全新版大学英语综合教程第三册Unit6.ppt

Text A  The Last Leaf Pre-reading Questions Cultural Notes Text Organization General Questions Language Study Translation Review Pre-reading Questions --- What is your understanding of friendship? --- Some say that charity begins at home, that we should take care of those closest to us rather than worrying about strangers. What do you think of that? --- Can you figure out what the stories of this unit are going to be about? Cultural Notes O. Henry (1862-1910): pseudonym of William Sydney Porter(1862-1910), American writer of short stories, best known for his ironic plot twists and surprise endings. Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, O. Henry attended school only only until age 15, when he dropped out to work in his uncle’s drugstore. Cultural Notes During his 20s he moved to Texas, where he worked for more than ten years as a clerk and a bank teller. O. Henry did not write professionally until he reached his mid-30s, when he sold several pieces to the Detroit Free Press and the Houston Daily Post. In 1894 he founded a short-lived weekly humor magazine, The Rolling Stone. Cultural Notes In 1896 O. Henry was charged with embezzling funds from the First National Bank of Austin, Texas, where he had worked from 1891 to 1894. The amount of money was small and might have been an accounting error; however, he chose to flee to Honduras rather than stand trial. Cultural Notes Learning that his wife was dying, he returned to Texas in 1897 and, after her death, turned himself in to the authorities. He served three years of a five-year sentence a the federal penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio, where he first began to write short stories and use the pseudonym O. Henry. Cultural Notes Released from prison, O. Henry moved to New York City in 1901 and began writing full time. In his stories he made substantial use of his knowledge of Texas, Ce