Notes on the English Character學習任務答案與篇章講解賞析

四期答案

1. Explain the following words and expressions （highlighted in blue） in English.

（1） amount to （Para. 1）

amount to： If you say that one thing amounts to something else， you consider the first thing to be the same as the second thing.

（2） bottle up （Para. 4）

bottle up： If you bottle up strong feelings， you do not express them or show them， especially when this

makes you tense or angry.

（3） anecdote， plunge （Para. 5）

a） anecdote： It means a short， amusing account of something that has happened.

b） plunge： If a person or thing is plunged into a particular state or situation， or if they plunge into it， they are suddenly in that state or situation.

（4） slop （Para. 7）

slop： It means to make liquid come out from a container over the edge.

（5） gesticulate， draw up， chatter （Para. 9）

a） gesticulate： If you gesticulate， you make movements with your arms or hands， often while you are describing something that is difficult to express in words.

b） draw up： If a vehicle draws up， it arrives somewhere and stops.

c） chatter： It means to talk quickly and continuously， usually about things which are not important.

（6） jester， deprecate （Para. 14）

a） jester： In the courts of kings and queens in medieval Europe， the jester was the person whose job was to do silly things in order to make people laugh.

b） deprecate： to criticise

（7） merit， intrigue （Para. 15）

a） merit： to deserve

b） intrigue： the making of secret plans to harm or deceive people

（8） adjure （Para. 18）

adjure： to ask or to order somebody to do something

（9） insidious （Para. 20）

insidious： unpleasant or dangerous and developing gradually without being noticed

四期答案

（10） infamy （Para. 22）

infamy： the state of being well known for something bad or evil

（11） at all events （Para. 24）

at all events： anyway or anyhow

2. Look up the underlined words in your dictionary， examining their multiple meanings. （Note down the meaning of each word in the context， and another meaning that the word often expresses.）

（1） ... his substantial stomach ... （Para. 1） Here “substantial” means large， solid， and strong； it also means large in amount or number.

（2） ... supplied indifferent bacon ... （Para. 1） If you describe something or someone as indifferent， you mean that their standard or quality is not very good， and often quite bad. “Indifferent” also means having a complete lack of interest in something.

（3） ... its insistence on good form ... （Para. 2） Here “form” means the state of being fit and healthy. It also means behaviour as is in “feeling is bad form” in Para. 4.

（4） ... I have figured as a typical Englishman. （Para. 9） Here “figure” means to present oneself. It also means to think or to guess.

3. Think about and answer the following questions.

（1） What are the charges that have been brought against the English as a nation？

The charges have been mostly against the middle classes. Some of the charges include that the Englishman cant feel， that the Englishman is hypocritical， etc.

（2） How does the author respond to those charges？

The author argues that the Englishman does have feeling， but is taught to refrain from it， which has certain merits； that the Englishman does know well what is right and wrong， but is easily confused and thus quite slow to make a decision， which is often mistaken as a sign of hypocrisy.

（3） To whom do you suppose the essay was written？

This essay was probably written to foreigners who had had a negative impression of the Englishman.

篇章講解賞析

閱讀這篇散文，首先應當思考文章的寫作目的。文章為何而作？寫給誰看？這是解讀本文的關鍵問題。通讀全文，作者似乎并非只是在和本國（英國）讀者進行討論。從作者的若干例證可見，目標讀者似乎是并不詳細知曉英國社會文化的外國讀者。從這個角度看，作者將英國人的性格描寫得惟妙惟肖，文中講的小故事也生動有趣，很容易讓外國讀者產生形象的感受，有助于扭轉他們對英國人的刻板印象。這不禁讓我們聯想到，當我們在向外國人介紹中國特色的時候，尤其是在反駁一些誤解時，也可以借鑒這樣的寫作方法和表達方式，不針鋒相對，卻切中要害、輕松幽默、有理有據，而且有實例、接地氣。例如，作者借用《理智與情感》中的片段作為論據，非常令人信服，寫作手法讓人贊嘆。其中最根本的一點，是作者的切入點是人性（human nature），這也算是全人類最大的共識了。

學習這篇散文，可把語言學習的重點放在對人的性格和特點（character and qualities）的描寫上。這種描寫不只是舉個例子就能產生具化的效果，而是要看在同一個例子中，作者著力描寫的是哪個方面——描寫的著力點才是最值得深入學習的。例如，“… the fish are the English emotions， which are always trying to get up to the surface， but dont quite know how.”作者的著力點是trying和not knowing how，也就是那種“想表達卻不會表達”的感覺，所以此處的修辭特別鮮活、特別具體、特別有重點。如果換成“... the fish are the English emotions， which are deep in the sea and are rarely seen at the surface.”的話，那效果就大相徑庭了。

（北京外國語大學 徐浩）