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Unit 11Cultivating a HobbyCultivating a HobbyWinston ChurchillCultural BackgroundText analysisWriting SkillQuestions on the TextLanguage PointsDiscussionExercisesCultural backgroundAbout the authorSir Winston Churchill Winston Churchill(1874-1965),British statesman and author.Besides being one of the outstanding leaders in world history and one of the great British prime minister,Churchill was a prolific writer and an amateur painter.He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1953.His paintings were given a retrospective one-man show in the galleries of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1958.Text Analysis This essay is an exposition.The theme is about the significance of cultivating a hobby.According to the author,the significance of a hobby lies in its relaxing the mind of rational,industrious,useful human beings.To explain how a hobby works,he first of all explains what worry really is.(para.1)Now we see that hobby is the only way to attenuate worry,so its of the first importance to a public man.But how can a hobby be cultivated?Para 2 answers the question.In order to better explain how hobby attenuate worry,the author classifies people into 3 catagraries:those who are toiled to death,those who are worried to death,and those who are bored to death.(para.3 and 4)In this way,he states that hobby should be rightly chosen.Though hobby can release worry,it can only do to the rational,industrious,useful human being.So in para.5,Churchill again divides people into two classes:those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure;and those whose work and pleasure are one.Thus,the third category of human beings in the first classification,i.e.,those who are bored to death,is excluded.Obviously,in Churchills opinion,these cant be regarded as rational,industrious,useful human beings,and in their case,no hobby can help to relieve their boredom.Writing SkillMetaphor Metaphor is one of the figures of speech used in comparing persons,objects,actions,and ideas.A metaphor is an implied or indirect comparison in which the persons or things compared are,in general,not similar,for example,“The love of money is the root of all evil.”In the present essay,in a number of places,Churchill speaks metaphorically,creating an imaginative and emotional impression.(find out the metaphors)Use of Synonymous Expressions In writing,repetition of some important words,phrases or grammatical structures is often used to gain emphasis.e.g.1.It is no use doing what you like;you have got to do what you do.2.That is our policy and that is our declaration.3.We will never parley.We will never negotiate But,a repeated word or phrase,by calling attention to itself rather than to its meaning,can sometimes be distracting and may consequently weaken your writing.e.g.This interesting instructor knows how to make an uninteresting subject interesting.(revised)This instructor knows how to make a dull subject interesting.Winston Churchill was skillful in using synonymousexpressions.(find out the synonymy of worry and hobby in this essay.)Questions on the Text1.While“worry”is defined as a“spasm of emotion”in the first sentence of the passage,what other phrases are used in the first paragraph to refer to this annoying state of the mind?“its(the minds)convulsive grasp”,“the(old)undue grip”2.What does the word“attended”on line 5 mean?accompanied3.In para.2 Churchill uses a metaphor to describe the cultivation of a hobby.Identify the metaphor and then explain it.The last sentence “The seeds must be carefully chosen when needed.”The cultivation of a hobby is compared to that of a plant.First of all,the right hobby(the seed of a plant)must be carefully chosen for a person(good ground);then the process of cultivating a hobby,like that of growing a plant,requires care and effort.Only in this way can one reap in due time the fruit of ones labour the relaxing effect of ones hobby.4.In para.3 Churchill broadly divides human beings into three classes:those who are toiled to death,those who are worried to death,and those who are bored to death.What kinds of people do you think Churchill had in mind when he made such a classification?“Those who are toiled to death”refer to manuallabourers,blue-collar workers.(para.3)“Those who are worried to death”refer to people who work with their brains,e.g.,professionals,public men.(para.3)“Those who are bored to death”refer to people who are not doing anything seriously,perhaps the leisured class.The 4th paragraph refers particularly to this class of non-industrious and useless creatures.5.Why does Churchill classify as unfortunate those people who can command everything they want,gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire?Do you think Churchills attitude towards those people is really one of sympathy?These people are simply hopeless;nothing works to relieve them of their boredom.Churchill does not really feel sympathetic towards them.Note the phrase“avenging boredom”.He seems to think that this is what they deserve.6.How do you understand the word“discipline”on line 30?Regularity,a more regularized way of life.7.Can you suggest one or two of the simplest and most modest forms of pleasure?Jogging,taking a walk,listening to music on the radio,watching TV,gardening.8.In what sense are the second class of people,i.e.,those whose work and pleasure are one,“Fortunes favoured children”?There is never a clash between work and pleasure.They are always happy to work.9.How do you interpret the word“grudged”in para.5?accepted with great reluctance.10.What does the word“it”on line 42 refer to?Their work.11.Identify the expressions in the last two sentences used to refer to the notion of“hobby”.An alternative outlook,a change of atmosphere,a diversion of effort,a means of banishing it(work)from their minds.Language Points1.spasm:Literally,spasm is a sudden uncontrolled tightening of musclese.g.muscular spasm,facial spasm.Spasm may also refer to a sudden violent effort,feeling,or act e.g.a spasm of anger/excitement/grief/coughing2.insinuate:to say something(unpleasant)without saying it directlye.g.Are you insinuating that the money was stolen?3.improvise:do something offhand or without preparatione.g.I forgot to bring the notes for my speech,so I just had to improvise.4.tend:take good care of,look aftere.g.The head nurse tended the patients with great care.The farmer tended his sheep with loving care.5.at hand:(formal)near in time or placee.g.He always keeps a dictionary at hand.The Christmas Day is at hand.6.gratify every caprice:satisfy every whimgratify:satisfy a desiree.g.This set of encyclopaedias will gratify her thirst for knowledge.caprice:a sudden wish to have or do something without any reason.e.g.I hope your decision to quit the job is just a caprice.7.lay ones hand on;manage to obtaine.g.He tries to lay his hands on everything that comes his pensation:something received as a repayment for services,loss,injury,suffering,etc.e.g.The fulfillment of a difficult task is the best form of compensation for your hard work.9.A diversion of effort a change in ones attempt to do somethingdiversion a.something that turns ones attempt to do somethinge.g.What he said was a diversion to the main point.b.Something that amusese.g.Diversions are many and varied in large cities.DiscussionDiscuss the role hobby plays in ones lifeExerciseshobby:indicates an activity that may involve the development of intricate（复杂）knowledge of or capability in a limited field.It particularly implies collecting or tinkering（修补）activities,often done by oneself at home and seldom involving physical exercise for its own sake:a lifelong hobby of stamp collecting.(1,3,8)recreation:suggests pleasure-giving relaxation and low-key（有节制）activity that would not be found in most vocations.The words stress is on play or games.Thus,unlike hobby,it can more often suggest activity that is done in groups and includes physical exercise:camps offering a variety of recreations that included folk dancing,handicrafts,swimming and boating.(4)pastime:is closer to hobby than recreation,indicating anything done to occupy ones leisure;by implication,the word suggests activity of little intrinsic（内在的，固有的）worth:insisting that his painting was merely a pastime that kept him from being bored.This depreciatory note can be even pronounced:few pastimes more foolish than autograph（亲笔签名，手稿）collecting.(5,7)sport:points to a recreation or pastime that is primary a matter of physical exercise,and suggests especially competitive group or individual activity:(6).Unlike all the other words here,sport can indicate an activity pursued as a money-making vocation:(2)labour:most immediately suggests physical effort:the labour it would take to improvise a rope bridge across the chasm.From this sense,the word has become an abstraction for such effort:estimating that two-thirds of the repair bill went for labour.The word also refers to a working force,whether unionized or not:a meeting between labour and management,(8).An older sense of the word refers to childbirth:(10).The word can refer to strictly mental effort,in which case,it suggests unusual difficulty:(12,1).Work:can apply to any situation in which either a short-term or recurring task is performed:It took hard work to get the car out of the rutted street;depressions that throw thousands out of work(4).In a related use,the work can apply to the result of someones labours:his lifes work(11),(9).drudgery:emphasizes work that is uninspiring,unpleasant and arduous（艰苦，费力）;it may suggest physical work on a menial（奴仆的）level,but can apply to any dull and unrewarding task.The word need not suggest hard or exhausting labour so much as unrelieved monotony:(5,7)
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