1、Unit 5: Section A Graceful Hands,Discuss the Topics,Suppose you are suffering from a fatal illness and will die in no more than one year, what do you want to do most during this period?2. At the moment when your life is coming to theend, who would you choose to stay with?,3. Watch the movie clip sho
2、wing the death andsurvival in Titanic. Are there any impressivestories about the miracles of death and life inyour memory? It may be in your real life, froma fiction or a movie, etc. Would you mindsharing it?,Death & Life in Titanic,Intensive Study,Graceful Hands1 I have never seen Mrs. Clark before
3、, but I know from her medical chart and the report I received from the preceding shift that tonight she will die. 2 The only light in her room is coming from a piece of medical equipment, which is flashing its red light as if in warning. As I stand there, the smell hits my nose, and I close my eyes
4、as I remember the smell of decay from past experience. In my mouth I have a sour, vinegar taste coming from the pit of my stomach. I reach for the light switch, and as it silently lights the scene, I return to the bed to observe the patient with an unemotional, medical eye.,Intensive Study,3 Mrs. Cl
5、ark is dying. She lies motionless: the head seems unusually large on a skeleton body; the skin is dark yellow and hangs loosely around exaggerated bones that not even a blanket can hide; the right arm lies straight out at the side, taped cruelly to a board to secure a needle so that fluid may drip i
6、n; the left arm is across the sunken chest, which rises and falls with the uneven breaths.,Intensive Study,4 I reach for the long, thin fingers that are lying on the chest,. They are ice cold, and I quickly move to the wrist and feel for the faint pulse. Mrs. Clarks eyes open somewhat as her head tu
7、rns toward me slightly. I bend close to her and scarcely hear as she whispers, “Water.” Taking a glass of water from the table, I put my finger over the end of the straw and allow a few drops of the cool moisture to slide into her mouth and ease her thirst. She makes no attempt to swallow; there is
8、just not enough strength. “More,” the dry voice says, and we repeat the procedure. This time she does manage to swallow some liquid and weakly says, “Thank, you.”,Intensive Study,5 She is too weak for conversation, so without asking, I go about providing for her needs. Picking her up in my arms like
9、 a child, I turn her on her side. Naked, except for a light hospital gown, she is so very small and light that she seems like a victim of some terrible famine. I remove the lid from a jar of skin cream and put some on the palm of my hand. Carefully, to avoid injuring her, I rub cream into the yellow
10、 skin, which rolls freely over the bones, feeling perfectly the outline of each bone in the back. Placing a pillow between her legs, I notice that these too are ice cold, and not until I run my hand up over her knees do I feel any of the life-giving warmth of blood.,Intensive Study,6 When I am finis
11、hed, I pull a chair up beside the bed to face her and, taking her free hand between mine, again notice the long, thin fingers. Graceful. I wonder briefly if she has any family, and then I see that there are neither flowers, nor pictures of rainbows and butterflies drawn by children, nor cards. There
12、 is no hint in the room anywhere that this is a person who is loved. As though she is a mind reader, Mrs. Clark answers my thoughts and quietly tells me, “I sent my family home tonight didnt want them to see” Having spent her last ounce of strength she cannot go on, but I have understood what she ha
13、s done. Not knowing what to say, I say nothing. Again she seems to sense my thoughts, “Youstay”,Intensive Study,7 Time seems to stand still. In the total silence, I feel my own pulse quicken and hear my breathing as it begins to match hers, breath for uneven breath. Our eyes meet and somehow, togeth
14、er, we become aware that this is a special moment between two human beings Her long fingers curl easily around my hand and I nod my head slowly, smiling. Without words, through yellowed eyes, I receive my thank you and her eyes slowly close.,Intensive Study,8 Some unknown interval of time passes bef
15、ore her eyes open again, only this time there is no response in them, just a blank stare. Without warning, her shallow breathing stops, and within a few moments, the faint pulse is also gone. One single tear flows from her left eye, across the cheek and down onto the pillow. I begin to cry quietly.
16、There is a swell of emotion within me for this stranger who so quickly came into and went from my life. Her suffering is done, yet so is the life. Slowly, still holding her hand, I become aware that I do not mind this emotional battle, that in fact, it was a privilege she has allowed me, and I would
17、 do it again, gladly. Mrs. Clark spared her family an episode that perhaps they were not equipped to handle and instead shared it with me. She had not wanted to have her family see her die, yet she did not want to die alone. No one should die alone, and I am glad I was there for her.,Intensive Study
18、,9 Two days later, I read about Mrs. Clark in the newspaper. She was the mother of seven, grandmother of eighteen, an active member of her church, a leader of volunteer associations in her community, a concert piano player, and a piano teacher for over thirty years. 10 Yes, they were long and gracef
19、ul fingers.,preceding a. coming or going before in time or orderThe author deals with the problem of violence among teenagers in the preceding chapters. precede v. Come or go just in front of He came into the room preceded by a little dog. Now that you have read that sentence, reread the one that pr
20、ecedes. 2) Be earlier than Thousands of people traveled to America to escape hardship in the years that immediately preceded the First World War.,decay n. the action or state of gradually go badDental decay in children is a common phenomenon all over the world. v. Become bad; rot The cabbages had al
21、ready started to decay. 2) Fall to a lower or worse state; lose health, power, strength, activity, etc. At that time, the Roman Empire had already decayed. As people grow old, they will decay mentally as well as physically.,exaggerated a. larger, better, worse, or more important than sth actually is
22、 I considered his remark exaggerated but complimentary. Peo0ple around Thompson all think that he has an exaggerated sense of his own importance.,secure: v.make tight or firm; fasten The patients broken leg was secured with plaster bandage. 2) Make safe; protect They tried to secure the bridge from
23、further attack. 3) get, sometimes with difficulty He is luck to have secured himself such a good job. adj. safe; protected against danger or risk She felt secure only when both doors were lock. 2) Firm or tight enough for safety The foundation of the house is not secure. 3) Having no doubt, fear or
24、anxiety He felt secure about his future.,faint: adj. 1) Lacking clearness, brightness, strength, etc. The faint perfume of jasmine came through the window. The candle shed a faint light in the room. 2) Weak and about to lose consciousness Climbing these stairs caused her to feel faint. She looks fai
25、nt. v. Lose consciousness She fainted at the sight of blood.,slide(cause to) move smoothly The doctors let the children patients slide around on the polished floor and listen to music. She stood back, watching the door slide closed, then turned away. 2) (cause to) move quietly Tom slid out of the ho
26、use when no one was noticing. 3) change to sth gradually and smoothly without being noticed The boy slid into the bad habit of smoking. 4) Gradually change to a worse state or condition With prices sliding fast, small computers are becoming popular.,ease 1) Take away (pain or worry); relieve; lessen
27、 Take this medicine and it will ease the pain. 2) Make more comfortable I eased her mind by telling her that the children were safe.,go about start to work at; set aboutHow do you go about building a boat? How shall we go about the job?,provide forMake arrangements to deal with sth that might happen
28、 in the future. We did not provide for such a great increase in prices. How can we provide for unexpected events? 2. Support someone by giving them money and the things that they need; supply with necessary things of life He has five children and a wife to provide for. Our nursery provides for all t
29、he needs of young children.,naked 1) Not covered by clothes The children played in the yard half naked. 2) Without the usual covering The germ is not visible to the naked eyes. The naked truth is usually hard to accept.,outline line(s) showing the shape or outer edge She could see the outline of a p
30、erson through the mist. The outline of the mountain loomed in the distance. 2) A statement of the main facts or points He submitted an outline of his speech to his superior for approval. 3) v. give a short general description of sth Let me outline a few of the obstacles that we might encounter in ou
31、r future work.,hint1) A slight indication Give me a hint so that I can solve the riddle. There is a hint of impatience in the tone of his voice. 2) A subtle way of indicating to sb what one is thinking They gave me a booklet with useful hints for airline passengers. The book is full of hints and tip
32、s on low-fat diet and healthy lifestyle. 3) v. suggest sth slightly or indirectly I hinted to him that I was dissatisfied with his work.,match to go with; correspond toI tried hard, but still my pace couldnt match his. You should match your spending with your income. She wore an elegant green dress
33、that matched her eyes beautifully.,interval 1) A period between two events or times, or the space between two points There was a long interval before he replied. Trains for Beijing leave at 30-minute intervals. Trees are planted at intervals of 10 feet in this area. 2) A brief period between the par
34、ts of performance Drinks will be provided during the intervals of the three performances.,shallow1) Not deep (in breathing) His breathing became shallow and frequent as the time drew near for him to go onto the stage for the first time. 2) Having only a short distance from the bottom to the top He i
35、s swimming towards the shallow end of the swimming pool. 3) Not showing serious or careful thought His argument seemed shallow and tedious. They carried on a shallow conversation about parties and clothes.,swell1) An increase or growth in number, strength, degree, etc. There was a swell in populatio
36、n in that country. She almost choked on the sudden swell of emotion. 2) The movement of large stretches of the sea up and down The boat rose and fell to ocean swells.,privilege a special advantage, opportunity or honor possessed by a particular person or groupIn countries where there are still not m
37、any schools, education is a privilege. It was a privilege to work with such a great scientist.,episode1) A single event or group of related events The episode of being cast away on a barren island due to a plane crash changed Richards attitude towards life. 2) One of the single parts into which a st
38、ory is divided, esp. when it is broadcast on TV or radio Listen to the next exciting episode tomorrow. Tomorrow we will come to the final episode of the story.,be equipped have the ability After years of experience, he was fully equipped to deal with any upcoming problems. Babies are born equipped with the ability to suck.,
