still dig up potatoes and eat them.
The importance of potatoes to Ireland
Ireland was the first country in Europe where the potato became a major food source. By the 1800's, the potato was so important in Ireland that some of the poorer parts of the country relied entirely on the potato for food. Because the potato was so abundant and could feed so many people, it allowed the population of Ireland to grow very quickly.
Great Famine (Ireland)
The Great Famine or the Great Hunger was a period of mass starvation, disease, and emigration in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. It is sometimes referred to, mostly outside Ireland, as the Irish Potato Famine, because about two-fifths of the population was solely reliant on this cheap crop for a number of historical reasons.
causes of Great Famine
The proximate cause of famine was potato blight, which ravaged potato crops throughout Europe during the 1840s. However, the impact in Ireland was disproportionate, as one third of the population was dependent on the potato for a range of ethnic, religious, political, social, and economic reasons, which all contributed to the disaster to varying degrees and remain the subject of intense historical debate. death toll and aftermath
During the famine, approximately one million people died and a million more emigrated from Ireland, causing the island's population to fall by between 20% and 25%.
By the 1911 census, the island of Ireland's population had fallen to 4.4 million, which was about the same as the population in 1800 and 2000, and only a half of its peak population.
Genocide question
The famine remains a controversial event in Irish history. Debate and discussion on the British government's response to the failure of the potato crop in Ireland, the exportation of food crops and livestock, the subsequent large-scale starvation, and whether or not this constituted genocide, remains a historically and politically charged issue. the effects of Great Famine
The famine was a watershed in the history of Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The famine and its effects permanently changed the island's demographic, political, and cultural landscape. Famine Memorial in Dublin
Background of the story
Question: What stage of civilization would you say the country is in as described in this story? Toffler in Future Shock: The three distinct stages of human civilization: 1. the agricultural or pre-industrial stage 2.the industrial stage
3.the post – industrial or the Knowledge Economy stage.
Questions revealing the set of the story
1.Are the main characters in the story engaged in industrial or high-tech work, or in traditional farming?
2. What kind of life do they have? 3. Where do they live?
4. What is their staple food?
5. What kind of clothes do they wear? 6. What kind of tools do they use?
7. Is there any mention of machinery or home electronics or modern convenience? Detailed study of the text
Text structure Difficult sentences
Text Structure
Part I (paras. 1-3): Introduction.
Part II (paras. 4-8): Preparation.
Part III (paras. 9-14): In the morning.
Part IV (paras. 15-18): At noon.
Part V (paras. 19-35): In the afternoon.
Difficult sentence 1
it was hateful leaving a warm bed at such an early hour. ( 2) It’s been nice talking to you.
It’s difficult trying to persuade a person like Ricky. It’s important to know your own limitations. It is necessary to upgrade anti-virus software regularly.
Difficult sentence 2
Mary, with her shrewd woman’s mind, thought of as many things as there are in life as a woman think in the first joy and anxiety of her mating. (Para. 3)
Paraphrase: Mary, like all sharp and smart women, thought of many things in life when she got married.
Q: What was Mary thinking?
The use of as
1. They ate in silence, sleepy and yet on fire with excitement, for it was the first day of their first spring sowing as man and wife.(3)
2.Mary??thought of as many things as there are in life.(3)
3.And somehow, as they embraced ,all their irritation and sleepiness left then.(4)
4.And there was a big heap of fresh seaweed lying in a corner by the fence to be spread under the seeds as they were laid.
The use of as
5. It was the same as their breakfast, tea and bread and butter.(15)
6.Then he looked at his wife’s little round black head and felt very proud of having her as his own.
7.But as we leave childhood, we tend to accept only such new ideas as fit in with the ideas we already hold.
8. ‘Self-interest ‘ is to be understood first in the ordinary sense, as referring to a man’s way of earning his livelihood and acquiring wealth. Difficult sentence 3
But somehow the imminence of an event that had long been expected, loved, feared and prepared for made them dejected. (3)
Paraphrase: The couple had been looking forward to and preparing for this spring planting for a long time. But now that the day had finally arrived, strangely, they felt somehow a bit sad. Q: Why do you think they felt dejected? Difficult sentence 4
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... (4)
Q: Can you complete the sentence?
Paraphrase: In the barn, it was still very dark as it was very early in the morning. So Martin tripped over a basket. He cursed and said that it would be better for him to die than (to have to get up at such an early hour and begin the day's toil—probably for the rest of his life).
Difficult sentence 5
And somehow, as they embraced, all their irritation and sleepiness left them. And they stood there embracing until at last Martin pushed her from him with pretended roughness and said: \Q: Why did he push her from him with pretended roughness?
para: However, all of the unhappiness and drowsiness melted away with their hug. They remained in each other's arms until finally Martin pushed her away, with pretended roughness, to show that he was now the bread-winner of the family and had serious work to do and therefore must stop this sentimental nonsense, otherwise they would not be able to get anything done in the whole day.
Difficult sentence 6
And they both looked back at the little cluster of cabins that was the center of their world, with throbbing hearts. For the joy of spring had now taken complete hold of them. (Para. 5) Q: What does “the centre of their world “ mean?
Q: What is the joy of spring?
paraphrase: Both of them looked back towards their small village, which was the most important place for them because they and their forefathers before them were born and raised here. Their hearts were quivering with excitement at that moment, for the coming of spring had already filled their hearts with pleasure.
Difficult sentence7
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. (12)
Q: What does the wild ,eager light in his eyes represent?
paraphrase: His eyes shone and his only desire now was to prove what a strong man he was and how he could conquer the land.
Q: Can you list some synonyms of subjugate?
Synonyms:
defeat, conquer, vanquish, beat, rout, subdue, subjugate, overcome, overpower
Defeat is the most general: \we defeat the enemy in one battle, or by degrees, the consequences will be the same\
Conquer suggests decisive and often wide-scale victory: \Gauls, established the kingdom which has taken its name from them\
Vanquish emphasizes total mastery: Napoleon's forces were vanquished at Waterloo.
Beat is similar to defeat, though less formal and often more emphatic: \beat the soul . . . of the enemy man\
Rout implies complete victory followed by the disorderly flight of the defeated force: The enemy was routed in the first battle.
Synonyms: defeat, conquer, vanquish, beat, rout, subdue, subjugate, overcome, overpower
Subdue suggests mastery and control achieved by overpowering:The fire burned for eight hours before the fire crews could subdue it.壓制；制服；控制
Subjugate more strongly implies reducing an opponent to submission: \last foreigner to subjugate England was a Norman duke in the Middle Ages named William\征服，使臣服，使屈服
To overpower is to overcome or vanquish by superior force; subdue. The gunman was finally overpowered by three security guards.
To overcome is to prevail over, often by persevering: He overcame his injury after months of physical therapy.
Difficult sentence 8
She became suddenly afraid of that pitiless, cruel earth, the peasant's slave master, that would keep her chained to hard work and poverty all her life until she would sink again into its bosom. (13)
Q: What do we know about the woman from this sentence?
Paraphrase: She became afraid of the earth because it was going to force her to work like a slave and force her to struggle against poverty all her life until she died and was buried in it. Q: Can you distinguish bosom, breast and chest? Bosom/ chest/breast
When we die we return to the _____ of the earth.
She has been my _____ friend ever since our primary school days. She quickly hid the note in her _____. The water soon reached his _____.
It has never occurred to me that men could have _____ cancer too.
It’s true that there is a lot of meat in a chicken ____, but it is rather tasteless. Difficult sentence 9
And Martin, absolutely without thought, worked furiously... (13)
I remember how the two hundred thousand people worked _______ day and night at the site.( madly, ferociously, furiously, crazily, fiercely, wildly, violently)
paraphrase: Martin on the other hand had no time to waste on idle thoughts. He just concentrated on his work and worked with great energy. Difficult sentence 10
... and there was a sharpness in the still thin air that made the men jump on their spade halts furiously and beat the sods as if they were living enemies. (14) Q: What made the men work furiously? Q: What are living enemies?
Paraphrase: The chilly and biting air of early spring made the peasants work fiercely with their spades, beating the sods as if they were enemies. Difficult sentence 11
“Yes, isn’t it lovely,” said Mary, looking at the black ridges wistfully. (Para. 17) Q: Why was Mary looking at the black ridges wistfully?
Mary was sad that this was going to be her life from now on, toiling and sweating over the land until the day she died. But on the other hand what they had done that day also made her proud and hopeful.
Difficult sentence 12
Martin ate heartily, reveling in his great thirst and his great hunger, with every pore of his body open to the pure air. (Para. 18)
He sat down and began to eat ______. (whole-heartedly, heartily, greedily, hungrily, enthusiastically.)
spring sowing课件
