综合英语unit 13

I. Main idea What is the story narrated in the text about? This narrative essay narrates and describes an unusual and unforgettable phase of the writer’s life, during which she experienced deep depression, voluntarily received clinical treatment, conquered the illness in the end, and benefited a great deal from the experiences associated with her suffering. II. Structural analysis 1. How are the events of the essay arranged? The narration mostly follows a chronological order, but a few flashbacks are inserted in Paragraph 3 and 6. 2. Work out the structure of the text by completing the table. Paragraph(s) Main idea 1-3 It provides the background of the story, telling us about the writer and her family and her problem. 4-10 The writer related her experiences with deep depression, including her attitude and reactions to it, focusing on her positive attitude and how she got better and finally recovered. 11 It describes the writer’s mood and feeling on a moon-lit, starry night, and stresses that her deep depression had been worth it, for suffering had painted color into her life, and that she was thankful.     Text I          The Light of Depression Alice Johnson 1.     Twice, I have seen my father cry. The first time, I was 12, and my sister, Jenny, was She was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and needed further testing. When we arrived at the hospital, my dad walked around to her side of the car, gathered her into his arms and held her. None of us understood what was happening to my sister’s body, but when I heard my strong dad’s voice break with tears, I knew we were on a new and unexpected path. 2.     Almost 10 years later, in the fall following my college graduation, I was the one my father gathered into his arms. At 22, I was diagnosed with clinical depression and voluntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital. At a time in my life when the world was supposed to be opening up to me, I found myself retreating. Apathetic, uncaring, tired, and with no particular vision for any future, I drifted into a world without hope. My family and I knew I needed help. 3.     As a child, I had great passion for life. The simplest of pleasures brought unexplainable joy. I seldom demonstrated a melancholic personality. In fact, my parents learned that birthdays, Christmas and any reason for celebration would find me in excitement. I loved life, and I loved being alive. When depression struck, I was dropped into a world where wearing my own skin was foreign and ill-fitting. 4.     My mom says that one of the hardest days of her life was the day I checked into the hospital. My personal belongings were rummaged through, and I headed down the long hallway to doctors and a treatment team that became my “family” for the next month. Her drive home, leaving me behind, was heartbreaking. She was left to wonder and guess at why her daughter was in so much pain and why she couldn’t fix it this time. 5.     I was numb, trying to see through a haze that had settled upon what once was vivid and bright. All color had seeped from a life that used to hold such joy. Some people didn’t understand my depression. They regarded it as a bad case of the Sunday evening blues believing that if I tried harder and stopped feeling sorry for myself, I would “get better.” But I wasn’t just dealing with apathy toward routine. I couldn’t remedy being sick with a strenuous run, a good movie, or simply the passing of time. Depression transcended my circumstances and invaded my soul. It was more like a day terror —like waking up to a nightmare. Clinical depression painted my world black while screaming quietly that I was worthless. 6.     I remember driving home from work the week before I checked into the hospital. My co-workers hadn’t noticed any difference in my performance or behavior. I was great at keeping up appearances. I was good at performing. But that evening, I recall wishing I weren’t alive, wishing my car would turn down an empty road and I could disappear. Upon arriving home, I headed straight for my room and slipped under my covers, hoping to sleep. I wanted to escape life because it hurt to breathe. 7.     By the end of my first week at the hospital, I had made up my mind to leave. It wasn’t working. I packed my bags, headed to the front desk, and announced that I was calling my parents to come and pick me up. But my treatment team told me I needed to stay. Defeated and scared, I returned to my room, unpacked my bags and cried myself to sleep. It was time to get honest with myself. 8.     I was angry. Me, happy Alice, with so much going for her. Stripped of the world’s accolades, it didn’t matter what school I had attended, where I had vacationed, what awards I had won. It didn’t matter who I knew, didn’t know, or thought I knew. What mattered to those surrounding me was that I was honest about my feelings. They didn’t have to be pretty. I didn’t have to look good. I could just be — and that was enough. 9.     It was the kindness, sympathy, love and truth demonstrated in the hospital that began unlocking my wounds, hurts and distorted thinking. I was learning from the worn lives around me. Lives I would have once felt pity for or wanted to distance myself from. They were the ones who possessed strength and courage. They had suffered abuse, neglect, addiction and illnesses. They felt misplaced and forgotten; they were told they didn’t matter. I came from a family filled with love, but as I and others in my hospital “family” shared our suffering, I found I needed their love. 10.     Getting help and getting rid of the junk cluttering my mind were part of getting better. Hope came gradually, and with small steps slowly returned feeling and clarity. I was changing. My thinking was being altered. I was given a truer sense of who I was: a young woman who needed to be loved for herself, not for what she could offer — not for how she could make you feel. Being honest in the hidden places of my heart. Taking personal responsibility. And slowly, the desire to live, the courage to want to live, began to return. Once truth reveals deception, the lie can no longer deceive unless we choose to let it. 11.     A year and a half after my release from the hospital, I drove along a country road. The moon was bright. The stars brighter. Snow gave a fresh milky coat to the trees, and the night air was full and dark. I felt so alive. I hadn’t believed there would ever be something good enough or rich enough to make up for the pain and darkness I had known. My pain had been deep. But on this quiet stretch of road, I knew it had all been worth it. I knew that life was different because of my experience. Suffering had painted color into my life, and I could be thankful. Paragraphs 1-3 Questions 1. The writer stresses at the very beginning that when her sister was suffering from juvenile diabetes, her father cried bitterly for the first time. When do you think her father cried for the second time? (Paragraph 2) It is not difficult to infer that the writer’s father cried for the second time when the writer was diagnosed with clinical depression. 2. Would you describe the writer’s personality as a child before she was seized with depression? (Paragraph 3) As a child, the writer had a great passion for life and enjoyed being alive. The simplest of pleasures brought her great joy. She seldom demonstrated a melancholic personality. Any reason for celebration would find her in great excitement. Words and Expressions 1. diagnose: v. 1) find out the nature of an illness by observing its symptoms e.g. The illness was diagnosed as measles. 2) find out what the cause of a fault is, after doing tests, examinations, etc. e.g. The book diagnoses our present economic ills, explaining what is wrong with the economy. Derivation: diagnosis: n. Collocations: diagnose sb. as (having) sth. e.g. Joe struggled in school before he was diagnosed as dyslexic. diagnose sth. as sth. e.g. The illness was diagnosed as mumps. diagnose sb.with sth. e.g. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. Translation: The doctor has diagnosed the illness as heart disease. 医生把此病诊断为心脏病。 We should diagnose key technical challenge and problem in the project. 我们应解决项目中的关键问题和技术难题。 2. find oneself doing sth.: do a particular thing, or realize that this is happening, esp. when one did not expect or intend it; do sth. without intending to do so e.g. After wandering around, we found ourselves coming back to the hotel. When he left, Karen found herself heaving a huge sigh of relief. Translation: 我醒来却发现自己躺在地板上。 When I woke up, I found myself lying on the floor. 我发现自己竟然身不由己地又参与了一次无聊的争论。 I found myself being drawn into another boring argument. 3. drift: v. 1) move slowly on water or in the air e.g. The rubber raft drifted out to sea. 2) move, change, or do sth. without any plan or purpose e.g. Jenny spent the year drifting around Europe. 3) gradually change from being in one condition, situation, etc., into another without realizing it e.g. She was just drifting into sleep when the alarm went off. Collocations: drift out/towards drift around/along drift into drift away Derivation: drift: n. Translation: 成千上万只灯笼慢慢漂向大海。 Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea. 让过去随着河水流逝吧。 Let the past drift away with the water. 4. demonstrate: v. 1) show sth. clearly by giving proof or evidence e.g. The study demonstrates the link between poverty and malnutrition. 2) show or be an example of sth. e.g. They'll be demonstrating how to handle modern, high performance cars. Derivations: demonstration: n. demonstrative: adj. 5. melancholic: adj. characterized by or causing or expressing sadness e.g. With a melancholic nature, she often suffers from depression. That doctoral candidate possessed a melancholic personality, which is perhaps why he failed to finish. Derivation: melancholy: n. Sentences 1. … I knew we were on a new and unexpected path. (Paragraph 1) Paraphrase:... I realized that her illness was going to change her life and ours in a direction we had not expected. Translation: ……我知道我们踏上了一条新的无法预知的路。 2. At a time in my life when the world was supposed to be opening up to me, I found myself retreating. Apathetic, uncaring, tired, and with no particular vision for any future, I drifted into a world without hope. (Paragraph 2) Paraphrase: At an age when I expected the world should be opening its arms to welcome me, I found myself drifting away. Uninterested in anything, tired of life and having lost any purpose in life, I was unconsciously developing a mental illness in which I experienced deep hopelessness and worthlessness. Translation: 曾几何时，世界向我敞开怀抱，可我却退缩了。冷漠、麻木、疲惫，看不见未来，我漂浮在一个没有希望的世界。 3...., I was dropped into a world where wearing my own skin was foreign and ill-fitting. (Paragraph 3) Paraphrase: ..., I suffered from a terrible illness in which I was even suspicious of my own identity. Translation: ……，我落到了一个世界，在这里坚持自我却显得与周围格格不入。 Paragraphs 4-10 Questions: 1. Why was the day the writer checked into the hospital considered to be one of the hardest days of her mother’s life?(Paragraph 4) Leaving her daughter behind at the hospital, the author's mother was seized with extreme sadness, feeling heart-broken. She wondered why her daughter was experiencing so much pain and couldn’t get over it this time. 2. What is the main idea of Paragraph 6? Illustrate or exemplify it. (Paragraph 6) Paragraph 6 proves how deep the writer's depression had been before she was admitted into the hospital. While driving home from work before she was ill, she wished that she weren’t alive. When she arrived home, she had hoped to sleep and escape life because it hurt to breathe. 3. Which part in Paragraph 9 is a sentence fragment? Why is it separated from the previous sentence? (Paragraph 9) "Lives I would have once felt pity for or wanted to distance myself from" is a sentence fragment. It is separated from the foregoing sentence for emphasis. 4. What do you know about other patients from whose worn lives the writer was learning? (Paragraphs 9-10) They were the ones who possessed strength and courage and had suffered abuse, neglect, addiction and illnesses. They felt misplaced and forgotten. They shared their suffering with the writer. Also, they helped the writer get a truer sense of who she was, see through deception and realize and grasp the truth. Words and Expressions 6. rummage: vt. turn things over or disarrange them while searching for sth. else e.g. When I entered her house, she was rummaging through the contents of a drawer for something. Mother was rummaging around in the attic for an old family album. Collocations: rummage in/through Derivation: rummage: n. 7. numb: adj. without the power to feel or move; (fig) emotionally incapable of thinking e.g. My fingers were so numb that I could hardly write. She was completely numb with terror. Derivation: numb: v. Translation: His mind has been numbed. 他已麻木不仁。 I don't feel so cold now; but heavy and numb. 我现在感到不那么冷了，只是觉得困乏，浑身僵硬。 8. haze: n. thin mist; (fig) mental confusion or uncertainty e.g. Things were covered with a haze on that early spring morning. She did not speak clearly about it, because her mind was in a complete haze. Collocations: a haze of in a haze Derivation: haze: vt. 9. settle (up) on/over sth.: come to rest on sth.; stay on sth. for some time e.g. The bird settled on a branch. Clouds have settled over the mountaintops. A tense silence has settled over the waiting crowd. 10. apathy: n. the feeling of not being interested in sth., and not willing to make any effort to change or improve things; lack of interest, enthusiasm or concern e.g. The campaign failed because of public apathy. She heard the story with apathy. 她无动于衷地听了这个故事。 Derivation: apathetic: adj. Antonym: sympathy 11. routine: n. a fixed and regular way of doing things; the usual order in which you do things e.g. She found it difficult to establish a new routine after retirement. John’s departure had upset their daily routine. Collocation: get into a routine: develop a fixed order of doing things Derivation: routine: adj. 12. remedy: vt. put right; deal with a problem or improve a bad situation; provide a remedy for sth. undesirable; rectify e.g. To remedy the environment, the water must be chemically treated. We must remedy injustices. If I made a mistake, I will try to remedy it.  Derivation: remedy: n. e.g. The mistake is beyond/past remedy. (The mistake cannot be put right.) Synonym: put right 13. transcend: vt. (fml) go beyond the usual limits of sth.; go beyond the range (of human experience, belief, powers of description, etc.); be much better or greater than sb./sth. e.g. One never can see the thing in itself, because the mind does not transcend phenomena. 一个人永远不可能认识事物自身的本质，因为思想无法超越现象。 Such matters transcend man’s knowledge. She far transcends the others in beauty and intelligence. Synonym: surpass 14. invade: vt. 1) enter a country or territory with armed forces in order to attack, damage, or occupy it e.g. The Romans invaded Britain 2000 years ago. 2) (fig) enter sth. in large numbers, esp. to cause damage e.g. Every summer the town is invaded by tourists. 3) get involved in something in an unwanted and annoying way e.g. What right does he have to invade my privacy? Synonyms: crowd into intrude on Derivations: invasion: n. invader: n. 15. strip sb. of sth.:  take away (honor, property, etc.) from sb. e.g. The general was stripped of his rank and title. Synonym: deprive sb. of sth. 16. distort: vt. 1) change sth. so that it is strange or unclear e.g. Tall buildings can distort radio signals. 2) report sth. in a way that is not completely true or correct e.g. His account was badly distorted by the press. 3) change a situation from the way it would naturally be e.g. an expensive subsidy which distorts the market Derivations: distorted: adj. distortion: n. 17. distance oneself from sb./sth.: not approve of sb./sth.; not become involved with sb./sth.; stay away far enough from sb./sth. to be safe e.g. She needs to distance herself from some of her more extreme supporters. You need to distance yourself from the situation for a little while first Derivation: distance: n. 18. abuse: n. wrong or bad use or treatment of sb./sth.; unjust or corrupt practice e.g. Drug abuse and child abuse, as well as abuse of privilege and authority, are common problems in modern society. Many children suffer racial abuse at school. Derivation: abuse: vt. Exercise: Choose the best answer to complete the following sentence. It has been revealed that some government leaders ______ their authority and position to get illegal profits for themselves. A. employ      B. take      C. abuse     D. overlook ( C) 19. addiction: n. condition of drinking alcohol, smoking, taking drugs, etc. habitually, and being unable to stop doing so without suffering e.g. Another cause of hopelessness is addiction to drugs. Collocation: addiction to Derivations: addict: vi. addict: n. someone who is very interested in something and spends a lot of time doing it addictive: adj. addicted: adj. 20. alter: vt. change or make sb./sth. change; become different; change in character, position, size, shape, etc. e.g. Her face had not altered much over the years. The city centre has altered beyond recognition. Sentences 1.    I was numb, trying to see through a haze that had settled upon what once was vivid and bright. All color had seeped from a life that used to hold such joy. (Paragraph 5) Paraphrase: I was unable to feel anything, trying to understand what had changed my promising life completely. I had gradually lost interest in a life that used to bring such happiness and pleasure. Translation: 我已经麻木，试图去看透笼罩在那些曾经生动、明快事物上的阴霾。所有的色彩已经从那曾经充满快乐的生命中渗尽了。 2.    But I wasn’t just dealing with apathy toward routine. I couldn’t remedy being sick with a strenuous run, a good movie, or simply the passing of time. Depression transcended my circumstances and invaded my soul. (Paragraph 5) Paraphrase: Yet I wasn’t just coping with my lack of interest in daily activities. I couldn’t hope to recover from my mental illness by taking vigorous exercise, watching a good movie, or simply doing something to pass the time. Depression caused not only physical weakness but it went deep into my mind, affecting the way I felt and thought. 3.    Clinical depression painted my world black while screaming quietly that I was worthless. (Paragraph 5) Paraphrase: Clinical depression deprived me of any hope and made me feel that I was a totally useless person. Translation: 临床忧郁症将我的世界涂得漆黑一片，它无声地呐喊着我的卑微。 4.    I wanted to escape life because it hurt to breathe. (Paragraph 6) Paraphrase: I wanted to stay away from other people, and even to commit suicide, because even just existing seemed too painful to bear. Translation: 我想逃离生命因为呼吸就是痛苦。 5.    Stripped of the world's accolades, it didn’t matter what school I had attended, … (Paragraph 8) Paraphrase: Deprived of what a normal life could offer in terms of praise and recognition, it was no longer of any importance what school I had attended, … 6.    It was the kindness, sympathy, love and truth demonstrated in the hospital that began unlocking my wounds, hurts and distorted thinking. I was learning from the worn lives around me. (Paragraph 9) Paraphrase: In the hospital I experienced kindness, compassion, love and knowledge about the illness. All this enabled me to begin to discover the causes of my illness, my emotional pain and irrational thinking. I was learning from other patients around me to find ways to deal with my own problem. Translation: 在医院里，那些友善、同情、爱和真诚开始解释我的伤痛和扭曲的思想。我开始从身边那些病友身上学习。 7.    Getting help and getting rid of the junk cluttering my mind were part of getting better. (Paragraph 10) Paraphrase: Enjoying help and doing away with the symptoms of a nervous breakdown were part of my recovery. Translation: 寻求帮助和除去那些堵塞我思想的垃圾成为恢复的一部分。 8.    Once truth reveals deception, the lie can no longer deceive unless we choose to let it. (Paragraph 10) Paraphrase: As soon as truth unveils something deceptive, the falsehood will produce no more effect unless we still allow it. Translation: 一旦事实拆穿假象，谎言将无法蒙蔽，除非我们选择如此。 Paragraph 11 Questions 1. What symbolic meaning is conveyed by the bright night described at the end of the text? The exceptionally bright night with the bright moon and brighter stars symbolizes a cheerful life the writer is enjoying and a very bright future that she could look forward to. 2. Why does the writer say that she could be thankful? Because her deep depression had been worth it and she benefited a lot from it. The writer had gained a wealth of experience and had been able to look at life in a new light. Suffering had painted color into her life, and rendered her life entirely different. Words and Expressions 21. release: n. setting free e.g. Lincoln proclaimed the release of the slaves. After the examination I had a feeling of release. Simon has obtained early release from prison. Collocation: release from Derivation: release: vt. 22. make up for sth.: compensate for sth.; make a bad situation better, or replace sth. that has been lost; have so much of one quality that it is not important that you do not have much of another one e.g. I don’t eat breakfast, but I make up for it at lunch. What Jay lacked in experience, he made up for in enthusiasm. Nothing can make up for what they have suffered.  什么都不能补偿他们所受的痛苦。 Exercise: Choose the best answer to complete the following sentence. Hard work can often________ a lack of intelligence. A. make up for  B. make up  C. make out    D. make into (A) Sentence Suffering had painted color into my life, … (Paragraph 11) Paraphrase: Suffering from the illness made my life more meaningful and more rewarding, … Translation: 苦难使我的生活更多姿多彩，…… Direction: Story Relay Direction: Students are divided into four groups. One group makes a sentence as the beginning of a story and the second group makes another sentence to continue the story, and so do the third and fourth group. Once the group uses the word which has been used before, the group will lose the game. Rules: 1) Each sentence should include at least one word or phrase provided below. 2) The story as a whole should be logically organized. 3) The content of the story should be related to depression. Words and phrases for reference diagnose, find oneself doing sth,  drift,  demonstrate,  melancholic, numb, in a haze, apathy, routine, remedy, transcend, invade, strip sb. of sth., distance oneself from sb./sth., abuse, addiction, alter, release, make up for sth. . Vocabulary Analysis 1. Phrase practice 1. apathy toward = indifference towards 对……很冷漠, 对……不感兴趣 e.g. The child’s apathy toward mathematics worries his parents. 孩子对数学不感兴趣，这让他父母很担心。 Media is apathy toward women’s sports. 媒体对女性运动不感兴趣。 2. keep up appearances = pretend to be oneself when in difficulties 保持体面 e.g. I am old enough by now not to care what others think, but keeping up appearances is somehow ingrained. 我现在很老了，已不在乎别人想什么了，但还是改不了喜欢装门面的习惯。 We should get down to doing other things than keeping up appearances. 比起装门面，我们应该做点别的事情。 3. distance oneself from = stay away from 远离 e.g. Should adult authors distance themselves from children’s books? 成年作家不应该写孩子的吗？ They tried to get rid of this foolish custom. 他们努力的要除去这种愚蠢的习俗。 2. Word comparison 1. addiction: an addiction to sth. is a very strong desire or need for it e.g. He needed money to fed his addiction to gambling. addict: a person who can’t stop doing or using sth., especially sth. harmful e.g. I am a shopping addict. addictive: if a substance, especially a drug, is addictive, your body need it regularly and you are unable to stop taking it e.g. Tobacco is highly addictive. 2. apathy: you can use "apathy" to talk about someone’s state of mind if you are criticizing them because they do not seem to be interested in or enthusiastic about anything e.g. After a short burst of enthusiasm, she relapsed into her usual apathy. antipathy: (an example of ) strong dislike, opposition or anger e.g. Despite the deep antipathies between them, the two sides have managed to negotiate an agreement. sympathy: the feeling of being sorry for someone who is in a bad situation e.g. I have a lot of sympathy for her; she had to bring up the children on her own. empathy: the ability to share another person’s feelings and emotions as if they were your own e.g. Having begun my life in a children’s home, I have great empathy with the little ones. 3. depression: a mental state in which you are sad and feel that you can’t enjoy anything, because your situation is so difficult and unpleasant e.g. Her feeling of depression was transient. impression: the opinion or feeling you have about someone because of the way they seem e.g. Arriving late won’t create a very favorable impression. suppression: prevention  e.g. They fought back heroically against its bloody suppression. compression: the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together e.g. The compression of the wood is easily achieved. 4. invade: to enter an area of activity in a forceful and noticeable way e.g. Maria looks set to invade the music scene with her style and image. reinforce: to give support to an opinion, idea or feeling and make it stronger  e.g. The film reinforces the idea that women should be pretty and dumb. enter: when you enter a place such as a room or building, you go into it or come into it e.g. As soon as I entered, they stopped and turned my way. await: to wait for or be waiting for something e.g. He’s anxiously awaiting his test result. 5. neglect: when you do not give enough care or attention or the state of not receiving enough care or attention  e.g. Over the years the church has fallen into a state of neglect. care: the process of looking after someone, especially because they are ill, old or very young e.g. Both the young parents share the care of the children. concern: the worry about a situation e.g. The political leaders all express concern about reports of political violence in this region. worry: a problem that makes you feel unhappy and afraid e.g. Keeping warm in the winter is a major worry for many old people. 6. recall: to remember a particular fact, event, or situation from the past e.g. Alice seem to recall she’s met that handsome boy before somewhere. remind: if someone reminds you of a fact or event that you already know about, they say something which makes you think about it e.g. I had to remind myself that being confident is not the same as being perfect. recollection: a memory of something  e.g. I have many pleasant recollections of the time we spent together. repeat: to say or write something again e.g. Nick patiently repeated that he had to work that day. 7. voluntarily: do sth. willingly, without anyone telling you to do it e.g. I would only leave here voluntarily if there was a big chance to work abroad. voluntary: actions or activities are done because someone choose to do them and not because they have been forced to do them e.g. The scheme, do to begin next month, will be voluntary. involuntary: not done by choice; done unwillingly, or without the decision or intention of the person involved e.g. He gave us an involuntary smile. involuntarily: adv. do sth. unwillingly, with someone telling you to do it