Study Guide to British and American Short Stories黄宇2012公布.pptVIP

Study Guide to British and American Short Stories 黄宇 2012年 Book Information Aims Learn to read short stories Learn about the authors Get to know the elements of the stories: the narrator; the character; the setting; the plot; the theme; … Get to know the life of those people in the story Before Reading Think about the genre of “short story” and how to read a short story Go to the “Contents” page and: read the titles and guess what may each story be about read the authors and think about how much you know about them Read the “Introduction” part and make a table to summarize the information of the authors While Reading-Silas The Good Get the elements of the story Answer these questions: H E Bates often sets his stories in the countryside. What phrases in the opening paragraphs give us a feeling of a perfect, late spring day? What is the difference between Uncle Silas’ summer tea and winter tea? What is the difference to Silas between a woman and a female? Does being seen as a woman or a female depend on the looks or the attitudes? Why is the woman so angry with him? How does Silas win her good opinion? Why does she believe all the lies he tells her about his life? Do you think this is the first time the woman has drunk alcohol? How will she feel the next day? 8. Discussion This story is about a meeting between two people with different ideas about the world. Will this meeting change Silas or the woman? Will it do either of them any good? While Reading-Mabel Get the elements of the story Answer these questions: On P. 9, “…and the Yangtse was falling”, What does “falling” mean here? 2. Why George does not meet Mabel from the ship? Could you make a map of George’s itinerary of escaping Mabel? Where did George and Mabel get married? Do George and Mabel have a happy marriage? How do we know? Discussion How do you expect a man to react when he suddenly realizes he is about to marry a woman he has not seen in 7 years? And a woma