Lesson-9-The-Way-to-Rainy-Mountain.doc

Lesson 9: The Way to Rainy Mountain N. Scott Momaday 1. Key words, phrases & idiomatic expressions1). Knoll: a small natural hill 小山，圆丘2). anvil: a heavy block of iron or steel on which hot metals are shaped by hammering. 铁砧3).writhe: to move in a twisting or contorted motion, esp. when struggling 翻腾4). infirm: lacking physical strength/vitality 虚弱的，脆弱的5). Headwaters: 上游(河源)6) fork: 交汇的地方，岔道7). Pilgrimage n. a journey to a sacred place朝圣之旅v. 朝拜8). engender: to cause/ to bring about 使产生，使引起9). consummate: make perfect; bring to perfection 是完成，是圆满10). beadwork:小珠穿制(或缀有小珠)的装饰品11). warlord: 军阀12). hie :急忙,疾走,催促:13). cleavage ：a division or split 劈开，分裂 14).deity: the state of being a god;a god or goddess 神，神性 15). caldron: a large kettle or boiler大锅,大汽锅16). to wean: to cause to give up a former habit; to withdraw by degrees as by substituting some other interest 使断绝，使放弃17). score: to make cuts or lines in or on 刻线，划线，得分18). impale: to pierce through or fix with a sharp object 刺穿19). skillet：a small frying pan 小煎锅20). ample：large 宽广的，广阔的，（体积长度等）面积大；充足的，富裕的21). wake: a watch or vigil held over the body of a dead person during the night before burial 守夜，守灵22). perch: to alight or rest on 栖息，就位23). purl: to flow with a gentle movement and a murmuring sound 潺潺地流24). preeminently：. 展开《21世纪大英汉词典》much more important卓越地(显著地,极度)a single knoll rises out of the plain.一座孤零零的小山拔地而起a matter of disposition: 出于本性, 由于习惯lose the sense of proportion失去(正常的)比例感positively classified明确地归类beyond all comparison:无可比拟,无以伦比a lot of coming and going：人来人往bore themselves upright腰板挺得很直made of lean and leather精瘦2.A one-sentence summary of the textThis excerpt of essay on one hand told readers a story happened to Momaday’s grandmother to reveal the pictorial description of the landscape, and on the other hand discussed the history of Kiowas’ forefather and their traditional legacy to express the author’s strong homesickness and pride, in order to remind people that one should always remember his blood and root so that he can live with loyalty and without the feeling of being at sea.3.Outline of the paragraphsPart One(Para1):An outline of the author’s ancestral land.Part Two(Para 2,3)::Introduction of Rainy Mountain, on which his grandmother’s grave lie and summary of the history of Kiowas..Part Three(Para4-10): Exploration fo the three stages of the Kiowas’ culture—emergence, evolution and decline; Reasons to going back to Rainy Moutain and brief descriptions fo the author’s grandma．His grandmother serves as a focus or a link by which the author moves his narrative from one stage to another．Part Five(para11,12):Memorys of his life together with his grandma.Part Six(para13-15):The author feeling changed on ancestral culture and compliment the active influence of the cultural heritage of Rainy Mountain.4. Parts of the text you find difficult to understandThe author’s feeling at the end of the article.5. One meaningful question you especially want to raise about the textWhat is the link between the authour’s ancestral culture and his narrator life? 。