American literature

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American literature
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1.What kind of text is the one you have just
read?
It is a poem.
2. Can you tell something about the writer?
The writer is African American.
3. What is it about and what does it mean?
African Americans talk about their ancestors.
They are proud of themselves.
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4. Why is this probably American literature?
Could it be written by a poet from another
country?
Because the experience of slavery has not existed
in any other English- speaking country in the
same way as in America.
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5.Think about the history and life in the United
States . What Special themes and sort of
stories would you expect to find in American
literature?
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As we know , the major themes in the literature
of a country reflect important events or periods
in the history of that country .
Important themes
American literature
The Common people
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Literary works of America

• Gone With the Wind
• Catch 22
• The Gift of the Magi
• The Scarlet letter
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Sister Carrier

• ????
• ??????
• ??
• ?
• ??.?????
• ?????

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Famous American writers Literary works

• The Adventure of Tom Sawyer
• Sister Carrie
• The Old Man and the Sea
• The Call of the Wild
• The Scarlet Letter
• Police and the Hymn

• Dreiser (???)
• Hawthorne
• (??)
• Mark Twain
• Ernest Hemingway (???)
• Jack London
• O. Henry

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O Henry
(1862-1910)
He was called _____ of the American modern _____
______. He is a prolific(???)short-story writer
who wrote about the life of ______ ______ in New
York City. And his stories are usually presented
with _________ tone, _______detail, and a
________ ending.
Father
short stories
ordinary people
humorous
realistic
surprising
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care
His famous works

Cabbages and Kings ??????
"The Furnished Room " ????????
The Four Million ???
"The Gift of the Magi " ??????
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A Sacrifice For Love
Adapted from The Gift of the Magi
The Magi the three wise men from the East who
brought offerings to the newly-born Jesus
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Skimming
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The outline of the story
Characters Time Event
Della Jim (a couple)
on the day before Christmas
It is about ______ each other _______ _____.
buying
Christmas gifts
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Careful reading
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Place
Time
Five elements of a novel
Person
End
Event
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Main Characters(??)

• Who
• When
• What
• How

Della Jim
Setting(??)
The day before Christmas

• want

give the other a Christmas gift

• Life

poor

• Dellas most precious possession

Her hair

• Jims most precious possession

His gold watch
Plot ??

• Dellas present

A gold watch chain
(21 dollars)

• Jims present

A set of combs

• Save money

• Get enough money to buy Jim the present

Della sells her long, beautiful hair for 20
dollars.

• Get money to buy Della the present

Jim sells his gold watch
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Pennies saved one or two at a time by bargaining
at the grocery, at the bakery and the butchers
until ones cheeks burnt.

• What does the underlined word bargaining mean?
• being ready to accept
• reaching agreement
• making a condition
• arguing with shop keepers to get things cheaper

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• Jims wages
• the rent of the flat per week
• the money in hand

20 dollars
at 8 per week
1.87
as poor as a church mouse
????
(she had been saving every penny she could for
months)
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It fell about her shoulders like a cascade of
brown waters. It reached below her knee and made
itself almost a garment for her.
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The skills used in a novel

• Descriptions of circumstances(????)
• Descriptions of actions(????)
• Descriptions of facial expressions (????)
• Descriptions of emotions(????)
• Descriptions of speeches (????)

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They lived in a furnished flat at 8 per week.
The place was shabby. In the hall below was a
mailbox into which no letter would go. There was
an electric bell that did not work, with a card
next to it bearing the name Mr James Dillingham
Young.
What does bearing mean in this
paragraph? A.way of behaving B. Showing
having C.putting up with being able to
tolerate D.giving birth to
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Dellas tears
1. Why did Della cry after counting the money she
had been saving?
She felt miserable,because she was poor and
because the money was not enough to buy Jim a
nice present.
2. Why did tears fall from her eyes while Della
was standing in front of the mirror?
She had a good idea to make money, which was to
sell her hair, but she was so proud of her long
brown hair that the idea to have it cut and sold
made her cry.
3. Why did Della burst into tears when she opened
the package and saw the present that Jim gave her?
She had mixed feelings. She cried because she was
reminded of her beautiful hair, and the combs
which she so much wanted were now of no use to
her. She was given so nice a present that she
cried because of joy
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• Three times Della counted it.One dollar and
  eighty-seven cents.
• Suddenly Della walked to the mirror. Her eyes
  were shining, but her face had lost its color
  within twenty seconds.
• She pulled down her hair and let it fall to its
  full length. ..And then she quickly did it up
  again. She hesitated for a minute and stood still
  while a tear or two fell on the worn red carpet.

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1.The sentence Her eyes were shining infers
that ________________. A.her eyes were
bright B.she was excellent in some way C.she came
up with an idea D.her eyes were reflecting the
sunlight
2. The sentence but her face had lost its
color within twenty seconds tells us that
_____________. A.she felt sick B.she was
unwilling to put her plan into practice. C.she
had a serious disease D.she was badly hurt
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• The writer mentioned one dollar and
  eighty-seven cents for several times in order to
  tell us that _____________
• they were very poor
• Della was a little disappointed
• they lived a hard life
• All of the above

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• Jim, honey,she cried, dont look at me that
  way. I had my hair cut off and sold it because I
  couldnt live through Christmas without giving
  you a present.
• Della,said he, lets put our Christmas
  presents away and keepem a while. Theyre too
  nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to
  get the money to buy your combs. So lets forget
  about it now and have our dinner, shall we?

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• 1.I dont like the way _________ you look at me.
• Which of the following is wrong?
• / B. in which C. that D. which

2. I cant see the blackboard very
well. Perhaps you need ________________. A.to
examine your eyes B.to have your
eyes examined C.to have examined your eyes
D.to be examined your eyes
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The phrase do. up in the sentence And then
she quickly did it up again has the same meaning
with the one in the sentence __________. A.The
house needs to be done up B. Please do up these
books and post them to Mr Smith C.His horse was
done up after the long trip
repair
tie or wrap up make into a bundle
tire out
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The story has a __________ ending. A.humorous
B.surprising C.ironic D.funny

• Explain the title of this short story A
  Sacrifice for Love. What does it mean?
• Both Della and Jim tolerated the shortcomings of
  the other side.
• Both Della and Jim gave up their most precious
  possession for the love of each other.
• C.Both Della and Jim were selfish.

A deep love is based on mutual(???) give and
take
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Jim
A Sacrifice for love
Della
sell
sell
Love
Gold watch chain
watch
hair
A set of comb
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Read the text to answer the questions p89
1. How did Della expect Jim to react when he saw
her ?
She thought he would either be angry or
disappointed and not love her any more.
2. What was Jims reaction ? Describe his
feelings.
He was shocked and didnt know what to say.
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4. Where did the story take place ?
It took place in a city in America.
5. Is the story humourous or not? How would you
describe the story?
I think the story is humorous in a way, but also
with some irony. It is hard to say the story is
funny, but it is surprising.