Unit 1

Text A The Return of a Private

by Hamlin Garland

The soldiers cheered as the train crossed the border into the state of Wisconsin.It had been a long trip from the south back to their homes in the north.

One of the men had a large red scar across his forehead.Another had an injured leg that made it painful for him to walk.The third had unnaturally large and bright eyes,because he had been sick with malaria.

The three soldiers spread their blankets on the train seats and tried to sleep.It was a cold evening even though it was summertime.Private Smith,the soldier with the fever,shivered in the night air.

His joy in coming home was mixed with fear and worry.He knew he was sick and weak.How could he take care of his family?Where would he find the strength to do the heavy work all farmers have to do?He had given three years of his life to his country.And now he had very little money and strength left for his family.

Morning came slowly with a pale yellow light.The train was slowing down as it came into the town of La Crosse where the three soldiers would get off the train.The station was empty because it was Sunday."I'll get home in time for dinner,"Smith thought."She usually has dinner about one o'clock on Sunday afternoon,"and he smiled.

Smith and the other two soldiers jumped off the train together."Well,boys,"Smith began,"here's where we say good-bye.We've marched together for many miles.Now,I suppose,we are done."The three men found it hard to look at each other.

"We ought to go home with you,"one of the soldiers said to Smith."You'll never be able to walk all those miles with that heavy pack on your back."

"Oh,I'm all right,"Smith said,putting on his army cap."Every step takes me closer to home."They all shook hands."Good-bye!""Good luck!""Same to you!""Good-bye!"

Smith turned and walked away quickly.After a few minutes,he turned again and waved his cap.His two friends did the same.Then they marched away with their long steady soldier's steps.Smith walked for a while thinking of his friends.He remembered the many days they had been together during the war.

He thought of his friend,Billy Tripp,too.Poor Billy!A bullet came out of the sky one day and tore a great hole in Billy's chest.

Smith knew he would have to tell the sad story to Billy's mother and young wife.But there was little to tell.The sound of a bullet cutting through the air.Billy crying out,then falling with his face in the dirt.

The fighting he had done since then had not made him forget the horror of that moment when Billy died.

Soon,the fields and houses became familiar.Smith knew he was close to home.The sun was burning hot as he began climbing the last hill.Finally,he reached the top and looked down at his farm in the beautiful valley.He was almost home.

Misses Smith was alone on the farm with her three children.Mary was nine years old.Tommy was six and little Teddy had just turned four.

Misses Smith had been dreaming about her husband,when the chickens awakened her that Sunday morning.She got out of bed,got dressed and went out to feed the chickens.Then she saw the broken fence near the chicken house.She had tried to fix it again and again.Misses Smith sat down and cried.

The farmer who had promised to take care of the farm while her husband was away had been lazy and dishonest.The first year he shared the wheat with Misses Smith.But the next year,he took almost all of it for himself.She had sent him away.Now,the fields were full of wheat.But there was no man on the farm to cut it down and sell it.

Six weeks before,her husband told her in a letter that he would be coming home soon.Other soldiers were returning home,but her husband had not come.Every day,she watched the road leading down the hill.

This Sunday morning she could no longer stand being alone.She jumped up,ran into the house and quickly dressed the children.She carefully locked the door and started walking down the road to the farmhouse of her neighbor,Misses Gray.

Mary Gray was a widow with a large family of strong sons and pretty daughters.She was poor.But she never said no to a hungry person who came to her farm and asked for food.She worked hard,laughed often and was always in a cheerful mood.

When she saw Misses Smith and the children coming down the road,Misses Gray went out to meet them."Please come right in,Misses Smith.We were just getting ready to have dinner."

Misses Smith went into the noisy house.Misses Gray's children were laughing and talking all at the same time.Soon she was laughing and singing with the rest of them.

The long table in the kitchen was piled with food.There were potatoes,fresh corn,apple pies,hot bread,sweet pickles,bread and butter and honey.They all ate until they could eat no more.Then the men and children left the table.The women stayed to drink their tea.

"Mamma,"said one of Misses Gray's daughters."Please read our fortunes in the tea leaves!Tell us about our futures!"

Misses Gray picked up her daughter's cup and stirred it first to the left,then to the right.Then she looked into it with a serious expression."I see a handsome man with a red beard in your future,"she said.Her daughter screamed with laughter.

Misses Smith trembled with excitement when it was her turn."Somebody is coming home to you,"Misses Gray said slowly."He's carrying a rifle on his back and he's almost there."

Misses Smith felt as if she could hardly breathe."And there he is!"Misses Gray cried,pointing to the road.They all rushed to the door to look.

A man in a blue coat,with a gun on his back,was walking down the road toward the Smith farm.His face was hidden by a large pack on his back.

Laughing and crying,Misses Smith grabbed her hat and her children and ran out of the house.She hurried down the road after him,calling his name and pulling her children along with her.But the soldier was too far away for her voice to reach him.

When she got back to their farm,she saw the man standing by the fence.He was looking at the little house and the field of yellow wheat.The sun was almost touching the hills in the west.The cowbells rang softly as the animals moved toward the barn.

"How peaceful it all is,"Private Smith thought."How far away from the battles,the hospitals,the wounded and the dead.My little farm in Wisconsin.How could I have left it for those years of killing and suffering?"

Trembling and weak with emotion,Misses Smith hurried up to her husband.Her feet made no sound on the grass,but he turned suddenly to face her.For the rest of his life,he would never forget her face at that moment.

"Emma!"he cried.

The children stood back watching their mother kissing this strange man.He saw them and,kneeling down,he pulled from his pack three huge,red apples.In a moment,all three children were in their father's arms.Together,the family entered the little unpainted farmhouse.

Later that evening,after supper,Smith and his wife went outside.The moon was bright,above the eastern hills.Sweet,peaceful stars filled the sky as the night birds sang softly,and tiny insects buzzed in the soft air.

His farm needed work.His children needed clothing.He was no longer young and strong.But he began to plan for next year.With the same courage he had faced the war,Private Smith faced his difficult future.

(Adapted for Special English of VOA by Dona de Sanctis.http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/a-23-2006-02-06-voa1-83128002/125490.html)

Note

Hannibal Hamlin Garland was born on a farm near West Salem,Wisconsin,on September 14,1860,the second of four children of Richard Garland of Maine and Charlotte Isabelle McClintock.The boy was named after Hannibal Hamlin,the candidate for vice-president under Abraham Lincoln.He lived on various Midwestern farms throughout his young life,but settled in Boston,Massachusetts,in 1884 to pursue a career in writing.He read diligently in the public library there.His first success came in 1891 with Main-Traveled Roads,a collection of short stories inspired by his days on the farm.He serialized a biography of Ulysses S.Grant in McClure's Magazine before publishing it as a book in 1898.The same year,Garland traveled to the Yukon to witness the Klondike Gold Rush,which inspired The Trail of the Gold Seekers (1899).He lived on a farm between Osage,and St.Ansgar,Iowa for quite some time.Many of his writings are based on this era of his life.

A prolific writer,Garland continued to publish novels,short fiction,and essays.In 1917,he published his autobiography,A Son of the Middle Border.The book's success prompted a sequel,A Daughter of the Middle Border,for which Garland won the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.After two more volumes,Garland began a second series of memoirs based on his diary.Garland naturally became quite well-known during his lifetime and had many friends in literary circles.He was made a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1918.

After moving to Hollywood,California,in 1929,he devoted his remaining years to investigating psychic phenomena,an enthusiasm he first undertook in 1891.In his final book,The Mystery of the Buried Crosses (1939),he tried to defend such phenomena and prove the legitimacy of psychic mediums.

Garland died at age 79,at his home in Hollywood on March 4,1940.A memorial service was held three days later near his home in Glendale,California.His ashes were buried in Neshonoc Cemetery in West Salem,Wisconsin on March 14;his poem The Cry of the Age was read by Reverend John B.Fritz.

Words and Expressions

barn [bɑːn] n.　building for sheltering farm animals 牲口棚

buzz [bʌz] vi.　make a humming sound 发出嗡嗡声，（昆虫的）低声吟唱

cheer [tʃiə（r）] vt.&vi.　shout in praise，approval or support 为……欢呼，喝彩

fortune [ˈfɔ：tʃən] n.　one's overall circumstances or condition in life （including everything that happens to him）（某人的）命运

grab [ɡræb] vt.　get hold of or seize quickly and easily（一把）拽住

horror [ˈhɒrə（r）] n.　feeling of intense fear or dismay，terror 恐怖，恐惧，惊恐

kneel [niːl] vi.　rest one's weight on one's knees 跪着

malaria [məˈlɛəriə] n.　an infective disease caused by sporozoan parasites that are transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito 疟疾

pickle [ˈpikl] n.　vegetables （especially cucumbers） preserved in brine or vinegar 腌菜，泡菜

pile [pail] vt.　arrange in stacks 堆起，堆放

private [ˈpraivət] n.　soldier of the lowest rank 列兵

scar [skɑː（r）] n.　a mark remaining on the skin or on an organ from a wound，cut，etc.疤痕

scream [skriːm] vi.　utter a sudden loud cry 尖叫

shiver [ˈʃivə] vi.　shake from cold or fear 战栗，发抖

stand [stænd] vt.　put up with something or somebody unpleasant 忍受

stir [stɜː（r）] vt.　move a spoon，etc.round and round in liquid，etc.in order to mix it thoroughly 搅拌，搅动

tear [teə（r）] vt.　pull apart or into pieces by force，especially so as to leave irregular edges 撕扯，撕裂

tremble [ˈtrembl] vi.　move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways 发抖，颤动

widow [ˈwidəu] n.　a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried寡妇，遗孀

hurry after　walk quickly behind somebody in order to catch up 急忙追赶

look down at　look from a high position at something in a low position 俯瞰

be mixed with　be combined together with 掺杂着

read one's fortune　tell one's fortune，tell the important things，either good or bad，which will happen in one's future 算命

scream with laughter　laugh loudly and excitedly 高声大笑

send away　drive away 赶走

stand back　take a few steps backwards 往后站

tremble with excitement　be so excited as to tremble 激动得发抖

Exercises

I.General Questions

Read the text carefully and answer the following questions.

1.Why did Private Smith feel worried on the way home?

2.What did Private Smith think of when he walked towards his home after getting off the train?

3.How was Misses Smith's life when her husband was far away at war?

4.Where did Misses Smith and her children go on this particular Sunday morning?

5.What did they do in Misses Gray's home after dinner?

6.Why did Misses Smith go to Misses Gray's house when she couldn't stand being alone?

7.What did Misses Smith do when she saw her husband?

8.How would Private Smith face the difficulties of life?

II.Paraphrases

Paraphrase the following sentences by making the original meaning more direct and explicit.

1.His joy in coming home was mixed with fear and worry.

2.We've marched together for many miles.Now,I suppose,we are done.

3.Every step takes me closer to home.

4.The fighting he had done since then had not made him forget the horror of that moment when Billy died.

5.She never said no to a hungry person who came to her farm and asked for food.

6.Misses Smith trembled with excitement when it was her turn.

III.Multiple Choices

Choose the most appropriate word to complete each of the following sentences.

1.In the process of creation,the artist occasionally_____________to admire his work.

A.stood off　B.stood back　C.stood by　D.backed away

2.The bad news sent a_____________down his spine（脊椎骨），despite the heat of the day.

A.shield　B.sheer　C.shiver　D.shell

3.The soldiers were making a triumphal（庆祝胜利的）_____________through the city.

A.march　B.mark　C.match　D.market

4.My eyes swept across the crowded room,seeking a_____________face.

A.failure　B.facility　C.familiar　C.fatal

5.The mother_____________down and wiped the tears off the face of the distressed child.

A.knelt　B.looked　C.bowed　D.turned

6.The table was_____________with sandwiches，jellies，cakes，and what have you（应有尽有）.

A.pill　B.piled　C.peer　D.peel

7.The_____________teller told Jane that there was an adventure for her just around the corner.

A.fortunate　B.forecast　C.formula　D.fortune

8.The climber_____________some food and water from the bulky（鼓鼓囊囊的）pack on his back.

A.pulled　B.dragged　C.held　D.grabbed

9.The boy's hands_____________with excitement as he tore open the letter from the girl whom he secretly admired.

A.shook　B.trembled　C.shivered　D.quaked

10.The grain is liable to mildew（发霉）when the humidity in the_____________is too high.

A.burn　B.bark　C.border　D.barn

IV.Blank Filling

Fill in each of the blanks in the following passage with one of the words given at the end.

Laughing and crying,Misses Smith 1 her hat and her children and ran out of the house.She hurried down the road after him,calling his name and 2 her children along with her.But the soldier was too far away for her 3 to reach him.

When she got back to their farm,she saw the man 4 by the fence.He was looking at the little house and the field of yellow wheat.The sun was almost touching the hills in the west.The cowbells rang 5 as the animals moved toward the barn.

"How peaceful it all is,"Private Smith thought."How far away from the battles,the hospitals,the wounded and the 6.My little farm in Wisconsin.How could I have left it for those years of killing and 7?"

Trembling and weak with 8,Misses Smith hurried up to her husband.Her feet made no 9 on the grass,but he turned suddenly to face her.For the 10 of his life,he would never forget her face at that moment.

sound　suffering　standing　dead　emotion

rest　voice　grabbed　pulling　softly

V.Cloze

Fill in each of the blanks by choosing one word from the corresponding group of words.

Night after night,in the hot summer and early fall of 1940,a deep,1 voice came over the Atlantic Ocean from England to America,telling 2 England's battle for 3 under the waves of German bombers.This strong voice,an American voice with a slight 4 of North Carolina,belonged to Edward R.Murrow,head of the European 5 of the Columbia Broadcasting System.

"This is London,"said Murrow,while the bombs fell and flames 6 on the streets of the city.His voice had a tone of sympathy for the suffering of that ancient city,and a tone of 7,too—a feeling of belief 8 London would be there,no matter 9 it had to 10.It could not be destroyed.

1.A.steam　B.steer　C.steady　D.steal

2.A.for　B.of　C.with　D.through

3.A.survival　B.support　C.survey　D.surrender

4.A.ancient　B.accent　C.accident　D.account

5.A.stock　B.status　C.standard　D.staff

6.A.spared　B.spread　C.spoiled　D.split

7.A.evidence　B.influence　C.confidence　D.belief

8.A.that　B.what　C.where　D.how

9.A.how　B.that　C.what　D.which

10.A.engage　B.endure　C.encounter　D.enhance

VI.English-Chinese Translation

Translate the following English sentences into Chinese.

1.It had been a long trip from the south back to their homes in the north.

2.The third had unnaturally large and bright eyes,because he had been sick with malaria.

3.He had given three years of his life to his country.And now he had very little money and strength left for his family.

4.Smith and the other two soldiers jumped off the train together."Well,boys,"Smith began,"here's where we say good-bye.We've marched together for many miles.Now,I suppose,we are done."The three men found it hard to look at each other.

5.Smith knew he would have to tell the sad story to Billy's mother and young wife.But there was little to tell.The sound of a bullet cutting through the air.Billy crying out,then falling with his face in the dirt.

6.The farmer who had promised to take care of the farm while her husband was away had been lazy and dishonest.The first year he shared the wheat with Misses Smith.But the next year,he took almost all of it for himself.

7.Mary Gray was a widow with a large family of strong sons and pretty daughters.She was poor.But she never said no to a hungry person who came to her farm and asked for food.She worked hard,laughed often and was always in a cheerful mood.

8.The long table in the kitchen was piled with food.There were potatoes,fresh corn,apple pies,hot bread,sweet pickles,bread and butter and honey.

9.Laughing and crying,Misses Smith grabbed her hat and her children and ran out of the house.She hurried down the road after him,calling his name and pulling her children along with her.But the soldier was too far away for her voice to reach him.

10."How peaceful it all is,"Private Smith thought."How far away from the battles,the hospitals,the wounded and the dead.My little farm in Wisconsin.How could I have left it for those years of killing and suffering?"

VII.Chinese-English Translation

Translate the following Chinese sentences into English,preferably using the words or phrases given in the brackets.

1.参观者络绎不绝地进入展览厅。（in a steady stream）

2.由于无法忍受市区车辆的嘈杂，她决定搬到乡下去住。（stand）

3.让他快把信写好，我们好今天发出去。（hurry up with）

4.用感恩的心送走过去，用虔诚的心迎接未来。（send away）

5.采完蘑菇以后又去摘花，小女孩在林子里磨蹭，一直到中午才回家。（be done）

6.从窗口，我闻到紫丁香的香味掺着青草的味道。（mixed with）

7.孩子们知道星期天要去郊游时高兴得大叫起来。（scream with）

8.战争中无情杀戮的景象他将余生难忘。（for the rest of one's life）

9.如果他对你还剩下一点儿爱，他就不会转身而去！（left）

10.夜晚的天空繁星密布，虫鸟低声鸣唱。这不正是他梦想中远离战争的宁静生活吗？（dream about）

VIII.Essay Writing

Directions:Write an essay of about 200 words on one of the following topics,using narration as the dominant method of development.

1.An Important Learning Experience

2.Your Best or Worst Day at School

3.A Torturous Moment