Unit 3
Text A The Rite of Spring
I. Teaching Objectives
Through learning this passage can students：
Know something about the author
Learn how to interpret and appreciate literary essay
Learn some uful words, phras and expressions
II.Teaching Contents
Main ntence pattern: noun claus introduced by wh-words
III.Teaching Process
1. Warm-up Activity
Questions:
1.Do you still recall a text on gardening we studied last mester?
Nelson Mandela: a famous South African leader who struggled against apartheid [ə'pɑːtaɪt ](种族隔离）in South Africa. Gardening is associated with his revolutionary work and struggle, offering him simple but enduring satisfaction when he was in prison.
Similarities: Gardening gives them satisfaction, and made them strong physically and mentally. They learned a lot from gardening.
However, there ere also some differences between the two essays.
Nelson Mandela：Gardening offers him taste of freedom, and it has become a metaphor of freedom. What’s more, gardening gives him inspiration on how to be a good revolutionary leader and how to nourish important human relationship.
Arthur Miller: Arthur Miller is describing the beauty of human activities and experiences.
When gardening, he must annually turn his mind toward all the work, and the fruits of gardening can somehow reflect movements in one’s own spirits. He found that gardening is a moral occupation, it needs patience and responsibility. So gardening is all about character building. All of the showed the author’s love to the nature.
2. How do you understand gardening? What is the symbolic meaning of gardening?
Gardening is generally regarded as a hobby, a pastime. Many little books as well as essays tell people how to grow tomatoes, beans, cucumbers , etc., in their private gardens. But, like many other human activities, gardening often has symbolic meaning for different people. (For instance, in our culture, it is often compared to the rearing of children, so teachers are often called “gardeners.”)
3. If you have a garden, what will you like to plant? Why?
2: Background Information
The author---Arthur Miller(1915-2005)
Arthur Miller was born in a middle-class Jewish family（中产阶级犹太家族）in New York city. His father was a clothing manufacturer, but in the great depression(大萧条时期), his successful industry was ruined and he didn't have the money for Arthur Miller in college. Miller had to work in a warehou to earn the money for college.
In 1938, he received a bachelor's degree.
In 1940 Miller married a Catholic girl, Mary Slattery, his college sweetheart, with whom he had two children.
In 1956,Miller, the man married Marilyn Monroe .Marilyn Monroe (玛丽莲梦露）was one of the 20th century’s most famous film actress in America. And she met with Arthur Miller in 1951.They married in 1956. It was Miller’s cond marriage, and it was Monroe’s third marriage. Unfortunately, their marriage had only maintain for five years, and they divorced in 1961.
In 1962, Arthur miller married an Australian Photographer.
On February 10,2005,Miller died of heart failure at home when he was 89.
Arthur Miller won countless prizes in his whole life, including 1949 Pulitzer prize(普利策戏剧奖）, two New York theatre critics awards（纽约戏剧评论奖）, Olivier Award for best drama.
In 1953, the cold war reached its climax, miller wrote his most famous drama “The Crucible”(炼狱). His purpo on writing this play is in respon to McCarthy nator for so-called communist party sympathizers repression.
Arthur Miller has almost devoted himlf in writing, his reprentative works are 《我的儿子们》(All my sons,1947)、《推销员之死》(Death of a salesman,1949)、《炼狱》（The Crucible,1953）、《桥头眺望》(A View from the Bridge,1955) 《维系事件》(Incident at Vichy,1964)、《代价》(The price,1968)、《美国大钟》(The American Clock ,1980)) ,etc. Even in the 80 years old, he is also the author of the Monroe allude to work "the complete picture”.
“Death of a Salesman”was a drama about a salesman，who was addicted to capitalism. When he was old, his boss fired him and he felt disillusioned. To get a huge insurance, he drove out at night and died in a traffic accident.
In 1978 Arthur miller and his wife came to visit China. It was Cao Yu（曹禺） who received them. In 1983, “Death of a Salesman” began to be performed in China, and the performance was very successful. This drama was the first foreign drama performed in China after the “Cultural Revolution”（文化大革命）. It almost became one of the most important events ,which helps to soften the ossified（僵化的）relationship between China and America in the history.
About the title
The Rite of Spring is a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky. The music’s innovative/creative complex rhythmic structures, timbres, and u of dissonance /disagreement have made it a minal 20th century composition.
