Organization of the text 1. Analysis of the text The text is an autobiographical description of Jack London’s quest for the meaning of life ； the frustration and disillusionment he experienced in the process of finding out the meaning of life; and his ideological transformation. The change in his outlook was drastic, but the path has been long and devious

For a better understanding of the text, we may trace chronologically the life experiences of J. London and see how he understood the meaning of life at different stages of his life: 

A naive child Anxious to climb up into the upper society

(having enthusiasm, ambition, ideals;

cherishing romantic ideas about upper class ) ↓ to enter

Newsboy (at 10) climbing the first rung of “business ladder” ↓ Oyster pirate (16) believing in the law of the jungle ↓ A hard labourer(muscle seller) game of capitalism; the survival of the fittest (cruelly exploited) ↓ A tramp, beggar (at 18) slipping back the rung of ladder,

Be scared into thinking realizing the truth of “commodities” in society

“muscle seller” vs “brain vendor” ↓ A knowledge pursuer determined to become a brain vendor ↓ A successful writer disillusioned with the upper class:- materialism,

- hypocrisy callousness (moral paralysis ) - intellectually ignorance- corruption

(down in the cellar, beneath the point at which had started) determined socialist with a proletarian outlook resolving to topple over the society he had onc

e been so eager

Experiences Revelations1.sordidness and

wretchedness he experienced in his early children

1.determination to climb up

2.working as a newsboy

2.business was the ladder

3.oyster-pirating 3.owner of capital was justified to exploit

4.raid among the Chinese fishermen

4.capitalism meant robbery

5.becoming a muscle seller

5.The rule was for the strong to exploit the weak.

Everything was a commodity.

There was a difference between a muscle seller and a brain merchant.

6.pursuit of knowledge

6.discovery of some scientifically formulated sociological concepts

7.contact with some socialists

7.nobleness of purpose and heroism of efforts

Language points:(unit14)

1. frantic: hurried ,excited.disordered;nervous,happy.

2.  formulate: express clearly and exactly. His proposal is well-formulated, taking man

y factors into consideration. 规划或构想：formulate strategy. 制定策略

3.when the logic subject refers to ‘people, you, we’, disagreement is allowed.

When studying fluid mechanics, it is found that air behaves like water with the exception of a specific density.

It is desirable to begin with a consideration of the more general situation when carrying out the test.

4.in as much as :to the degree that, owing to the fact that.

In as much as he is the students’ counsel or, he is greatly concerned about the students’ well-being.

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5.keen-flashing intellect and brilliant wit----very active mental power and high degree of intelligence

6.alert-brained: quick-minded 警觉的；警惕的； 机警的 He is an alert boy. 他是一个机警的孩子。 机灵的；活跃的 You must keep alert in class. 你们应该在课堂上保持活跃。

7.withal: in addition; besides: 8.horny: tough and calloused: 粗硬起老

茧的： horny skin. 起茧的皮肤

9.unfrocked: to strip of priestly privileges and functions.

10.wide interests 广泛的兴趣 wide knowledge 广博的知识 , a wide boy 非常精的孩子

11.renunciation: the renunciation of all earthly pleasures. 对所有的世俗享乐的摒弃

12. stinging: stimulating 13. rehabilitate: to restore to good condi

tion, operation, or capacity.

14. the Holy Grail: a cup or plate that, according to medieval legend, was used by Jesus at the Last Supper and that later became the object of many chivalrous quests. 圣杯，圣盘据中世纪传说为基督在最后的晚餐上用过的那个杯或盘子， 后来成为许多骑士追求的目标 .Also called: Holy Grail Often Grail 常作 Grail :the object of a prolonged endeavor. 长期努力的目标

15.foretaste: an advance token or warning. 预示， , 预先获得的经验

16.ranch: an extensive farm, especially in the western United States, on which large herds of cattle, sheep, or horses are raised. 大牧场大片的农场，尤指位于美国西部，养了大群的牛、羊、马的牧场

17.portal: a doorway, an entrance, or a gate, especially one that is large and imposing. An entrance or a means of entrance: the local library, a portal of knowledge.

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18.portal: a doorway, an entrance, or a gate, especially one that is large and imposing. An entrance or a means of entrance: the local library, a portal of knowledge.

19.prattle :to talk or chatter idly or meaninglessly; babble or prate

20.intemperance: lack of temperance, as in the indulgence of an appetite or a passion. 缺乏节制，如放纵食欲或情绪

21.agitator: One who agitates, especially one who engages in political agitation.

22.fare: to get along: How are you faring with your project

22.verily: In truth; in fact. 23. decadent :a person in a condition o

r process of mental or moral decay. 24.diatribe: a bitter, abusive denunciat

ion. 25.adulteration: adulterated goods 假

货 milk adulterated with water 搀了水的牛奶

26. nil: Nothing; zero.

27 a patron of the arts. 艺术事业的赞助者

28.blackmail: Something of value extorted in this manner.

29.scoundrelly 恶棍 , 无赖 , 流氓 30.demagogue: a leader who obtains p

ower by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace. 煽动者，政治家通过慷慨激昂的手段赚取民众的情感或偏见而得到权力的领导者

31 antiquate: To make obsolete or old-fashioned. 使成为旧式，使过时

32.contemporaneous: Originating, existing, or happening during the same period of time:

the contemporaneous reigns of two monarchs. Originating, existing, or happening during he same period of time: 同时期的出现、存在或发生于同一时期的： the contemporaneous reigns of two monarchs. 两位君主的同期统治

33.perjure: to render (oneself) guilty of perjury (The deliberate, willful giving of false, misleading, or incomplete testimony under oath. 伪证罪在宣誓后故意提供假的、易引起误解的或是不完整的证据

34.rebate: A deduction from an amount to be paid or a return of part of an amount given in payment

35 .magnate: an oil magnate. 石油

36.acquiesce: to consent or comply passively or without protest. 默认，默许，默从

37.ethical: being in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong that govern the conduct of a profession.

38.romance: ardent emotional attachment

They kept the romance alive in their marriage for 35 years.

39.crowbar: a straight bar of iron or steel

40. sodden: thoroughly soaked; saturated. 湿透的；浸透的

41.incentive: something, such as the fear of punishment or the expectation of reward, that induces action or motivates effort.

42.gluttony: excess in eating or drinking.

English Rhetoric 1.Parallelism : adds balance ,rhythm , clarity to the sente

nce.2.Chiasmus( 交错配列法 ) : "reverse paralleli

sm,"A,B structure ("forgotten gladly"), the A,B will be followed by B,A ("gladly forgotten"). very beautiful and effective.

Prepositional phrases or other modifiers : the effect is rather emphatic.

Tell me not of your many perfections; of your great modesty tell me not either.

Anaphora : the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases,

To think on death it is a misery,/ To think on life it is a vanity;/ To think on the world verily it is,/ To think that here man hath no perfect bliss. --Peacham

Epistrophe ( 结句反复 ): Where affections bear rule, there reason i

s subdued, honesty is subdued, good will is subdued, and all things else that withstand evil, for ever are subdued. --Wilson

Difficult points in exercises 1 ． as much as: 多达，到什么程度，几乎等

于 By running away he as much as admitted t

hat he had taken the money. Scientists generally agree that the Earth’s

Climate will warm up over the next 50 to 100 years ____ it has warmed in the 20,000 years since the Ice Age.

A. as long as B. as much as C. as soon as D. as well as

2 ． as much as to say ：等于说，好象是说 That is as much as to say that I am a liar. You said ‘all right’, which was as much as to

say that you were satisfied. 3 ． For as much as =in as much as （ since,

because. ） Forgive them, in as much as they are you

ng.

4 ． not so much - as 与其说 ---- 不如说 He is not so much a president as a poet.

与其说他是总统，不如说是诗人。 5 ． Not so much as, without so much as ：

甚至不，连… .. 都没有 6. not much of 不怎么样。

Translate the following sentences: 与其说他输了比赛是多次被击中，不如说是自己

缺乏斗志。 It was not so much the many blows he recei

ved as the lack of fighting spirit that led to his losing the game.

人口增长的主要原因与其说是出生率的增高，不如说是医疗条件改善带来的死亡率的下降。

The chief reason for the population growth isn’t so much a rise in birth rates as a fall in death rates as a result of improvements in medical care.

美国人追求的那种方便的生活方式，与其说是轻闲自在，不如说是忙忙碌碌，因为分分秒秒都宝贵得不容浪费。

The conveniences that Americans desire reflect not so much a leisurely lifestyle as a busy lifestyle in which even minutes of time are too valuable to be wasted.

他连头都不点一下就走了。 she left without so much as a nod.

5. 他连自己的名字都不会写。 He couldn’t so much as spell his name.

6. 他不是我原来想象的好助手。 He is not much of a help as I thought he would.

7. 我不太 常去看电影。 I’m not much of a cinema –goer.

8. 他的年龄是他的两倍。 He is twice as old as she.

9. 这一个更漂亮些，但比那一个贵一倍。 This one is prettier,but it costs twice as much as the other one.

10. 铁是水的八倍。 Iron is nearly 7 times heavier than water.

Iron is nearly 8 times as heavy as water.

II. Key features of naturalism: A reaction against the sensationalism 感觉论 of

early romanticism. symbolism. adoption of Darwinian theory  an optimistic element, move onward and upwa

rd in an evolutionary march towards greater perfection. a deep love of humanity and loathing for the cruelty ,describe unemotionally and accurately

Naturalism in American Literature (1890-1910)

naturalism : scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings.

Theme:

survival, determinism, violence The conflict "man against nature" or "man

against himself"

Characters:  “presenting characters of low social and economic classes who were dominated by their environment and heredity”.

Narrator : an amoral/objective toward the subject/subjects; he holds no ethical standards.

Atavism( 返祖现象 ): devolution—the return of a civilized being to the primitive.

self: primordial( 原始的 )image symbolizes a pursuit of integral personality. to self –actualization, including self awareness of ego.

Assignments:

1.Finish the exercises of this unit in the workbook.

2.Write an essay about what life means to you with about 400 words.

3.Read more about Jack London’s works.

4.Listen to the mp3 of this unit and read fluently.

5.Preview unit 1 in Book 6.