Text 1
About the author
Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in Pepin, Wisconsin, in February 1867. She was
the second of four daughters born to Caroline (Quiner) and Charles Philip Ingalls.
Wilder's early life was spent constantly moving from place to place. Her father
called himself a pioneer man and dreamed of going west to explore and settle
on unknown territory. They traveled through thick woods, over barren prairies,
through the swollen Mississippi, and over icy waters all in their covered wagon.
They moved from Missouri, to Kansas, to Wisconsin, to Minnesota, to Iowa and
finally settled in De Smet, South Dakota, where her father claimed a homestead.
Laura and her three sisters grew up in De Smet. Wilder, however, never could
quite see this place as home. The many moves in her early childhood made Laura
come to the conclusion that the only way to know that she was truly home was
to have her family around her. Following in her father's dreams, Wilder called
herself a pioneer girl and made her home where her family took her.
Wilder did not begin writing her first book, Little House in the Big Woods,
until 1931 and it was released the following year. The instant success of the
book led to the Little House series, which became popular with young readers.
Wilder took great care with each book to make sure that the point of view was
consistently from that of a child. All except Farmer Boy were Newbery honor
books and the entire series was reprinted in 1953.
In 1954 the American Library Association established the Laura Ingalls Wilder
Award in her honor and Wilder was the first recipient. The award is now given
every five years to the author who has made a substantial contribution to children's
literature. Most recently it was presented to Virginia Hamilton, who was also
the first black author to win the Newbery Medal. A weekly television series,
Little House on the Prairie, which was based loosely on Wilder's books, began
in 1974 and ran for many seasons. Wilder died in February 1957 in Mansfield
of a stroke. Forty years after her death, children continue to read and enjoy
her books.
About the story
Laura's daughter Rose grew up listening to her mother's stories of those pioneer
days. She urged her mother to write them down so that other children could enjoy
them as well. So in the 1930s and 40s, Laura recorded her memories of those
days of long ago in a children's series known as the Little House
books which includes
Little House in the Big Wood (1932)
Farmer Boy (1933)
Little House on the Prairie (1935)
On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)
By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)
The Long Winter (1940)
Little Town on the Prairie (1941)
Those Happy Golden Years (1943)
Cultural background notes
1.Westward
Movement in America
Westward movement in America carried settlers
across America, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The westward
movement began in the early 1600's with European settlements along the Atlantic
Coast of North America. It continued until the late 1800's. By that time, the
western frontiers of the United States had been conquered.
An abundance of land and other natural resources
lured America's pioneers westward. Fur traders, cattle ranchers, farmers, and
miners led the push to the west. Merchants and other business people followed.
These hard-working men and women faced great dangers, endured severe hardships,
and suffered loneliness and boredom in the hope of making a better life for
themselves and their children. Some of them looked to the west for wealth or
adventure. Others sought to improve their social position or increase their
political power.
The pioneers struggled westward across hills,
mountains, and prairies on foot and on horseback. Some floated through the Erie
Canal on barges or traveled down rivers on flatboats and steamboats. Others
crossed the rugged wilderness in covered wagons. For many pioneers, the
Cumberland Gap, the Oregon Trail, and other roads west became paths to
opportunity.
The American frontier shifted westward in stages.
The first American frontier ran along the Atlantic Coast. Settlers began to
cross the Appalachian Mountains after territory west of the mountains came under
British control in 1763. During the early 1800's, the next push westward took
settlers into the Great Lakes region, the Mississippi River Valley, and the
plains along the Gulf of Mexico. By the mid-1840's, adventurous pioneers had
reached what are now California and Oregon in the Far West. The last frontier
was the Great Plains between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. The
settlement of that region began in the 1860's.
In 1890, the U.S. Bureau of the Census reported
that no frontiers remained in the United States. The pioneers had conquered the
West.
2.Results
of Westward Movement
(1) Patterns of migration. For almost 300
years, the westward movement influenced American history. However, the westward
flow of people was not constant. Migration halted when Indian hostilities or
wars with other nations made the frontiers unsafe. But once peace was restored,
pioneers resumed their westward march. People also tended to migrate during
prosperous times, when money was available. During periods of depression,
migration often slowed to a trickle. Sometimes, as in the case of the Great
Plains, technology spurred settlement. The invention of barbed wire and
improvements in the windmill and in farm machinery helped open the Great Plains
to settlers.
(2) The frontier influence. The frontier was more
than a place on a map. It was an experience that shaped many American
institutions and ideas. The frontier environment presented challenges that
produced creative solutions. For example, frontier settlements were much less
complex than the established communities of the East. As a result, pioneers set
up simple forms of government that met frontier needs. Similarly, the elaborate
social customs of the East gave way to the simpler pleasures of barn dances and corn husking
contests.
The frontier experience promoted democracy.
Established leaders rarely migrated from the East, and so the frontier brought a
wide range of people into government. Class lines also blurred in frontier
societies. It became difficult to distinguish a permanent upper or lower class
because anyone might strike it rich or suffer a setback. The frontier's abundant
resources were equally available to all.
The frontier experience also encouraged the
development of certain "American" characteristics. Frontiers were
isolated places, and so pioneers had to make many items they might otherwise
have traded for or bought. They built their own houses and barns and produced
their own food. They made their own candles, clothing, furniture, pots, tools,
and other necessities. As jacks of all trades, pioneers became inventive and
self-reliant. In addition, frontiers offered opportunities for success to those
who worked hard. As a result, pioneers tended to be optimistic about the future
and concerned with material wealth. Boastfulness and self-confidence emerged as
frontier traits as well.
Unfortunately, the pioneers also became extremely
wasteful because they lived among such plentiful natural resources. Pioneers cut
down vast areas of forests, lost large amounts of gold and other minerals in
careless mining operations, and exhausted the soil.
The continual pursuit of a better life made
Americans more restless than their European ancestors. The French historian
Alexis de Tocqueville remarked that in America "a man builds a house to
spend his old age, and he sells it before the roof is on... He brings a
field into tillage and leaves other men to gather the crops; he embraces a
profession and gives it up; he settles in a place, which he soon afterwards
leaves to carry his changeable longings elsewhere." As people moved from
place to place, they lost their attachment to a specific region. They began to
identify more with the nation as a whole and to see themselves as
"Americans." In that way, the westward movement promoted nationalism.
Many historians believe that such frontier traits as nationalism, inventiveness,
and optimism survive in the American character today.
Language notes
1. Pa said he must go to town to trade
the furs of the wild animals he had been trapping all winter.
(爸爸说他必须去城里一趟,卖掉他一冬捕获的兽皮。)
The word trade is often used as a noun. But here trade is a verb, means to buy
and sell goods. There are many such conversions in English.
He watered the wine before drinking it. (掺水)
The earth orbits the sun. (绕…轨道而行)
Point this pencil for me, please. (削尖)
Oil the machine before you operate it. (上油)
She journeys to Europe once a year on business. (去…旅行)
2. Ma was worried, but Pa said that by starting before sun-up
and walking very fast all day he could get home again before dark.
(妈妈很担心。但爸爸说,如果日出前就出发,并且快些走,他可以在天黑前赶回来。)
Sun-up is an American expression for sunrise. Note that sometimes American English
and British English have different words for the same thing.
|
|
|
|
British English |
American English |
商店 |
shop |
store |
汽油 |
petrol |
gas |
电影院 |
cinema |
movie theatre |
铁路 |
railway |
railroad |
裤子 |
trousers |
pants |
公寓 |
flat |
apartment |
出租汽车 |
taxi |
cab |
出纳员 |
cashier |
teller |
分数 |
marks |
grades |
人行道 |
pavement |
sidewalk |
秋天 |
autumn |
fall |
电梯 |
elevator |
lift |
橡皮 |
rubber |
eraser |
药房 |
the chemist's |
the drug store |
理发店 |
hairdresser's |
beauty parlor |
糖果 |
sweets |
candies |
3. The sun sank out of sight, the woods grew dark, and he did
not come. Ma started supper and set the table, but he did not come. It was time
to do the chores, and still he had not come.
(太阳已经不见了, 森林也渐渐暗了下来,
爸爸没有回来。妈妈准备好晚餐, 摆好了桌子,
爸爸还是没有回来。到了平时干杂活的时间,
他依然没有回来。)
Note that the sentence he did not come has been repeated three times in this
short paragraph. The repetition stresses the anxiety with which the children
are waiting for Pa's coming back.
4. Its sides were of tin, with places cut in them for the candle-light
to shine through.
(灯笼壁是用锡皮做的,
上面有一些豁口,以便烛光透出来。)
The preposition of here means made from.
e.g. The dress is of silk.
The crown is of gold.
5. The woods were dark, but there was a gray light on the snowy
path, and in the sky there were a few faint stars.
(森林里已经暗下来。铺满白雪的小路隐隐泛着灰色的光,夜空中悬挂着几颗黯淡的星星。)
Note that the word woods is different word from its singular form, wood.
Woods
mean a place trees grow thickly, smaller than a forest. In English, some nouns
will carry on new meanings when they are used in their plural forms. See more
examples:
|
Singular |
Plural |
color |
颜色 |
军旗 |
custom |
风俗,习惯 |
海关,关税 |
damage |
损害 |
赔偿金 |
pain |
疼痛 |
努力 |
regard |
注意 |
问候,致意 |
spectacle |
场面 |
眼镜 |
spirit |
精神,情绪 |
酒精 |
wit |
机智 |
理智 |
6. "But he could have hurt us, couldn't he?" she
asked.
(“但刚才它本可能伤到我们的,是吗?”她问道。)
Note that the question is put in its subjunctive mood. From the context we know
that Ma's consoling remarks make Laura feels better. When she asks this question,
she knows well that the bear will not hurt them because they have protections.
So what she really implies is that without those protections, the bear will
have hurt them.
7. She was sitting up late, waiting for Pa, and Laura and Mary
meant to stay awake, too, till he came.
(劳拉和玛莉原也想等爸爸回来再睡,但最后还是睡着了。)
The phrase mean to do something is synonymous to intend to do
something, or
plan to do something.
Text 2
Language notes
1. The front window was full of beautiful
old things: jewelry of a hundred years ago, gold and silver boxes, carved figures
from China and Japan and other nations.
(橱窗里放满了漂亮的旧物件:一百年前的珠宝,金的和银的盒子,还有来自中国、日本和其他国家的雕像。)
The word figure here means representation of a person or an animal in drawing,
painting, sculpture, etc. Note that the word figure has many meanings:
e.g. I could see a figure in the far distance, but I couldn't make out who it
was. (the shape of a whole human body)
He was one of the leading political figures of this century. (a person of a
particular type)
Write the number in words and in figures. (any of the number signs from 0 to
9)
They are asking a high figure for their house. (an amount, especially of money)
2. Pete studied her with his cold eyes.
(他冷漠地看着那个小女孩。)
Study here means to examine carefully.
3.The happy look in her big blue eyes struck him like the pain of an
old wound.
(那大大的蓝眼睛中流露的快乐触动了他,就像是一处旧伤被击痛一样。)
If sth strikes sb (like sth, as sth, or in a
specified manner), it has produced a certain effect on him/her. The sentence
above means that
Pete
was reminded by the happy look in the little girl's blue eyes of his beloved
girl who was long dead and he felt the pain of an old wound.
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