Unit 2 Tales of True Love
Key to Exercises Opener
Suggested answers for reference
1. Qian Zhongshu was a Chinese literary scholar and writer, best known for his wit and great academic knowledge. One of his most famous novels is Fortress Besieged (《围城》). Yang Jiang was a Chinese playwright, author, and translator. Her memoir We Three (《我们仨》) recalls memories of her late husband, Qian Zhongshu, and her daughter, Qian Yuan, who died before her father.
David Beckham is an English former professional footballer, and the first English player to win league titles in four countries: England, Spain, the United States and France. David is married to Victoria Beckham, an English businesswoman, fashion designer, model, and singer. They have four children.
2. Qian and Yang’s romance began when they met at Tsinghua University after Yang Jiang enrolled in the graduate school in 1932. They married in 1935.
David started dating Victoria in 1997, after she attended a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and married in 1999.
3. During the Cultural Revolution, like many other prominent intellectuals of the time, Qian Zhongshu and Yang Jiang were “sent down”, doing “reform through labor” in a “cadre school” in Henan from 1969 to 1972.
The challenge David and Victoria have come across is media attention. They are both famous, so their relationship has attracted a great deal of media attention from its very beginning.
Reading & Interacting
I. Understanding the Text
1. Text Organization
Dates Senders Information 31 days to D-Day Frank He was badly homesick and bitter about his absence while their daughter was growing up. He comforted Polly over the coming assault by 28 days to D-Day Frank saying that whatever was to happen depended on God’s will, and he encouraged Polly to trust God. 17 days to D-Day Polly The yard was fixed up; she missed him badly; they had been separated for 8 months. He was glad that Dee was going to her first 10 days to D-Day Frank movie, and he wanted Polly and Dee to fully enjoy their life during his absence. 9 days to D-Day Polly She wrote about her loneliness and her expectation for their reunion after the war. She wrote about her being sentimental and her loneliness, as well as her confidence in the future. 1 day to D-Day
Polly 2. Comprehension Check 2.1 Focusing on the main ideas
Frank joined the U.S. Army during World War II, and frequently exchanged letters with Polly, his wife. Frank, away in England, wrote about his longings for home and his feelings towards Polly and Dee, their toddler daughter, while Polly described in detail her life at home and expressed her concern over the war, as well as the loneliness she endured from the long separation. They wrote about their love for each other and comforted each other with the expectation for their reunion in the future. Tragically, however, Frank was killed in the Normandy landing operation on D-Day. 2.2 Digging into detail
1. He was very bitter that he was not going to be by her side while she grew up. 2. He believed it was God’s will whether he would be one of the assault troops and whether he would survive the fighting. What he would do was to trust God.
3. They had not seen each other for 8 months.
4. Polly would take her daughter Dee to see her first movie.
5. Polly imagined she and Frank would listen to their favorite music together on Sunday nights.
6. She felt all the more sentimental but at the same time more confident in the future.
2.3 Understanding difficult sentences
1. B 2. A 3. B 4. B 5. B
II. Focusing on Language in Context
1. Key Words & Expressions 1.1
1. While I was working in a fast-food restaurant, I constantly dreamt of being able
to own one someday. 2. It was common for people to keep up correspondence with friends through letters before the age of the Internet.
3. In modern Chinese society, women, to a large extent, are no longer dominated by men either in family life or in the workplace.
4. There is now a growing realization of the importance of recycling among the residents in our neighborhood.
5. The Japanese invasion during World War II met with fierce resistance from the Chinese people.
6. It is wonderful to see flowers bloom in different colours after a long bleak winter.
7. The elderly landlady couldn’t endure the behavior of the young man any more: he tossed trash all over the building.
8. It is true that human beings have had war constantly throughout history; nevertheless human civilization has managed to survive.
9. An increasingly large number of Chinese plan to spend their time travelling to
different countries and seeing more of the world when they retire. 10. Last week I submitted my first project proposal and I was very anxious to know how the department manager would react to it. 11. We all sympathize with those who lost loved ones in the disaster. 12. The general decided to launch an assault on the enemy at midnight. 13. At that time, most stores in that region allowed shoppers to exchange goods and services at a mutually agreed price.
14. The kids never received any professional training previously, but their performance was impressive. 15. It’s amazing that the toddler can count up to one hundred and backward. 1.2
1. postponed 2. of late 3. long for 4. continually 5.compensated for 1.3
1. The sole survivor of the crash declined to be interviewed saying he just could not bring himself to talk about the tragic accident at the moment. 2. I thought the party I was invited to was a quiet and private one, but as it turned out, I was overwhelmed by the crowds and noise. 3. Like many of her generation, the lady suffered/underwent a lot of hardships throughout her life.
4. The local government was forced /had to bow to public pressure and cancelled the nuclear power program.
5. Different teachers play different roles in the growth of a student. 6. The team is carrying out research to find out the impact on children of long separation from their parents. 7. Mary immediately felt uneasy when she found her cousin John was gazing upon her.
8. I can still recall how my heart was filled with joy and pride when I received the diploma from the principal.
6. on land
7. Adored 8. by the day
2. Usage
1. We all pray for the return of peace and loved ones. 2. The prime minister, when talking about the servicemen in battle, said, “Those brave young people are the ones who are undergoing all/all of the hardships.” 3. All of them were overwhelmed by the glamour of the royal palace. 4. The happiest are not those who own all/all of the best things, but those who can appreciate the beauty of life.
5. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
3. Sentence Patterns
1. Of course you all think big. But I’ll bet many of you have no idea what you are
really longing for.
2. The school bus driver shouted, “Don’t get off until the bus stops!”
3. I understand the importance of developing the habit of not putting off what you can do today until tomorrow. But you know, it’s always easier said than done. 4. You may say you enjoy being single, but I bet you will think differently when you finally fall in love. 5. Not until I experienced terrible loneliness did I come to the realization that support and sympathy from family were precious.
4. Comprehensive Practice 4.1 Cloze
In putting into words how much we adore someone, sometimes it is easier to do so in correspondence than face-to-face. One cannot help but sympathize with the lover who, gazing upon the object of his affection face-to-face, becomes overwhelmed and lost for words. Here distance may help. For separation not only makes the heart grow fonder, it also provides the perfect excuse for a(n) exchange of love letters in which the tongue-tied lover can give a more impressive display of his innermost thoughts. Unable to bring himself to speak freely about his feelings, with pen and paper on hand he may nonetheless easily fill pages with