1、Unit 5,Web (III)John Wyndham,Background Information,The “great ball of fire” mentioned in the story must be produced by a nuclear explosion, and the “poison dust” refers to the nuclear fallout 放射尘;(核爆炸后的)沉降物. Fallout is the residual(存留下来的) radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion, so named because
2、it “falls out” of the atmosphere into which it is spread during the explosion.,It commonly refers to the radioactive(放射性的) dust created when a nuclear weapon explodes. This radioactive dust, consisting of hot particles, is a kind of radioactive contamination （污染）. It can lead to contamination of the
3、 food chain. Fallout can also refer to the dust or debris （残骸） that results from the nuclear explosion. A nuclear explosion vaporizes （使蒸发） any material within the fireball, including the ground if it is nearby, and this is combined with residual ionizing（使电离） radiation to produce fallout.,A wide ra
4、nge of biological changes may follow the irradiation （辐射） of animals. These vary from rapid death following high doses of penetrating whole-body radiation, to long-term radiation effects. Late or delayed effects of radiation occur following a wide range of radiation doses and dose rates. Delayed eff
5、ects may appear months to years after irradiation and include a wide variety of effects involving almost all tissues (人，动植物的）组织 or organs.,Some of the possible delayed consequences of radiation injury are life shortening, carcinogenesis （致癌作用）, cataract（白内障） formation, chronic（长期的；难以治愈的） radiodermat
6、itis（放射性皮炎）, decreased fertility （生殖力）, and genetic mutations（基因突变）.,Further Information on Text-Related Details,1. King George V (1865-1936):,King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and emperor of India from 1910 to 1936.,2. the Governor:,an official appointed by the British monarch (or in fact
7、the cabinet) to oversee one of his colonies andwas the (sometimes notional理论上的) head of thecolonial administration. Today crown colonies of the United Kingdom continue to be administered by a governor, who holds varying degrees of power. Because of the different constitutional histories of the forme
8、r colonies of the United Kingdom, the term “Governor” now refers to officials with differing amounts of power.,Contemporary stained glass window at the Melkite Catholic cathedral in Roslindale, Massachusetts depicting an angel stopping Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac,offering of the life of a
9、 human being to a god. In some ancient cultures, the killing of a human being, or the substitution of an animal for a person, was an attempt to commune with the god and to participate in the divine life. It also sometimes served as an attempt to placate (抚慰) the god and expiate (赎罪) the sins of peop
10、le.,3. human sacrifice:,4. the Foreign (and Commonwealth) Office:,the British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad.,5. bomb test (monitoring):,Explosions large enough will create earthquake that are easily detected by seismometers (地震探测仪器) thousa
11、nds of kilometers away. It is generally possible to distinguish earthquakes caused by explosions from naturally occurring earthquakes along faults.,Difficult Points of the Text,1. They discovered the insecticide, smelt it, nodded and poured it on the ground. (Line 6) “Take you clothes off,” he said,
12、 in English. (Line 11) Why did they pour the insecticide into the ground? Why did he ask Arnold and Camilla to take off their clothes?,Without the insecticide and their clothes, it would be impossible for Camilla and Arnold to run away.,2. He told the Tanakuatuans that something was going to happen
13、to the east of the island. A great ball of fire, brighter than a hundred suns, would rise from the ocean. It would be so hot that trees would be burnt and the eyes of anyone who saw it would be damaged. After the fire ball had died, it would leave poison dust in the air which would kill any person i
14、t fell on. (Line 61) Can you guess what was going to happen to the east of the island from the description? From the description we can guess that a nuclear experiment would be taken to the east of the island.,3. The news was received quietly, because the islanders were too shocked to believe that t
15、hey heard correctly. (Line 74) Paraphrase this sentence.,The islanders didnt make any protest when they heard the news, because they were too shocked to believe it.,4. Nokiki did not believe this talk of return. (Line 86) Why didnt Nokiki believe this talk of return?,Nokiki thought the King was only
16、 lying to get the island from them.,5. “Ive warned them,” he said, and walked to the ship. (Line 111) What did he imply by saying that? He implied that they would be in great danger.,6. Nokiki decided that it had been the capture of Tanakuatua by his own people that had been the beginning of the end
17、. (Line 129) Explain the sentence. Nokiki thought since their capture of the island, some evil there had made his people weaker and less proud. That is to say, his people had been doomed to meet this fate since the beginning of their life on the island because of their capture of the island.,7. He k
18、new what he had to do. (Line 137) What did he have to do?,He had to set a curse on the island and sacrifice himself to the highest god of all, Nakaa.,8. , he chose a place and ordered the others to build an altar. By midday Nokiki begin to dig a hole beside it, (Line 145) Why did he ask the others t
19、o build an altar? What was the hole for?,He asked the others to build an altar so that he could pray and make the sacrifice there. He dug the hole to bury his own body after he killed himself.,9. The others had never heard such a deep, terrible curse (Line 164) What is the meaning of “deep” here?,“D
20、eep” here means “intense and serious”.,10. when the ghosts of such people came to be judged that they should be refused entrance to the Happy Land. (Line 168) When would they be judged and by whom? Whats the Happy Land?,At their death, they would be judged by God. The Happy Land refers to heaven.,11
21、. “When he has judged, he has judged ” (Line 186) Paraphrase this sentence.,When he had made a judgment, it would not be changed.,12. until news came that a white man was flying in to have a look. (Line 194)Who was the white man?He was Lord Foxfield.,13. To help the Little Sisters. (Line 217) Who we
22、re the Little Sisters? Why did Naeta call them the Little Sisters? The Little Sisters refer to the spiders. Naeta thought the spiders had been caused by Nakka to come from the dead body of his father. Therefore, the spiders were sisters and brothers to him.,14. “ I saw my belt in the fire.” (Line 27
23、0)What can you infer from this?Their clothes had been burnt by the islanders.,15. The first thing we saw when we reached the beach was our small boat out at sea. (Line 307)Why was their small boat out at sea?The islanders took their boat and sailed away in it.,16. “The spiders,” he repeated, looking
24、 at her hard. (Line 400)Why did he look at her hard?He didnt believe her.,17. “Named, for the moment, Araneus Nokiki.” (Line 456) Why were the Little Sisters given this name?,Because, according to what the islanders said, they had come from the dead body of Nokiki.,18. Naturally enough, we were neve
25、r called. (Line 470) Why were they never called?,They were never called because the government didnt want the news to spread and the matter was settled out of court.,Key to Multiple-Choice Questions.,1. A 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. A,Suggested Versions of Translation Exercise,1. Now they were reduced to the
26、frightened creatures he had seen being led like sheep to the ship earlier that day. (Line 134) 现在他们已经沦为战战兢兢的可怜虫。那天早些时候他看到他们像绵羊一样被乖乖地赶到船上。,2. The moon shone on Nokikis cheeks. It shone on tears of shame and anger for a world that had gone. (Line 135) 月光照在诺奇奇的脸上，照在为一个已经逝去的世界流下的羞愧和愤怒的泪水上。,3. Already th
27、ey are setting out on winds which will take them to all corners of the earth. They will carry the curse there, and that will be Nakaas revenge. (Line 233) 它们已经出发了，风把它们带到地球上任何一个角落。它们会把诅咒带到那里，这就是纳卡阿的复仇。,4. I began to have a feeling that they were prepared to sit there until the ring of the insecticide
28、 we were using as a barrier to lost its power, and that thousands of them would then pour across. (Line 342) 我开始觉得它们会一直守候在那里，直到我们用作保护圈的杀虫剂失去效力。那时，成千上万的蜘蛛会一拥而入。,Key to Text-Related Questions:,1. How was the island take away from the islanders? The governor of the region told the islanders that a big
29、explosion to the east of the island would endanger their life. Therefore they should leave their home and move to a safe place for a short time.,2. Who was Nokiki?Why did he put a curse on the island? Nokiki was the head medicine man. He put a curse on the island because he thought the island had de
30、stroyed his people.,3. Whats the islanders plan to help the Little Sisters?Describe how they carried out the plan. Their plan was to help the spiders to kill the Project members.,3. Whats the islanders plan to help the Little Sisters?Describe how they carried out the plan. Their plan was to help the
31、 spiders to kill the Project members. They damaged the Project members radio so that they wouldnt be able to ask for help. They carried a bag of spiders into the settlement during the night, which resulted in the death of all the Project members there.,4. How did Arnold and Camilla manage to escape
32、death?They found that the islanders used some sharp-smelling oil to protect themselves against the spiders. After the islanders had left, they found the plant from which the oil was made, and pressed enough juice to protect themselves on their walk back to the settlement. When they returned to the s
33、ettlement, the islanders were already gone, and other Project members had been killed during the night.,How were they saved at last? People in London were worried about the Project members. So first a plane was sent to the island, and then a ship, which rescued them from the cursed place.,5. What ha
34、ppened to the island finally?What do you think of the report of the eruption? It was reported in newspapers that Tanakuatua erupted, killing any life on it. However, we may doubt it, since reports from Tokyo, Moscow and San Francisco said bombs were being tested in the Tanakuatua region.,6. At the e
35、nd of the story, Arnold received a bottle of spirit containing a Little Sister from Camilla. Where did she find it? What can you infer from this? She found it in Peru. This implied that the spiders had found a way to leave the island and reached other parts of the world. The world was still in danger.,Questions for discussion,1. Lord Foxfields Project failed. Without the spiders, do you think it would have any chance of succeeding? Give your reasons. 2. Who do you feel more sympathetic towards, Arnold and Camilla, or the islanders who took them prisoner? Give your reasons.,
