A Tale of Two Cities

苏州高新区第一中学 赵慧

Have you ever encountered a piece of fiction in your exam?

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How do you feel about this type of reading?

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Which one is the portrait of Charles Dickens?

A B C

Which experience may have influenced Dickens’ style of writing most?

A.His unhappy childhood in a workhouse.B.His unhappy marriage.C.His unsuccessful beginning of writing.

His works show great empathy towards the

poor.

Which family does Dickens belong to?

A.Romanticism （浪漫主义） .B.Naturalism （自然主义） .C.Critical Realism （批判现实主义）

The two cities in A Tale of Two Cities refer to _______

A. London and New York.B. New York and Paris.C. London and Paris.

The theme of A Tale of Two Cities is _______

A. war and peaceB. love and revenge （报复）C. peace and progress

SettingIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch （ 纪 元 ） of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative （最高级的） degree of comparison only.

1. What figure of speech （修辞） does the author employ here?A. Repetition. B. Simile （明喻） . C. Comparison. D. Oxymoron （矛盾语） .2. The author think of the present _______ the past.B. as good as B. as bad as C. the same as D. completely different from3. This novel is set in the ______________. C. the Industrial Revolution B. the American Civil War C. the French Revolution

The French Revolution

Marquis Evre MondeMonseiur Defarge& Madama DefargeDr. Manette

Charles Darney Lucie Manette Sydney Carton

Characters

Characters& Relationships

Dr. Manette

2. __________

1. __________& Defarge

4. ________

5. ________

house

father of hate

&want

to kill

husband of loves

looks like and dies in place of3. _____________

breaks with his

uncle

destroys the

families of

Dr. Manette writes a letter to disclose all the terrible sins （罪恶） that Marquis St. Evre Monde and his brother have done to destroy a poor boy’s family but is put into the Bastille for 18 years. Monseiur Defarge and Madame Defarge house him and then he settles down in London with his beautiful daughter Lucie. On the way to London, Lucy meets Charles Darney, the nephew of Evre Monde. They fall in love with each other and get married. Several years later, when the French Revolution broke out, Darney returns to Paris to save an innocent gentleman. He is caught by the revolutionaries and accused by Madame Defarge, the only member alive of the poor boy’s family. Sydney Carton, an English lawyer, who loves Lucie so much that he is ready to sacrifice anything for her. Darney and Carton look very much alike, and Carton manages to get Darney out of prison and flee to London. Calmly, Carton walks onto the guillotine （断头台） . His final words are, “It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known. ”

Characters& Relationships

Dr. Manette

Lucie Manette

Madame Defarge& Defarge

Charles Darney

Sydney Carton

house

father of hate

&want

to kill

husband of loves

looks like and dies in place ofMarquis Evermond breaks

with his nephew

destroys the

families of

Personality

It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.

“You work hard, madame,” said a man near her.　　“ Yes,” answered Madame Defarge; “I have a good deal to do.”　　“ What do you make, madame?”　 “ Many things.”　　“ For instance—”　　“ For instance,” returned Madame Defarge, calmly, “shrouds （裹尸布） .”　　 The man moved a little further away, as soon as he could.

What is Madame Defarge like?A. Mild. B. Humorous. C. Strong. D. Easy-going.

The poor boy died and I sadly laid him down on the ground. The Marquis with his brother then appeared with a smile. “He died eventually,” he said with relief. He had before offered me money, which I had postponed taking. He now gave me a rouleau （一小卷） of gold. I took it from his hand, but laid it on the table. I had considered the question, and had decided to accept nothing. “Please excuse me,” said I. “Under the circumstances, no.” They exchanged looks, but bent their heads to me as I bent mine to them, and we parted without another word on either side.

What of the following best describes Dr. Manette? A. Calm. B. Silent. C. Just. D. Greedy.

“Is he （ Dr. Manette ） alone?” Mr. Lorry whispered.

　　“ Alone! God help him, who should be with him?” said Defarge, in the same low voice.

　　“ Is he, always alone, then?”

　　“ Yes.”

　　“ He is greatly changed?”

　 “ Changed!”

Defarge stopped to strike the wall with his hand, and mutter a tremendous curse. No direct answer could have been half so forcible. Mr. Lorry’s spirits grew heavier and heavier, as he and his two companions climbed.

Information hidden between the lines

At last, they reached the top and Defarge took out a key.

“The door is locked then, my friend?” said Mr. Lorry, surprised.

“Ay. Yes,” was the grim reply of Monsieur Defarge.

“You think it necessary to keep the unfortunate gentleman so retired?”

“I think it necessary to turn the key.” Monsieur Defarge whispered it closer in his ear, and frowned heavily.

“Why?”

“Why! Because he has lived so long, locked up, that he would be frightened— rave （胡言乱语）— tear himself to pieces— die— come to I know not what harm— if his door was left open.”

What can we infer from this part?

A. Dr. Manette lives alone.

B. Dr. Manette is locked in the room.

C. Defarge is a very rude person.

D. Dr. Manette once suffered a lot.

Dr. Manette has suffered a lot in prison.

Predicting future events “Marquis,” said the boy, turned to him with his eyes opened wide, and his right hand raised, “in the days when all these things are to be answered for, I summon （召唤） you and yours, to the last of your bad race, to answer for them. I mark this cross of blood upon you, as a sign that I do it. In the days when all these things are to be answered for, I summon your brother, the worst of the bad race, to answer for them separately.”

What do you think may happen in the latter part of the novel?A. The boy will forgive the Marquis. B. The bad race will answer for what they have done.

Practice

1. We can learn from the first half of the story that the child ________.A. is hurt deeply B. has died C. is howling wildly D. knows the Marquis

The tall man called out again with a most unearthly cry, “Dead!”

2. The following can describe Monseiur except _________.A. merciless B. doubtful C. mean D. cruel“What has gone wrong?” said Monsieur, calmly looking out. “Why does he make that abominable noise? Is it his child?”Monsieur the Marquis clapped his hand for an instant on his sword-hilt （剑柄） . “It is extraordinary to me,” said he, “that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children. One or the other of you is forever in the way. How do I know what injury you have done my horses? See! Give him that.”He threw out a gold coin for the servant to pick up. “Pick up that, philosopher and vendor of wine,” said the Marquis, throwing him another gold coin, “and spend it as you will. The horses there; are they right?” Without bothering to look at the crowd a second time, Monsieur the Marquis leaned back in his seat, and was just being driven away with the air of a gentleman who had accidentally broken some common thing, and had paid for it, and could afford to pay for it. ..

3. We can infer from the underlined part that __________.A. the child used to be happy B. the child is unhappy nowC. the child hates the world D. it’s a terrible thing to bring a child into the world

It is better for the poor little plaything to die so, than to live. It has died in a moment without pain. Could it have lived an hour as happily?

The Marquis calls Defarge “philosopher” to _________.A. show his respect B. show his agreement C. make fun of him D. learn from him

“You are a philosopher, you there,” said the Marquis, smiling. “How do they call you?”“They call me Defarge.”“Of what trade?”“Monsieur the Marquis, vendor （小摊贩） of wine.”“Pick up that, philosopher and vendor of wine,” said the Marquis, throwing him another gold coin, “and spend it as you will. The horses there; are they right?”

We can predict from the last part that ________.A. the Marquis will kill Defarge B. the horses will be frightenedC. there is a potential revolution on the way D. more money will be paid to the poor man

… when his ease was suddenly disturbed by a coin flying into his carriage, and ringing on its floor. “Hold!” said Monsieur the Marquis. “Hold the horses! Who threw that?”

Reading fiction stories provides

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Abstract （摘要）SpeedChineseRevised versionPlanningInterestPractice

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（本课所选材料有所改编，特此声明）

Setting

Author

Prediction

Characters & Relationships

Information Hidden Between the Lines

Personality