Unit 6 The Museum.docx

1、Unit 6 The MuseumUnit 6 The MuseumLeila AboulelaStructure of the TextPart I (Paras.1-15)Shadia, an African girl, has come to study for a Master of Science Degree in Statistics at a university in Scotland. She finds one of her courses difficult. Shadia wants to ask Bryan, a local Scottish student, fo

2、r his notes, but she hesitates because the latters long hair and earring makes her uncomfortable. This is one of aspect of the culture shock she has encountered since coming to this foreign country. (Para. 1)As well as Shadia, students from other Third World countries experience anxiety over their s

3、tudies. (Paras. 2-3)Bryan had been an undergraduate student at this university, earning First Class Honours, so Shadia wants to borrow his notes to strengthen her own weak background in statistics. (Paras. 4-6)Shadia and the other foreign students find Scotland far from welcoming in its attitude tow

4、ard them. (Paras. 7-10) Shadia gathers her courage and asks Bryan for his notes. Bryan is surprised when she speaks to him, but he immediately promises that he will give her his notes on Monday. (Paras. 11-15) Part II (Paras. 16-25)On the weekends, Shadia seldom goes out. Sometimes, she gets a long-

5、distance call from someone at home. (Paras. 16-25)On the weekends, Shadia stays inside, missing the good life at home. She is worried about her studies. (Paras. 16-18)In the evening, she gets a long-distance telephone call from Fareed, to whom she is engaged. Fareed is rich and by marrying him, Shad

6、ia will enter into his whole life, including his business and his mother and sisters. Fareed is not interested in her studies. (Paras. 19-25)Part III (Paras. 26-28)On Monday, Bryan gave Shadia his notes. Seeing the clear notes and tidy handwriting, Shadia cries. She stays up late and studies the not

7、es carefully, finding them extremely useful. Part IV (Paras. 29-37)Returning the notes, Shadia thanks Bryan and talks to him. She tells him that she doesnt like his earring. Bryan removes the earring at once. Then Shadia says that she doesnt like his long hair. Bryan turns away without saying anythi

8、ng. (Paras. 29-37)Part V (Paras. 38-42)The next time Shadia sees Bryan in the classroom, she finds that he has had his hair cut short. She feels flattered because she knows that he has done this for her.Part VI (Paras. 43-83)Shadia and Bryan drink coffee together and have a conversation. Shadia feel

9、s that she shouldnt have had coffee with Bryan by herself. She decides to make him dislike her. (Para. 43)From their conversation, we learn that Shadia comes from a well-off middle-class family, her father being a doctor. We also learn that Bryans father is a joiner and his mother is a lollipop lady

10、. (Paras. 44-60)Shadia has behaved arrogantly, and Bryan is shy and awkward. (Paras. 61-65)Bryan tells Shadia that on weekends he rows on the river Dee. Shadia talks about the Nile, saying, “The Nile is superior to the Dee.” (Paras. 66-68)They talk about Islam, and Bryan tells Shadia that he studied

11、 Islam in class and went on a trip to Mecca, in a book. Bryan invites Shadia to visit a local museum about Africa. (Paras. 69-83)Part VII (Paras. 84-93)Shadias fianc Fareed calls again. He wants Shadia to buy fixtures for their toiletsgold-colored toilet seats. Part VIII (Paras. 94-119) The museum i

12、s not in any way what Shadia has expected to see. She feels that the cultural gulf between her and Bryan is too wide to be bridged. The museum is full of exhibits about the colonial period in Africa from the perspective of the colonial rulers. It is entirely different from what Shadia wanted to see.

13、 Meanwhile, Bryan is intensely interested in the museums exhibits. (Paras. 94-113) The museum is a major culture shock for Shadia, and she cries. Bryan tried to comfort her by saying “Museums change, I can change” (Paras. 114-118) Shadia knows that the gulf between her and Bryan is so wide that it i

14、s unbridgeable. (Para. 119)Detailed Study of the Text1.The Museum (Title): Why is the story entitled “The Museum”? Bear this question in mind while reading the story. 2.At first Shadia was afraid to ask him for his notes. (Para. 1)The story opens with a short sentence, in which both the heroine and

15、the hero of the story are introduced. 3. The earring made her afraid; the straight long hair that he tied up with a rubber band. She had never seen a man with an earring and such long hair. (Para. 1): Shadia finds it strange for a man to have long hair and wear an earring. It is alien to her culture

16、 for a man to look like that. 4.But then she had never known such cold, so much rain. (Para. 1) Not only does she find that people here look strange, the weather is also something she has never experienced before. This detail indicates that Shadia must have come from a warm and dry country, as we wi

17、ll see later. 5. His silver earring was the strangeness of the West, another culture shock. (Para. 1) Phrases like “the strangeness of the West” confirm that Shadia is not from the West. A man wearing a silver earring is an instance of the culture shock she experiences in this unfamiliar environment

18、.culture shock: Culture shock is the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country or a move between social environments within a country. 文化冲击（又译文化震惊，文化休克） 6. Her ignorance and the impending exams were horrors sh

19、e wanted to escape. (Para. 1) She was so frightened by her own ignorance of the subject she was studying and the coming exams that she wished she could escape them.impending: (only before a noun, usually of an unpleasant event) that is going to happen very soon 即将发生的，迫在眉睫的7.It reminded her of a doll

20、 she had when she was young. (Para. 1) This was most probably a doll made in a Western country, modeled on a Western child. 8.She had longed for such straight hair. (Para. 1) Her longing reveals the fact that her hair is not straight. Later we will discover that she comes from Africa. Typically the

21、hair of Africans is short and tightly curled. Having received a Western education, Shadia has accepted a Western concept of beauty. 9. She pictured her doll, vivid suddenly, and felt sick that she was daydreaming in class, not learning a thing. (Para. 1) She has a vivid mental image of her doll and

22、then realizes that she is daydreaming in class, not learning a thing. She feels ashamed of and angry with herself. 10. The first days of the term, when the classes started for the M. Sc. in Statistics, she was like someone tossed around by monstrous wavesbattered, as she lost her way to the differen

23、t lecture rooms, fumbled with the photocopying machine, could not find anything in the library. (Para. 2)Paraphrase: During the first days of the term, when the classes had started for the M. Sc. in Statistics, she was completely disoriented: she couldnt find her way to the different lecture rooms,

24、she handled the photocopying machine clumsily, and she had difficulty in finding the books and other materials she needed in the library.M. Sc. in Statistics: Master of Science in Statistics 统计学硕士 battered: attacked violently and injured, used figuratively hereto fumble: Use the hands clumsily while

25、 doing or handling somethingTranslation: 开学头几天，当统计学硕士课程刚开始时，她就像一个被巨浪抛来抛去的受伤的人。她找不到上课的教室，使用复印机时笨手笨脚，在图书馆里晕头转向，找不到自己要找的书和资料。 11. So she floundered, she and the other African students, the two Turkish girls, and the men from Brunei. (Para. 2)This sentence tells us that Shadia is from Africa. The author

26、 mentions this fact as if in passing. to flounder: to have trouble doing or understanding something茫然挣扎着前进Brunei: Brunei is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. 文莱 (古称渤泥) 12. Asafa, the short, round-faced Ethiopian, said, in his grave voiceas this c

27、ollection from the Third World whispered their anxieties in grim Scottish corridors, the girls in nervous giggles“Last year, last year, a Nigerian on this very same course committed suicide. Cut his wrists.” (Para. 2) At this point, we get to know that the setting of the story is Scotland. Translati

28、on: 在苏格兰阴森的走廊里，第三世界的留学生们集体倾诉他们的焦虑，女孩们发出紧张的格格笑声。这时，阿萨法，一个小个头、圆脸盘的埃塞俄比亚人，用低沉的声音对大家说：“去年，就是去年，这门课上一个尼日利亚学生自杀了，割腕自杀的。”13.Us and them, she thought. The ones who would do well, the ones who would crawl and sweat and barely pass. (Para. 3) The first sentence is incomplete, its meaning being explained by th

29、e following sentence. “Us refer to the “ones who would crawl and sweat and barely pass.” the ones who would crawl and sweat and barely pass: those who would work extremely hard and yet would barely pass. The words “crawl” and “sweat” are used figuratively, meaning working very hard, experiencing gre

30、at difficulty, but making painfully slow progress barely: in a way that is just possible but only with difficulty 勉强地14. Two predetermined groups. (Para. 3)This is another incomplete sentence, meaning we belong to two predetermined groups. The two groups are predetermined because of their different

31、educational backgrounds. 15. “The one with the earring?” (Para. 4)This sentence tells us that the name of the boy whose notes Shadia wants to borrow is Bryan. 16. Hell get the Distinction. He was an undergraduate here; got First Class Honours. (Para. 3) Translation: 他会得到优秀奖。他在这里念的本科，得了一等奖。Distinctio

32、n: special recognition given to a student for outstanding work, e.g. He graduated with distinction. 17. “He knows all the lecturers, he knows the system.” (Para. 5) Bryan knows the teachers and is familiar with the schools functioning because he completed his undergraduate degree at this university before beginning graduate study.Translation: 他认识所有的讲师，对学校的制度了如指掌。 18. If she strengthened her background in stochastic process and time series, she would be better able to cope with the new material