The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

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難詞探意

1. gripping /'ɡr?p??/ adj. 扣人心弦的

2. haunt /h??nt/ v. 縈繞于腦際

Agrippingand emotional story of betrayal and redemption, The Kite Runner had me thrilled and moved, both at the same time. It tells the story of Amir and Hassan, the closest friends, as good as brothers,and also experts in the art of kite flying. The two young boys live in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and this year they are going to try harder than ever to win the local kite-fighting tournament—a popular Afghan pastime, and this is Amir's one hope of winning his father's love. But just like the kites battling in the sky,war comes to Afghanistan, and the country becomes an extremely dangerous place.

In war, people are often forced to make great sacrifices, and the young Amir himself commits an act of betrayal, towards his best friend Hassan no less, which willhaunthim for the rest of his life. Amir and his father are forced to flee Afghanistan for America, and The Kite Runner becomes the story of Amir's quest for redemption—righting the wrongs he committed all those years ago as a boy in Kabul.

The story is fast-paced and hardly ever dull, and introduced me to a world—the world of Afghan life—which is strange, fascinating and yet oddly familiar all at the same time.Hosseini's writing finds a great balance between being clear and yet powerful, and not only is the story itself brilliantly constructed, but the book also explores the very art of storytelling. Amir himself becomes a writer, and he reflects on his experiences in the story as though his life itself were a piece of fiction (which of course it is! ).

But I think the best bit about The Kite Runner is its sense of fate and justice, of good overcoming evil in the end, despite all odds. Without giving away the ending, Amir ends up back in Afghanistan and makes a very different set of sacrifices in order to set things straight. The final chapter of the book is perhaps my favourite, and one that I have found moving even when rereading it. The message behind the very ending could be interpreted differently by different readers, but personally I feel that it offers a small sense of hope for both the future of its characters, and perhaps for war-torn Afghanistan as well.

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What does the author think about The Kite Runner?

Language Study

Sentence for writing

Hosseini's writing finds a great balance between being clear and yet powerful, and not only is the story itself brilliantly constructed, but the book also explores the very art of storytelling.

【信息提取】not only...but also...意為“不僅……而且……”，其中的also有時可以省略。用于連接兩個對等的成分，若連接兩個成分作主語，謂語動詞要遵循“就近一致原則”。為了強調，可將not only置于句首，此時其后的部分通常要用部分倒裝的形式。

【句式仿寫】他們不但需要衣服，而且還缺水。

Cultural Background

《追風箏的人》

《追風箏的人》 是美籍阿富汗作家卡勒德·胡賽尼（Khaled Hosseini）的第一部長篇小說，是美國2005年排名第三的暢銷書。

作者卡勒德·胡賽尼，著有《追風箏的人》《燦爛千陽》《群山回唱》等作品。 2006年，因其作品巨大的國際影響力，他獲得了聯(lián)合國人道主義獎，并受邀擔任聯(lián)合國難民署親善大使，他還創(chuàng)立了以自己名字命名的基金會，為阿富汗的難民提供人道主義援助。

主題應用·語庫構建

Ⅰ. 短語積累

1. deliver urgent messages 提供緊急信息

2. construct a wooden kite 制作木風箏

3. fly high to spy on the situation of the enemy 飛得很高去偵察敵人的情況

4.make and fly various kites 制作和放飛各種風箏

5. reflect the pleasing mood of the spring 表達出春天愉悅的心情

6. make full use of the tenacity of the bamboo 充分利用竹子的韌性

7. draw many fans with a passion for flying kites吸引許多喜歡放風箏的粉絲

8. in a unique enthusiasm 一種獨特的熱情

9. soar their kites high into the sky 讓他們的風箏高飛到空中

10. be taken over as a major sport by kings and royalty 成為國王和皇室的主要運動項目

11. show their skills and expertise in their art of kite flying 展示他們放風箏的技巧和專業(yè)知識

12. beat their competitors at any cost 不惜任何代價擊敗競爭對手

13. one of the major day of festivity 節(jié)日中重要的一天

14. take advantage of the favorable morning breeze利用早晨有利的微風

15. find optimum terrace for kite flying 尋找放風箏的最佳平臺

16. make it a collective activity to celebrate together 讓它成為一起慶祝的集體活動

17. the most important scientific device to have come to Europe from China 從中國來到歐洲的最重要的科學儀器

18. use kites to tow torpedoes with great accuracy用風箏來精確地牽引魚雷

19. forecast the weather and frighten evil spirits away 預報天氣，嚇跑惡靈

20. give thanks to the gods for good harvests, fertility, weather and prosperity 感謝上天賜予的豐收、富饒、好天氣和繁榮

21. a splendid warm bright day with energetic breezes to lift the kites overhead 晴朗而溫暖的天氣，和煦的微風將風箏高高舉起

22. be covered with kites from before dawn until the dark hours 從黎明前到天黑都被風箏覆蓋

Ⅱ. 美句背誦

1. Kiteshave a long and varied historyand many different types areflown individuallyat festivals worldwide. Kites may be flownfor recreation, art or other practical uses. 風箏有著悠久而多樣的歷史，許多不同類型的風箏在世界各地的節(jié)日中單獨放飛。 放飛風箏可能是為了娛樂、藝術或其他實際用途。

2. In ancient China the kitewas known as“zhi yuan” (paper glede). Originallyregarded asa technology, it also featured prominently in many art collections, andwas considered to have unique artistic value. 在中國古代，風箏被稱為“紙鳶”。它最初被認為是一種技術，在許多藝術收藏品中也占有重要地位，被認為具有獨特的藝術價值。

3. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, when amusementsthrived with the development of culture and economy, kites became the favorite of the people ofboth court and country. 在繁榮的唐朝，隨著文化和經濟的發(fā)展，娛樂活動蓬勃發(fā)展，風箏成為皇室和百姓的寵兒。

4. Making and flying various kitesreflected the pleasing mood of the spring. Kite-flyingis now believed to be good for the health. 制作和放飛各種各樣的風箏表達了春天令人愉悅的心情。 放風箏現(xiàn)在被認為對健康有益。

5. While the basic procedureremains the same, styles of kite-makingvary in different regions. 雖然制作風箏的基本程序是一樣的，但不同地區(qū)的風箏制作方式不同。

6. The kites in the “World Kite Capital” of Weifang in Shandong Provinceare well known fortheir exquisite craftsmanship, materials, painting, sculpture andflexible flying movement. “世界風箏之都”——山東濰坊的風箏以其精湛的工藝、材料、繪畫、雕刻和可靈活飛行而聞名。

7. Every year, the festival will be held there andis expected to draw many fanswith a passion for flying kites. 每年，這個節(jié)日都會在那里舉行，預計會吸引很多喜歡放風箏的粉絲。

8. State of Gujaratgets soaked inthe whole new burst of hues during the International Kite Festival every year when the placeerupts in a unique enthusiasm. 在每年的國際風箏節(jié)期間， 在當?shù)乇l(fā)出一種獨特的熱情時，古吉拉特邦便沉浸在嶄新的色彩迸發(fā)中。

9. Children, who wouldmake so many excuses to be absent from the schoolevery day, would be found wide awake andsoaring their kites high into the skyearly in the morning on this day. 在這一天早上，那些找各種各樣的借口逃學的孩子總是會被發(fā)現(xiàn)正非常清醒地在放風箏，且他們的風箏飛得很高。

10. The art or hobby of kite flyingwas developed over the period of timein India and itwas taken over as a major sportby kings and royalty. 在印度，放風箏的藝術或愛好是在一段時間內發(fā)展起來的，后來被國王和皇室接納為一項主要運動。

11.As it grew, kite flyingbecame a serious gamewith many different types of kites beginning to be made with special strings to compete viciously. 隨著風箏的發(fā)展，放風箏變成了一項嚴肅的游戲，人們開始制作許多不同類型的風箏，并使用特殊的風箏線進行激烈的競爭。

12. Expert kite makers and kite flyers from India and across the globewere invited or hired to show their skills and expertisein their art of kite flying andbeat their competitors at any cost. 來自印度和世界各地的風箏制作專家和放風箏能手被邀請或雇用來展示他們放風箏的技巧和專業(yè)知識， 并不惜任何代價擊敗他們的競爭對手。

13. But preciselyhow and when the tradition of kite flying beganis still obscure. Some sources suggest that it was introduced by Muslim traders whocame fromPersia while simultaneously Chinese traders and pilgrims also brought in the tradition from Tibet. 但確切地說，放風箏的傳統(tǒng)是如何、何時開始的，至今仍不清楚。 一些資料表明，他們是由來自波斯的穆斯林商人引進的，同時中國商人和朝圣者也帶來了來自西藏的傳統(tǒng)。

14. Peoplegather in small groupson theirs or their friends' rooftops to find optimum terrace for kite flying,making it a collective activityto celebrate together. 人們聚在自己的屋頂或朋友的屋頂上，尋找放風箏的最佳平臺，使之成為一項一起慶祝的集體活動。

15.Kites of all shapes and sizesare flown andfar from a friendly competition, for many, it becomes almost a battle in mid-air. 各種形狀和大小的風箏被放飛，對許多人來說，這遠遠不是一場友好的比賽，而是一場半空中的戰(zhàn)斗。

16. The excitement does not come to an end even afterthe long day of celebrationandas soon as the night falls, peopleattach lighted paper lanternscalled tukkal to the kite strings which shine throughout the night looking truly spectacular. 即使在漫長的慶祝日之后，這種興奮也不會消失。 每當夜幕降臨，人們就會把一種叫作tukkal的點燃的紙燈籠掛在風箏線上。 這些紙燈籠照亮了整個夜空，看起來十分壯觀。

17. Kitesare used forbird scaring, forecasting the weather andfrightening evil spirits away. 風箏是用來嚇唬鳥兒、預報天氣和嚇跑惡靈的。

18. Kites have been used for thousands of years tolift offeringsandgive thanks to the godsfor good harvests, fertility, weather and prosperity. 風箏已經被使用了幾千年，被用來舉起祭品和感謝上天賜予的豐收、富饒、好天氣和繁榮。

Ⅲ. 讀后創(chuàng)寫

假定你是李華，你的外國朋友Tom發(fā)郵件希望了解下中國風箏的相關信息，請你給他回一封郵件，要點包括：

1. 中國風箏的概況；

2. 風箏對世界的影響。注意：

1. 詞數(shù)150左右；

2. 可以適當增加細節(jié)，以使行文連貫。

Dear Tom,

I'm delighted to share basic information about Chinese kite with you.

Yours,

Li Hua