Notes on the English Character学习任务答案与篇章讲解赏析

四期答案

1. Explain the following words and expressions （highlighted in blue） in English.

（1） amount to （Para. 1）

amount to： If you say that one thing amounts to something else， you consider the first thing to be the same as the second thing.

（2） bottle up （Para. 4）

bottle up： If you bottle up strong feelings， you do not express them or show them， especially when this

makes you tense or angry.

（3） anecdote， plunge （Para. 5）

a） anecdote： It means a short， amusing account of something that has happened.

b） plunge： If a person or thing is plunged into a particular state or situation， or if they plunge into it， they are suddenly in that state or situation.

（4） slop （Para. 7）

slop： It means to make liquid come out from a container over the edge.

（5） gesticulate， draw up， chatter （Para. 9）

a） gesticulate： If you gesticulate， you make movements with your arms or hands， often while you are describing something that is difficult to express in words.

b） draw up： If a vehicle draws up， it arrives somewhere and stops.

c） chatter： It means to talk quickly and continuously， usually about things which are not important.

（6） jester， deprecate （Para. 14）

a） jester： In the courts of kings and queens in medieval Europe， the jester was the person whose job was to do silly things in order to make people laugh.

b） deprecate： to criticise

（7） merit， intrigue （Para. 15）

a） merit： to deserve

b） intrigue： the making of secret plans to harm or deceive people

（8） adjure （Para. 18）

adjure： to ask or to order somebody to do something

（9） insidious （Para. 20）

insidious： unpleasant or dangerous and developing gradually without being noticed

四期答案

（10） infamy （Para. 22）

infamy： the state of being well known for something bad or evil

（11） at all events （Para. 24）

at all events： anyway or anyhow

2. Look up the underlined words in your dictionary， examining their multiple meanings. （Note down the meaning of each word in the context， and another meaning that the word often expresses.）

（1） ... his substantial stomach ... （Para. 1） Here “substantial” means large， solid， and strong； it also means large in amount or number.

（2） ... supplied indifferent bacon ... （Para. 1） If you describe something or someone as indifferent， you mean that their standard or quality is not very good， and often quite bad. “Indifferent” also means having a complete lack of interest in something.

（3） ... its insistence on good form ... （Para. 2） Here “form” means the state of being fit and healthy. It also means behaviour as is in “feeling is bad form” in Para. 4.

（4） ... I have figured as a typical Englishman. （Para. 9） Here “figure” means to present oneself. It also means to think or to guess.

3. Think about and answer the following questions.

（1） What are the charges that have been brought against the English as a nation？

The charges have been mostly against the middle classes. Some of the charges include that the Englishman cant feel， that the Englishman is hypocritical， etc.

（2） How does the author respond to those charges？

The author argues that the Englishman does have feeling， but is taught to refrain from it， which has certain merits； that the Englishman does know well what is right and wrong， but is easily confused and thus quite slow to make a decision， which is often mistaken as a sign of hypocrisy.

（3） To whom do you suppose the essay was written？

This essay was probably written to foreigners who had had a negative impression of the Englishman.

篇章讲解赏析

阅读这篇散文，首先应当思考文章的写作目的。文章为何而作？写给谁看？这是解读本文的关键问题。通读全文，作者似乎并非只是在和本国（英国）读者进行讨论。从作者的若干例证可见，目标读者似乎是并不详细知晓英国社会文化的外国读者。从这个角度看，作者将英国人的性格描写得惟妙惟肖，文中讲的小故事也生动有趣，很容易让外国读者产生形象的感受，有助于扭转他们对英国人的刻板印象。这不禁让我们联想到，当我们在向外国人介绍中国特色的时候，尤其是在反驳一些误解时，也可以借鉴这样的写作方法和表达方式，不针锋相对，却切中要害、轻松幽默、有理有据，而且有实例、接地气。例如，作者借用《理智与情感》中的片段作为论据，非常令人信服，写作手法让人赞叹。其中最根本的一点，是作者的切入点是人性（human nature），这也算是全人类最大的共识了。

学习这篇散文，可把语言学习的重点放在对人的性格和特点（character and qualities）的描写上。这种描写不只是举个例子就能产生具化的效果，而是要看在同一个例子中，作者着力描写的是哪个方面——描写的着力点才是最值得深入学习的。例如，“… the fish are the English emotions， which are always trying to get up to the surface， but dont quite know how.”作者的著力点是trying和not knowing how，也就是那种“想表达却不会表达”的感觉，所以此处的修辞特别鲜活、特别具体、特别有重点。如果换成“... the fish are the English emotions， which are deep in the sea and are rarely seen at the surface.”的话，那效果就大相径庭了。

（北京外国语大学 徐浩）