1、Topic 3-1,Understanding a Descriptive Essay,Essay 1: My Grandmothers House,1. My most vivid childhood memories are set in my Grandmas house, a curious blend of familiar and mysterious treasures. Grandma lived at the end of a dead-end street, in the same house she had lived in since the first day of
2、her marriage. That was half a century ago. A set of crumbly (易碎的，松碎的) steps made of concrete mixed with gravel led up to her front door. I remember a big gap between the house and the steps, as if someone had not pushed them up close enough to the house. Anyone who looked into the gap could see old
3、toys and books that had fallen into the crack behind the steps and had remained there, forever irretrievable (不能恢复的，无法挽救的).,2. Only a hook-type lock on the front door protected Grandmas many beautiful antiques. Her living room was set up like a church or schoolroom, with an old purple velvet couch a
4、gainst the far wall and two chairs immediately in front of the couch facing the same direction. One-half of the couch was always buried in old clothes, magazines, and newspapers, and a lone shoe sat atop the pile, a finishing touch to some bizarre modern sculpture. To one side was an aged and tunele
5、ss upright piano with yellowed keys. The ivory (象牙色) paint was missing so that the wood underneath showed through, and many of them made only a muffled (使声音减弱、沉闷) and frustrating thump (重击声), no matter how hard I pressed them. On the wall facing the piano was the rooms only window, draped (成褶地悬挂) wi
6、th yellowed lace curtains. Grandma always left that window open. I remember sitting near it, smelling the rain while the curtains tickled my face.),3. For no apparent reason, an old curtain hung in the door between the kitchen and the living room. In the kitchen, a large table always held at least a
7、 half-dozen varieties of homemade jelly (果子冻、肉冻), as well as a loaf of bread, gooseberry (醋栗果) pies or cherry (樱桃) pies with the pits left in, boxes of cereal, and anything else not requiring refrigeration, as if the table served as a small, portable pantry (食品室). Grandmas kitchen always smelled of
8、toast, and I often wondered - and still do - if she lived entirely on toast. A hole had eaten through the kitchen floor, not just the warped (变形的，弯曲的) yellow linoleum (亚麻油漆布/地毯), but all the way through the floor itself. My sisters and I never wanted to take a bath at Grandmas house, because we disc
9、overed that anyone who lay on the floor on his stomach and put one eye to the hole could see the bathtub, which was kept in the musty (发霉的、有霉味的) basement because the upstairs bathroom was too small.,4. The back bedroom was near the kitchen and adjacent to the basement stairs. I once heard one of my
10、aunts call that room a firetrap, and indeed it was. The room was wallpapered with the old newspapers Grandmas liked to collect, and the bed was stacked high with my mothers and aunts old clothes. There was no space between the furniture in that room, only a narrow path against one wall leading to th
11、e bed. A sideboard was shoved against the opposite wall; a sewing table was pushed up against the sideboard; a short chest of drawers lay against the sewing table; and so on. But no one could identify these pieces of forgotten furniture unless he dug through the sewing patterns, half-made dresses, d
12、ishes, and books. Any outsider would just think this was a part of the room where the floor had been raised to about waist-level, so thoroughly was the mass of furniture hidden.,5. Stepping off Grandmas sloping back porch was like stepping into an enchanted (使具有魔力的) forest. The grass and weeds were
13、hip-level, with a tiny dirt path leading to nowhere, as if it had lost its way in the jungle. A fancy white fence bordered the yard and vainly attempted to hold in the gooseberries, raspberries (悬钩子、覆盆子、树莓), and blackberries that grew wildly along the side of Grandmas yard. Huge crabapple (沙果、林檎、花红)
14、, cherry, and walnut (胡桃) trees shaded the house and hid the sky. I used to stand under them and look up, pretending to be deep in a magic forest. The ground was cool and damp under my bare feet, even in the middle of the day, and my head would fill with the sweet fragrance of mixed spring flowers a
15、nd throaty (喉部发音的) cooing of doves I could never find but could always hear. But, before long, the wind would shift, and the musty aroma (气味) of petroleum from a nearby refinery would jerk me back to reality.,6. Grandmas house is indeed a place for memories. Just as her decaying concrete steps store
16、 the treasures of many lost childhood, her house still stands, guarding the memories of generations of children and grandchildren.,What have you found in Essay 1?,1. My most vivid childhood memories are set in my Grandmas house, a curious blend of familiar and mysterious treasures. Grandma lived at
17、the end of a dead-end street, in the same house she had lived in since the first day of her marriage. That was half a century ago. A set of crumbly (易碎的，松碎的) steps made of concrete mixed with gravel led up to her front door. I remember a big gap between the house and the steps, as if someone had not
18、 pushed them up close enough to the house. Anyone who looked into the gap could see old toys and books that had fallen into the crack behind the steps and had remained there, forever irretrievable (不能恢复的，无法挽救的).,Writers point of view or perspective; Pointing out what to describe with a dominant impr
19、ession in the thesis statement.,General description of where and when; Detail 1- steps to the house: comparison (simile and sight); comment,3. For no apparent reason, an old curtain hung in the door between the kitchen and the living room. In the kitchen, a large table always held at least a half-do
20、zen varieties of homemade jelly (果子冻、肉冻), as well as a loaf of bread, gooseberry (醋栗果) pies or cherry (樱桃) pies with the pits left in, boxes of cereal, and anything else not requiring refrigeration, as if the table served as a small, portable pantry (食品室). Grandmas kitchen always smelled of toast, a
21、nd I often wondered- and still do- if she lived entirely on toast. A hole had eaten through the kitchen floor, not just the warped (变形的，弯曲的) yellow linoleum (亚麻油漆布/地毯), but all the way through the floor itself. My sisters and I never wanted to take a bath at Grandmas house, because we discovered tha
22、t anyone who lay on the floor on his stomach and put one eye to the hole could see the bathtub, which was kept in the musty (发霉的、有霉味的) basement because the upstairs bathroom was too small.,Detail 3- the kitchen: comparison (simile) and taste, sight and smell,Detailed description: a large table with
23、varieties of food; the smell; a hole; comment,2. Only a hook-type lock on the front door protected Grandmas many beautiful antiques. Her living room was set up like a church or schoolroom, with an old purple velvet couch against the far wall and two chairs immediately in front of the couch facing th
24、e same direction. One-half of the couch was always buried in old clothes, magazines, and newspapers, and a lone shoe sat atop the pile, a finishing touch to some bizarre modern sculpture. To one side was an aged and tuneless upright piano with yellowed keys. The ivory (象牙色) paint was missing so that
25、 the wood underneath showed through, and many of them made only a muffled (使声音减弱、沉闷) and frustrating thump (重击声), no matter how hard I pressed them. On the wall facing the piano was the rooms only window, draped (成褶地悬挂) with yellowed lace curtains. Grandma always left that window open. I remember si
26、tting near it, smelling the rain while the curtains tickled my face.,Detail 2- her living room: comparison (simile & metaphor) and sight, sound, smell and touch .,Detailed description: the couch; the piano; the window and his memories; Connectives: one-half.; to one side. ; on the wall,4. The back b
27、edroom was near the kitchen and adjacent to the basement stairs. I once heard one of my aunts call that room a firetrap, and indeed it was. The room was wallpapered with the old newspapers Grandmas liked to collect, and the bed was stacked high with my mothers and aunts old clothes. There was no spa
28、ce between the furniture in that room, only a narrow path against one wall leading to the bed. A sideboard was shoved against the opposite wall; a sewing table was pushed up against the sideboard; a short chest of drawers lay against the sewing table; and so on. But no one could identify these piece
29、s of forgotten furniture unless he dug through the sewing patterns, half-made dresses, dishes, and books. Any outsider would just think this was a part of the room where the floor had been raised to about waist-level, so thoroughly was the mass of furniture hidden.,Detail 4- The back bedroom: compar
30、ison (simile) and taste, sight and smell,Detailed description: the location and the appearance of the room; a side board; a sewing table; chest of drawers; comment,5. Stepping off Grandmas sloping back porch was like stepping into an enchanted (使具有魔力的) forest. The grass and weeds were hip-level, wit
31、h a tiny dirt path leading to nowhere, as if it had lost its way in the jungle. A fancy white fence bordered the yard and vainly attempted to hold in the gooseberries, raspberries (悬钩子、覆盆子、树莓), and blackberries that grew wildly along the side of Grandmas yard. Huge crabapple (沙果、林檎、花红), cherry, and
32、walnut (胡桃) trees shaded the house and hid the sky. I used to stand under them and look up, pretending to be deep in a magic forest. The ground was cool and damp under my bare feet, even in the middle of the day, and my head would fill with the sweet fragrance of mixed spring flowers and throaty (喉部
33、发音的) cooing of doves I could never find but could always hear. But, before long, the wind would shift, and the musty aroma (气味) of petroleum from a nearby refinery would jerk me back to reality.,Detail 4- enchanted forest: comparison (simile) and sight, touch and smell,Detailed description: The gras
34、s and weeds; a fence; trees; the ground; feelings,6. Grandmas house is indeed a place for memories. Just as her decaying concrete steps store the treasures of many lost childhood, her house still stands, guarding the memories of generations of children and grandchildren.,Summary: dominant impression
35、 rephrased,Discussion about Essay 1?,Is the description objective or subjective? What is the writers dominant impression of the house? In what order does the author describe the house? What particular features does the author intend to show? What types of details does he/she choose? How is it organi
36、zed? What is the function of each organizational element? What are the lexical and grammatical features? What is the reason/purpose of writing down the memories?,Analysis of Essay 1?,Organization and function of each element: Beginning (Para 1) Introducing the place to describe with general/ dominan
37、t impression, and starting description of the door steps. Middle (Paras 2-5) Describing the impressive parts of the house: Her living room The kitchen The back bedroom The enchanted forest End: resolution/ result/ climax: Ts statement End (Para 6) Dominant impression rephrased.,Lexical, grammatical
38、and textual features: Lexically, most nouns are very specific, used to describe rooms, furniture, foods, plants, and other household utensils; Verbs used are mostly be, see, look, smell, find, set, stand, etc. Structurally: most sentences started with parts or possessions of the house, and prepositi
39、onal phrases indicating location, as: A set of crumbly steps, Her living room, To one side, on the , etc. Textually, each paragraph, except the last one, is devoted to the description of one particular feature of the house. And there are special devices to connect the paragraphs in the middle part o
40、f the essay.,Focus: The curious blend of familiar and mysterious treasures of the house. Purpose: Share with the readers the dominant personal impression on his/her grandmothers house in his/her memories.,Summary,Description of a place is supposed to follow a clear spatial order, either from distanc
41、e to vicinity or vice versa, or from left to right, from top to bottom or vice versa. This essay follows the spatial order, movement of the author leading the readers to visit the most outstanding features of the house. The function of the first sentence of each para.: natural movement and connectio
42、n of paragraphs. In this descriptive essay, the author makes effective use of sensory details to create her dominant impression of the house, thus, readers being shown where the items are located from the writers point of view. The author use the carefully chosen specific details to “show” rather “t
43、ell” us about her childhood reminiscences, which are significant in her life.,Assignment,Read the other essays in the group of Place, and try to generalize features of this group. Try to think of a place to describe, such as: My Apartment My Home The East Market Our University Campusby deciding on your reason/purpose, creating a dominant impression, presenting a clear spatial order and choosing sensory details.,
