have not been met with
much critical analysis over the last forty years because he stopped publishing work in 1956. His theme and style
Both his novels and his short stories define Anglo-Irish literature in that his themes stem from his experiences growing up in a poverty-stricken society on the island of Aran.
His naturalistic, mystical, romantic, and realistic styles were also defined by his experiences in his native Ireland.
His major works
Thy Neighbor’s Wife The Black Soul The Informer The Assassin Shame the Devil Famine
Background information
1. What do you know about spring sowing in our country? Is the spring sowing in the text different from our country’s?
2. Why is potato important to Ireland? Spring sowing Spring sowing
<插秧诗> 布袋和尚 手把青秧插满田， 低头便见水中天； 六根清静方为道， 退步原来是向前。
The Potato Comes to Ireland
Many countries in Europe paid very little attention to the arrival of the potato from the New World. This is because most countries already grew enough food to feed their population, and so there was no reason to grow a new vegetable in large numbers. However, the situation was different in Ireland.
During the 1500's Ireland was torn apart by constant warfare between the country’s English rulers and Irish inhabitants, and between local nobles who were always fighting one another. As a result of these continual conflicts, Ireland's peasant farmers had a hard time growing enough food to feed themselves, let alone anyone else. It was into this starving, war-torn Ireland that the potato was introduced around the year 1600.
However it arrived, one thing can be said for certain—the potato caught on very quickly in Ireland. The potato's popularity was based on the potato producing more food per acre than any other crops Irish farmers had grown before. In peaceful times the potato spread throughout Ireland as a healthy and reliable source of food. In times of war it was popular as well. When soldiers destroyed farmers' crops and livestock—as soldiers often did—, the potato would survive because it was hidden, and buried below ground. When the soldiers left, people could
spring sowing课件
