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美国作家kate chopin的英文简介

Chopin, Kate 1851-1904, Writer. Although Katherine O'Flaherty Chopin was a native of St. Louis (born 8 February 1851) and spent barely 14 years in Louisiana, her fiction is identified with the South. At 19, Kate O'Flaherty married Oscar Chopin, a young cotton broker, and moved with him to New Orleans and later to his family home in Cloutierville, La., near the Red River. After Oscar died in 1882, she returned with their six children to St. Louis; but when, eight years later, she began to write, it was the Creoles and 'Cadians of her Louisiana experiences that animated her fiction.

Distinctly unsentimental in her approach, she often relied on popular period motifs, such as the conflict of the Yankee businessman and the Creole, a theme that informs her first novel, At Fault (1890), and several of her short stories. These vivid and economical tales, richly flavored with local dialect, provide penetrating views of the heterogeneous culture of south Louisiana. Many of them were collected in Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadie. Chopin's second novel, The Awakening (1899), also strongly evokes the region, but is primarily a lyrical, stunning study of a young woman whose deep personal discontents lead to adultery and suicide. Praised for its craft and damned for its content, the novel was a scandal, and Chopin, always sensitive to her critics, gradually lost confidence in her gift and soon ceased to write.

Chopin died of a brain hemorrhage after a strenuous day at the St. Louis World's Fair, where she had been a regular visitor. She was remembered only as one of the southern local colorists of the 1890s until The Awakening was rediscovered in the 1970s as an early masterpiece of American realism and a superb rendering of female experience. 凯特·肖邦(Kate Chopin)

美国女作家。（1851-1904）出生于美国圣路易斯。父亲在她四岁时去世，此后她由克里奥尔（生长于西印度群岛和南美各地的欧洲人后裔）母亲的家庭抚养长大。她于1870年嫁给了奥斯卡·肖邦，一个棉花商。两人先是住在路易斯安那的新奥尔良，后又搬到一个大农场和讲法语的阿卡迪亚人住在一起。在1882她丈夫去世之后，肖邦与她的六个孩子返回圣路易斯。朋友们鼓励她写作。她在快四十岁的时候出版了第一本小说，故障（At Fault 1890）。她的短篇小说开始出现在世纪（Century）和哈泼杂志（Harper’s Magazine）。随后又出版了两个选集：支流人（Bayou Folk 1894）和阿卡迪一夜（A Night in Arcadie 1897）。最后的主要作品，有超短篇一双丝袜（A Pair of Silk Stocking) 等，其后的小说觉醒（The Awakening 1899），是她的杰作。但是书中对通奸同情的笔调震惊了全美的书评人和读者。在圣路易斯，小说被从图书馆的书架上取下。肖邦本人也被圣路易斯文艺社取消会员资格。1899年底，她的出版商拒绝出版她的第三本短篇小说集。肖邦感到自己在文学领域受到排斥。在最后的岁月里，她几乎再也没有动笔。

在十九世纪末，肖邦试图直白的描写女性在与男性、儿童的关系及她们本身性欲中的感受和情绪。这一点被认为是冒犯了当时上流社会的读者。1885年母亲去世后，她停止了天主教的实践并开始接受达尔文主义对人类进化的观点。在自然而不是教堂

中寻求上帝，肖邦大量描写性与爱的主题。她为美国作家们悲哀，认为由环境所致，艺术上的局限性阻碍了完整且本能的叙述。那些挑战传统社会行为的作品，如《一小时的故事》，常常被杂志编辑拒绝。然而半个多世纪后，女权主义评论家却大力提倡。 在翻译莫泊桑的小说后，肖邦采取了他的模式。她认为，“这是生活，不是小说。在情节设计，老式手法和舞台套路中，哪能找到我一直喜好的这种模糊的不假思索的叙事艺术？”

Birds

In The Awakening, caged birds serve as reminders of Edna’s entrapment and also of the entrapment of Victorian women in general. Madame Lebrun’s parrot and mockingbird represent Edna and Madame Reisz, respectively. Like the birds, the women’s movements are limited (by society), and they are unable to communicate with the world around them. The novel’s “winged” women may only use their wings to protect and shield, never to fly.

Edna’s attempts to escape her husband, children, and society manifest this arrested flight, as her efforts only land her in another cage: the pigeon house. While Edna views her new home as a sign of her independence, the pigeon house represents her inability to remove herself from her former life, as her move takes her just “two steps away.” Mademoiselle Reisz instructs Edna that she must have strong wings in order to survive the difficulties she will face if she plans to act on her love for Robert. She warns: “The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.”

Critics who argue that Edna’s suicide marks defeat, both individually and for women, point out the similar wording of the novel’s final example of bird imagery: “A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water.” If, however, the bird is not a symbol of Edna herself, but rather of Victorian womanhood in general, then its fall represents the fall of convention achieved by Edna’s suicide.

The Sea

The sea in The Awakening symbolizes freedom and escape. It is a vast expanse that Edna can brave only when she is solitary and only after she has discovered her own strength. When in the water, Edna is reminded of the depth of the universe and of her own position as a human being within that depth. The sensuous sound of the surf constantly beckons and seduces Edna throughout the novel.

Water’s associations with cleansing and baptism make it a symbol of rebirth. The sea, thus, also serves as a reminder of the fact that Edna’s awakening is a rebirth of sorts. Appropriately, Edna ends her life in the sea: a space of infinite potential becomes a blank and enveloping void that carries both a promise and a threat. In its sublime vastness, the sea represents the strength, glory, and lonely horror of independence.

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综合英语二课文概括 (1-8课)

来源： 日期：2006-01-04 阅读 511 次 作者: 评论 0条

BOOK Ⅰ

L1 P14 Why does the author tell s not to be afraid to ask stupid questions? The author thinks that many apparently naive inquiries like why grass is green, or why the sn is round, or why we need 55,000 unclear weapons in the world --are really deep questions. He says when you try to get the answers, you will gain deep understanding of the things. Its also important to know, as well as you can, what it is that you dont know, and asking questions is the way. He also tell us to ask stupid questions requires courage on the part of the asker and knowledge and patience on the part of the answers. And dont confine your learning to schoolwork. Discuss ideas in depth with friends. Its much brave to ask questions even when theres a prospect of ridicule than to suppress your questions and become deadened to the world around you.

L2 Icons P30 What are the factors to shift the hero-worship to the celebrity-worship?

The new forms of media--photography, moving pictures, radio and television are the main factors.

The reproduction of photos in newspapers turned famous people into celebrities whose dress, appearance, and personal habits were widely commented upon. Slowly, the focus of public attention began to shift away from knowing what such people did to knowing what looked like.

The shift was accelerated by the arrival of moving pictures. Between 1901 and 1914, 74 percent of the magazine articles about famous people were about political leaders,inventors, inventors, professionals, and businessmen. After 1922, however, most articles were about movie stars.

With the arrival of television, the faces of the stars became as familiar as those we saw across the breakfast table. We came to know more about the lives of the celebrities than we did about most of the people we know personally. Less than seventy years after the appearance of the first movimg pictures, the shift from hero-worship to celebrity-worship was complete.

L2 GO-GO AMERICAN P46 What is the Americans attitude towards time?Give necessary examples.

In the United States, many people keenly feel the shortness of each lifetime. They are aware that once a day in their life is gone, it will never come back. And Americans believe no one stands still .If you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind. So they value time and want every minte to count.

This attitde towards time is shown in the fast pace of life in the country. Whatever they do they always seem to be in a rush. You find people hurrying to get where they are going. They hurry to eating places for a mea and finish it as quickly as possible.

Also Americans do what they can to save time. They produce a lot of labour-saving devices such as clothes-and dish-washers; they rapidly communicate through phone calls, telex and e-mail and cut down on personal contacts.

L4 Take Over,Bosn! P62 Can you imagine what did Barret think of when he heard Snyders whisper Take over,bosn?

Becase of thirst,Barret was almost out of mind. He rose several times and was a constant threat. But when he heard Snyder said“Take over, bosn, he had a strange feeling suddenly. He came to realize he would and must take over the task and be responsible for the rest. As long as he stopped others from the little water, they would always have hopes and wouldnt die soon. So he picked Snyders gun up and decided to hold off the other from the water until night when a ship saved them.

L5 Are You Giving Your Kids Too Much?

P78 Why parents overindulge their children?

There are several reasons to explain why parents overindulge their children. One fairly common reason is that parents overindulge their chidren out of a sense of guilt. Parents who both hold down full-time jops may feel guilty about the amount of time they spend away from their children and may attempt to compensate by showering them with material possessions. Other parents overindulge because they want their children to have everything they had while growing up, along with those things the parents yearned for but didnt get. Still others are afraid to say no to their childrens denless requests for toys for fear that their children will feel unloved or will be ridiculed if thy dont have the same playthings their friends have.

L6 Culture Shock P94 What are four stages that people go through when they

experience situations that are very different from those to which they are accustomed?

Stage one is a honeymoon phase, during which the new experience is perceived to be interesting, picturesque, entertaining, and charming. You may notice several superficial differences such as music, food, and clothing, and the fresh apeal of the new experience keeps you feeling interested and positive. When you stay in a new envirnment for a while, you move to stage two-the crisis stage-in which the shine wears off and day-to-day realities sink in. In relationship, you notie annoying habits;in a new country, you find barriers to establishing connections or to learning the language beyond a few polite phrases. If you stick with the experience and try to deal with it realistically, you will probably move to the third phase:recovery. In recovery, you learn the systems, procedures, language or nonverbal behaviors of the new environment so that you can cope with it on the basis of some mastery, competence, and comfort. Finally,when you feel that you function well and almost automatically in the new culture, you will move to the fourth phase:adjustment.

L7 The Model Millionaire(I) P108 Suppose you are the millionaire.Explain how you get to know Hughie Erskine and what you do in return for the pound he gave you when you first met.

I am Baron Hausberg. I have enough money to buy the whole of London. One day, on a whim I asked my artist friend Alan Trevor to pain me as a beggar. Alan had almost finished the picture when a very charming young man walked into his studio.I suppose he must have been very sympathetic with me, for when Alan was away a minute, the young man quickly put a pound into my hat. I was startled for a moment, but I was pleased when I realized that he took me for a real begger.

Later I learned from Alan all about this young man:he was poor, and could not marry the girl he loved because her father wouldnt let them unless he had 10,000 pounds.Touched by the young mans spirit of kindness, I decided to help him. The next day I had a cheque for 10,000 pounds delivered to him as a wedding gift.

L8 The Model Millionaire(II) P123 Retell the story The Model Millionaire in about 150 words, concluding your retelling with a one-sentence comment.

Hughie Erskine was a charming young man who was in love with a nice girl called Laura http://wendang.chazidian.comuras father made it clear to Hughie that he would not