品味经典英文原著 助力英语读后续写

浙江

一、问题的提出

（一）题型解读

浙江省新高考写作新题型“读后续写”提供一段350词以内的语言材料，要求考生依据该材料内容、所给段落开头语和所标示关键词进行续写（150词左右）。评分原则涵盖四方面内容：（1）与所给短文及段落开头语的衔接程度；（2）内容的丰富性和对所给关键词语的覆盖情况；（3）应用语法结构和词汇的丰富性和准确性；（4）上下文的连贯性。因此，读后续写主要是从内容和语言两方面考查学生的逻辑思维能力和语言运用能力。其中，内容方面既考查学生对文本的解读能力，也考查学生根据原文进行再创造的构思能力。语言方面主要考查学生的综合语言运用能力。如：运用语言描述人物角色的性格和心理活动、运用语言渲染事件发生的环境等。

（二）问题分析

学生在读后续写中表现出来的问题主要有两个方面：（1）续写内容逻辑混乱。续写内容与原文以及所给段落首句的联系不够紧密。（2）语言表达匮乏。学生所写文章或词不达意，或枯燥乏味，或冗长繁乱。用学生的话说就是：“我无法用语言正确表达我想说的话。”造成这种现象的根本原因是学生缺少足够的积累和沉淀，阅读时缺乏思维逻辑，无法理解原文的文脉和作者的写作思维，因而无法在续写中从内容和语言两方面呼应原文。

（三）品读经典之优势

经典文学作品是经受了岁月的淘洗、时间的考验而流传下来的宝贵财富。经典文学作品构思巧妙、内容严谨、语言经典，在结构、主题、人物刻画、内心描写等方面都有其独特之处。阅读经典文学作品能让学生接触原汁原味的语言，从作品的意蕴美中获得人生态度和价值观念方面的启示；从作者对人物角色的勾画中赏析作者的语言表达之精美；从故事发展的跌宕起伏中学习作者的情节构思之精妙；从人物角色的冲突中感受作者的情感表达之深刻。因此，越来越多的教师意识到经典文学作品的重要性，但是，受限于学生的语言基础、学习能力、学习时间和教师的教学进度，无论是学生的阅读效果，还是教师的阅读指导都不甚理想。为此，笔者协同工作室成员进行了经典英文原著阅读的教学探究，形成了经典英文原著阅读教学的基本思路。本文将以Kate Chopin（凯特·萧邦）的The Story of an Hour（《一小时的故事》，文本附后，有删改）为例，介绍有效开展英文经典原著阅读的思路：预测——品读——仿写。

二、教学实践

The Story of an Hour是美国女作家Kate Chopin（凯特·萧邦）的一篇非常著名的短篇小说，叙述了女主人翁Mrs.Mallard (Louise)在得知丈夫过世之后的一系列反应。作者精炼地概述了在一个小时里，Mrs.Mallard获知丈夫去世的痛不欲生——很快从悲痛中恢复，有了“自由”的喜悦——看到“死而复生”的丈夫出现在门口而倒地猝死的戏剧性结尾。全文女主人翁情感强烈、变化微妙，情节发展出人意外，语言形式丰富、表达含蓄、富有寓意。无论从情节构思还是语言欣赏方面，本小说都很值得学生阅读、模仿。

（一）预测下文 与作者思维碰撞

Dr.Janette在Reading Process一文中指出：“Making predictions or“best guesses”about what will happen in a text is an important literacy strategy and skill.Students' predictions are based on their prior knowledge and experiences about the topic, the genre, and what has happened so far in the text (using both the print text and illustrations).Having students make predictions engages them in the reading task and encourages them to become active participants in the learning.”正如学生所说：“预测使阅读更有方向，当自己的预测和作者写的内容一样时就会感到很自豪，读起来也更有兴趣。当自己的预测和作者写的内容不一样时就会更好奇，很想继续读下去。 经典文学作品的情节发展一般都出人意料但又在情理之中。

在本文的教学实践中，我们设计了两个预测环节：一个是女主人翁Mrs.Mallard在获知丈夫去世时的语言描写预测。另一个是情节预测，即故事将近结尾部分，当Mrs.Mallard看到“死而复生”的丈夫后的反应。教学设计如下：

预测的设置学生的回答Question 1: How would Mrs.Mallard react to the news that her husband was killed in the railroad disaster?Words: cry, sad, sorrowful;Phrases: in despair, in tears;Sentences: First she felt unbelievable, then cried in silence/loudly.She was so shocked that she fell unconscious.Question 2: How would you end the story?She was so excited that she rushed to hug her husband.She couldn't believe her eyes and cried as loudly as she heard the bad news.She was too thrilled to contain herself and then she fell to the ground and died suddenly.At last they lived happier than ever before because of the false news.

【设计意图】通过预测，一方面让学生置身于文本之中，与文本互动、与人物共情。另一方面是设置悬念，激发学生的阅读探究兴趣，也为后续的文本剖析设置冲突点。

（二）品读经典 赏析文学之美

体会经典之美，在于品。通过品读人物角色，赏析作者对人物性格、人物形象的勾画手法；通过品味语言，学习作者的语言表达手段；通过品评故事发展，掌握作者的情节构思技巧。

1.品析人物 与人物角色共情

在人物形象的刻画方面一般会通过环境、外貌、语言、行动和心理的细节描写来彰显人物性格。因此，让学生阅读了第一、二两段，并进行了第一个预测之后，我们在梳理情节的过程中设计了三个品读环节：

(1) Read Paragraph 3 and work in groups to think about what is unexpected to you.

有一组学生从文本第三段第一句“She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance.”中读出：Maybe she was not so in love with her husband.另一组学生用本段第二句“She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms.”进行了反驳。

【设计意图】让学生在阅读和讨论中，读出主人翁Mrs.Mallard的内心矛盾和冲突，为后面的主题解读埋下伏笔。同时，学生也能感受到自己的预测和作者对文章情节设计之间的冲突。这种情节冲突也是经典文学的铺垫手法之一。

（2）Read Paragraphs 4-6 and try to understand Mrs.Mallard's feelings.

学生从作者的细节描写中读出了Mrs.Mallard的以下情感：

Description Mrs.Mallard's feelings...pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul. Extremely sad....the tops of trees that were all wave with the new spring life.The delicious breath of rain was in the air. When she was alone in the room, she felt less sad....countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves（屋檐）. She seemed a little happy, but I am not sure.She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, ...She did not know what to do because she was in deep sorrow....a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams. Sad, extremely sorrow.

【设计意图】一方面引导学生通过赏析作者的细节描写来表达人物的情感，另一方面为下一步的讨论埋下伏笔。学生隐隐约约感受到女主人翁似乎有点开心的情感，但是又无法确定，这激发了学生进一步阅读的兴趣。

（3）Read the last two paragraphs and share what you have got with the class.Try to get the whole passage connected.

根据最后一段最后两句“But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.”学生能够很快判断出女主人翁对新生活的向往。但是为什么她会有如此快速的变化？这恰恰是我们要进行批判性思考的问题，所以我们让学生联系全文去思考这个问题。

Student 1: Mrs.Mallard will quickly begin her new life.

Student 2: Mrs.Mallard was not in love with her husband.

Student 3: Mrs.Mallard was actually happy with the news.

Student 4: Mrs.Mallard's husband did not love her because she was suffering from heart trouble.

Student 5: Mrs.Mallard pretended to be sad to hide her inner feelings.

【设计意图】既让学生从语篇整体阅读文本，也为后续的仿写做好铺垫。

2.品味语言 感受语言魅力

文学是语言的艺术，也是艺术的语言。作为文学作品的重要载体，经典的语言表达在塑造经典的艺术形象和故事情节方面起着至关重要的作用。本文作者在描写Mrs.Mallard丰富的内心活动的过程中，运用了明喻、暗喻、对比、强调等写作手法。在对情节进行第一次梳理的过程中，学生通过阅读文本理解了语言所表达的内容。在此基础上，我们用下面两个问题引导学生赏析作者在语言运用方面的技巧。

Question 1: How did the writer make you feel Mrs.Mallard's feelings?

Question 2: Which sentence or paragraph strikes you most?

文中多处运用了对比手法对Mrs.Mallard的内心冲突进行了描写，如下图：

同时，文中又使用了多处比喻和暗喻的表达方式。如下面两句中的as和seem引导的比喻：(1) She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless,except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.(2) Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.

再如，作者对“her sister Josephine”和“Her husband's friend Richards”两个人的介绍在语言形式上都使用了强调句：(1) It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing.(2)It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of“killed.”体现了两个人小心翼翼、体谅他人痛苦的心理。对Richards 获知信息后的一系列行为的描写，为结尾部分Mrs.Mallard的丈夫回来之后的反应埋下了伏笔。“He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.”这些描述表明Richards是一个非常谨慎、考虑问题非常周到的人，所以看到他的朋友突然活着回家的时候，他才会想着去挡在Mrs.Mallard和她的丈夫之间。

3.品评主旨 理解作品主题

文学经典的独特价值在于作者通过其作品反映了当时的历史或社会现象。因此，为了加深学生对原著的理解，我们认为对小说的主题探讨是不可或缺的。作者凯特·萧邦在小说中运用象征和讽刺的手法体现了“女性主义的觉醒”的主题。在初步阅读的时候，高中学生感受到的是一种不同于他们自身所能理解的情感，但是其并不能马上提取出作者在整个环节设置和语言表达上的目的，所以需要老师一步一步引导。

1.What does the underlined“it”in Paragraph 7 refer to?

2.What does“the door”stand for? (The door is mentioned twice.One is when hearing the news, Mrs.Mallard went into the room with no one following her; the other is when Mr.Mallard came in through the door.)

3.What did the writer intend to convey in the story?

通过对“it”的讨论，激发学生细细体会女主人翁的复杂心情，联系前后文感受她对新生活的渴望，同时又有种内疚的心理冲突，这是学生从语言表层可以读到的情感线索。随后，通过对“门”的深层含义的探讨，使学生进行深度思考。Mrs.Mallard第一次听说丈夫去世的消息后独自进了房间，看到了窗外充满新春的气息，树梢在轻微颤动，听到了屋檐麻雀的鸣叫声、缥缈的歌声等无不表露了她内心对美好生活的渴望。那么当她的丈夫开门进来之后，意味着什么呢？是她幻想的破灭，还是意外的惊喜呢？她会有什么样的反应呢？这是留给学生进行续写的环节，是课内的留白之处，也是让学生在续写中学会情节构思、学会情节铺垫的时机。

（三）读后续写

阅读是吸收，写作是输出，阅读是写作的基础和前提，是学生获取写作素材的重要途径。王初明教授在《高考英语“读后续写”题的促学功能》一文中提到：“续写使得理解与产出发生交集，促使学生在续写过程中回读原文，借用前文出现的词语表达新的思想，由此拉高语言产出能力。其促学优势主要体现在：紧密结合读物样板写作文、激发语言使用冲动、消弭母语干扰、高效识记词语、在使用中学习和完善语言表达。”

因此，我们设计了两个写作环节。第一个环节是课内的微写作，即预测的第一个设问How would Mrs.Mallard react to the news that her husband was killed in the railroad disaster? 此处让学生描写Mrs.Mallard的情感，既可以激起学生的表达欲望，也有助于学生在后续的阅读比较中更主动地去体会、思考作者的写作用意。第二个环节是对原小说进行适当删改，并提供首句，让学生课后进行合作续写。两个段落所给开头语如下：

P 1 : Now there would be no one to live for during those coming years,

P 2: Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey.It was Brently Mallard who entered,

第一段所给开头语提示后续内容是Mrs.Mallard对新生活的进一步向往。学生可以充分发挥想象力，运用比喻、排比等修辞手法展开描写。第二段是对故事结尾的续写，也是反应小说主题的部分，更是对前文所有铺垫内容的升华。

三、结束语

很多文学作品都以社会现实生活来展现其文化背景，人物和事件都具有鲜明的时代特征。因此，教师应将经典英文原著阅读教学的重点放在对文章整体意韵的品读上，少做割裂式的层层剖析；要关注学生的思维水平，让学生在预测内容的过程中与作者的思维进行碰撞，少进行被动式的无思想的阅读；让学生在剖析人物过程中身临其境，与人物角色共情共鸣，少做灌输式的客观分析；在赏析语言的过程中激发学生对语言的感悟，激起学生运用语言的欲望，少进行接受式的纯语言背诵。让学生在经典英文原著阅读中感受到文化之韵、语言之美、情节之巧、主题之深刻。

附：教学材料

This story was first published in 1894 as The Dream of an Hour before being republished under this title in 1895.

Knowing that Mrs.Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.

It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing.Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her.It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of “killed.” He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.

She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance.She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms.When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone.She would have no one follow her.

There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair.Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.

She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all wave with the new spring life.The delicious breath of rain was in the air.In the street below a peddler was crying his wares.The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves（屋檐）.

She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.

There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully.What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name.But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color thatfilled the air.

She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her,fixed and gray and dead.But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.

P1: Now there would be no one to live for during those coming years, (Now there would be no one to live for her during those coming years, she would live for herself.There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.)

P2: Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey.It was Brently Mallard who entered, (Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey.It was Brently Mallard who entered,a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his gripsack and umbrella.He had been far from the scene of accident, and did not know there had been one.He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry, at Richards's quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.)