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Part 4. PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER.PART 1. Chinese Writer to Have Shakespeare’s Face 1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).
2. Listen and fill in the gaps. A well-known Chinese writer is ____________________ the knife to become a William Shakespeare look-alike. The Shanghai Daily newspaper reports that best-selling author Zhang Yiyi ____________________ operations in the next ten months. After the surgeries he will ____________________ of Britain’s most famous writer. Mr Zhang said he wants to “let the people across the world mourn” one of the world’s greatest ever playwrights ____________________. The cost of the plastic surgery will be around $150,000 – the same as the ____________________ for his last book. Zhang justified the surgery and cost, saying: "Life is a ____________________ become a better person. I think the surgeries are worth the money." Zhang Yiyi’s upcoming surgeries have become a talking point in China. He is already ____________________ after he compared himself to China’s great philosopher Confucius. Many Chinese believe he is ____________________ seeker while others believe ____________________ spend his money the way he wants. He is set to become the most famous cosmetic surgery patient since Michael Jackson. Zheng Churong, the head of the team of surgeons ____________________ operations, told reporters that the surgeries would not be so difficult. He said Zhang’s face is the right shape, with a “sharp nose” and “deep eyes”. The big question ____________________ whether Zhang’s new look ____________________ write as well as Shakespeare. |
| INDIVIDUAL READING BLACK SWAN GREEN by David Mitchel ASSIGNMENT 1. pp. 1-120 About the author Born in Southport in 1969, David Mitchell grew up in Malvern, Worcestershire, studying for a degree in English and American Literature followed by an MA in Comparative Literature, at the University of Kent. He lived for a year in Sicily before moving to Hiroshima, Japan, where he taught English to technical students for eight years, before returning to England. In his first novel, Ghostwritten (1999), nine narrators in nine locations across the globe tell interlocking stories. This novel won the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. His second novel, number9dream (2001), was shortlisted for the 2002 Man Booker Prize for fiction. It is set in modern day Tokyo and tells the story of Eiji Miyake's search for his father. In 2003 David Mitchell was named by Granta magazine as one of twenty 'Best of Young British Novelists'. In his third novel, Cloud Atlas (2004), a young Pacific islander witnesses the nightfall of science and civilisation, while questions of history are explored in a series of seemingly disconnected narratives. Cloud Atlas was shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and was followed by Black Swan Green (2006). David Mitchell lives in Ireland. His most recent book is The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (2010). Task 1. Read and translate the culture words M5, The Rockford Files, Bluebeard, Parish magazine, Scabby Queen, the Highway Code, Boxing Day, OXO, St.Gabriel’s, Blarney Stone, Richond, Marmite, MOT, the Big Two, Scot-free, Police 999 Task 2. Read and translate the words To be mangled, aeons, grinny-zitty, incursion, to pong, book tokens, to be funny in head, poxy, to slagger smb. off, biz, to give smb silent treatment, to thud, to trespass, satchel, twat, to get scurvy, eavesdropping, muffled laughter, bog, gritty, posh Task 3. Questions for discussion 1. The title of the book is Black Swan Green. How do you understand it? 2. How can you describe the way the main character perceives his father's study judging by the way he behaves in there? What can it suggest about his relationship with his father? What is the main character’s name? 3. On p.3 the Hangman steps into the narrative. Who do you think it might be? Justify your answer. On p.4 the main character dwells quite a lot upon the rules of conduct. What do |