英語短篇小說教程 虞建華 高等教育出版社 課后答案資料

1、1Keys to Unit Two(1) I. B. Singer: The Washwoman(2) Frank Sargeson: A Piece of Yellow Soap1) Questions for Discussion:(Suggested answers for reference)(1) Does the piece of washing soap have the “power” as the narrator t

2、ells us? What is the “power” that forces him to take off?(The piece of yellow washing soap is, of course, an ordinary one. The narrator is a “naïve narrator” who believed that it had some sort of mysterious “power,”

3、 while the readers are expected to know better. This power comes from the narrator’s deep sympathy for the tragic fate of the washing woman. Seeing the situation, he simply could not continue to demand the payment which

4、he knew the woman was unable to produce.) (2) In this Unit, we have two stories about two washwomen. There are a lot of similar descriptions and common characteristics in the two stories. Find and list them. (They were b

5、oth reduce to desperation, depending solely on washing for living. Both were hard-working and uncomplaining, quietly but almost heroically bore their burden and struggled for a hard existence. The author describes their

6、common feature – the white and shrunken fingers – as symbol of suffering in the lives of the working people. They both were both dead by the end of the stories.)(3) The two first-person narrators tell two stories of two

7、washwomen who shared similar tragic fate. Discuss the differences in the narrators that result in the differences in the way the two short stories are told. (Singer’s narrator knows more and tells more about the washing

8、woman, often making direct comments and revealing his own feelings about the life of the woman whose story he is telling. He frequently emphasizes that what he is telling is real, and hints that the story has significanc

9、e. The narrator’s voice is very close to the author’s. Please see more in “Reading Tips” on page 11. On the other hand, Sargeson’s narrator is a naïve one, that is, the narrator’s understanding is purposely made sha

10、llow, and the reader need find by himself the real meaning in the situation. So the narrator stands at some distance from the author. Please see more in “Reading Tips” on page 15. Therefore, in Text I, we, as readers, ar

11、e basically “given” or “received” the story, while in Text II, we need to participate imaginatively in the story to “dig out” the true meaning the naïve narrator has left unexplained.)2) Explanation and Interpretati

12、on:(Explain the implied meaning of the following sentences, and point out their significance in the context of the story.)3wave of cold. One evening, while mother was sitting near the oil lamp mending a shirt, the door o

13、pened and a small puff of steam, followed by a gigantic bag, entered the room. I ran toward the old woman and helped her unload her bag. She was even thinner now, more bent. Her head shook from side to side as though she

14、 were saying no. She could not utter a clear word, but mumbled something with her sunken mouth and pale lips.For reference only:衣服包很大，比平時(shí)更大。婦人將那一大包衣服駝在肩上，包袱把她的身子完全蓋住了。一開始，她穩(wěn)住腳，好像隨時(shí)都會(huì)在大包袱的重壓下倒下。但似乎有一種內(nèi)在的毅力在呼喚，讓她挺住，不能倒下。一頭