A Difficult Interview 1. Text Analysis Text Analysis 2. Exercises Exercises 3. Questions For Discussion Questions For Discussion.

A Difficult Interview

1. Text Analysis

2. Exercises

3. Questions For Discussion

Exercises

1. True/False Questions

2. Multiple-choice Questions

3. Translation

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True/False Questions

1. Though Mr. Hummer had now become famous, he was not interested in fame.

2. The woman journalist was full of confidence before she went to visit Mr. Hummer. She did not expect the interview would turn out to be so difficult.

3. During the whole interview, Mr. Hummer was not very cooperative and he was reluctant to answer the girl’s questions.

Answer


1. Though Mr. Hummer had now become famous, he was not interested in fame. (T)

2. The woman journalist was full of confidence before she went to visit Mr. Hummer. She did not expect the interview would turn out to be so difficult.


Answer



2. The woman journalist was full of confidence before she went to visit Mr. Hummer. She did not expect the interview would turn out to be so difficult. (F)


Answer



2. The woman journalist was full of confidence before she went to visit Mr. Hummer. She did not expect the interview would turn out to be so difficult. (F)

3. During the whole interview, Mr. Hummer was not very cooperative and he was reluctant to answer the girl’s questions. (T)

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4. Since Mr. Hummer was a painter, he enjoyed going to art exhibitions.

5. Mr. Hummer was a man who was more interested in eating than in painting.

6. Though outwardly Mr. Hummer appeared a little strange, underneath he was a charming person.

Answer


4. Since Mr. Hummer was a painter, he enjoyed going to art exhibitions. (F)

5. Mr. Hummer was a man who was more interested in eating than in painting.


Answer



5. Mr. Hummer was a man who was more interested in eating than in painting. (F)


Answer



5. Mr. Hummer was a man who was more interested in eating than in painting. (F)

6. Though outwardly Mr. Hummer appeared a little strange, underneath he was a charming person. (T)

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Multiple-choice Questions1. Mr. Hummer painted quietly for over 50 years, achieving little fame. So it is unreasonable .

A) to expect him to understand the world outside his little house

B) to ask him questions about modern art

C) to expect him to adjust quickly to sudden fame

D) to demand an explanation of all his paintingsAnswer

Multiple-choice Questions

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1. Mr. Hummer painted quietly for over 50 years, achieving little fame. So it is unreasonable C .

A) to expect him to understand the world outside his little house

B) to ask him questions about modern art

C) to expect him to adjust quickly to sudden fame

D) to demand an explanation of all his paintings

2. We can learn from the passage that Mr. Hummer was, on the one hand, easy and pleasant to talk to, on the other, .

A) he was unwilling to meet strangers

B) he was sharp and serious

C) he was a little strange and did not like to be bothered

D) he was shy and didn’t like to talk with women


Answer

2. We can learn from the passage that Mr. Hummer was, on the one hand, easy and pleasant to talk to, on the other, C .

A) he was unwilling to meet strangers

B) he was sharp and serious

C) he was a little strange and did not like to be bothered

D) he was shy and didn’t like to talk with women


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3. When asked whether his role as an artist was to teach or entertain, Hummer .

A) didn’t say anything but invited the girl to drink some whisky

B) laughed at the question, but said nothing

C) started to talk about eating octopus

D) said he would like to let the public form their opinions about his pictures

Answer


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3. When asked whether his role as an artist was to teach or entertain, Hummer D .

A) didn’t say anything but invited the girl to drink some whisky

B) laughed at the question, but said nothing

C) started to talk about eating octopus

D) said he would like to let the public form their opinions about his pictures


4. Hummer felt painting was like coal-mining: it filled the space between cradle and grave. From this we can see Hummer .

A) did not enjoy talking about ideas

B) had his particular views on art

C) could not be expected to answer difficult questions

D) did not see the importance of painting

Answer


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4. Hummer felt painting was like coal-mining: it filled the space between cradle and grave. From this we can see Hummer A .

A) did not enjoy talking about ideas

B) had his particular views on art

C) could not be expected to answer difficult questions

D) did not see the importance of painting


5. The whole interview was awkward

because .

A) the journalist was inexperienced

B) the journalist was nervous

C) Hummer didn’t know much about painting

D) Hummer didn’t like to be interviewed

Answer


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5. The whole interview was awkward

because D .

A) the journalist was inexperienced

B) the journalist was nervous

C) Hummer didn’t know much about painting

D) Hummer didn’t like to be interviewed

Translation

Answer

1. Hummer asked himself why people wouldn’t leave him alone.

Translation

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1. Hummer asked himself why people wouldn’t leave him alone.

他不明白为什么人们不让他安宁。

Translation

Answer

2. Hummer could hardly be seen for a forest of paint-brushes in pots of water.

Translation

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2. Hummer could hardly be seen for a forest of paint-brushes in pots of water.

哈默几乎让人看不见，面前挡着竖起许多画笔的水罐子。

Translation

Answer

3. The girl asked him what purpose in society he fulfilled as a painter.

Translation

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3. The girl asked him what purpose in society he fulfilled as a painter.

女士问他作为画家他在社会上完成些什么职能。

Translation

Answer

4. Hummer asked scornfully what she thought the point of such visits would be.

Translation

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4. Hummer asked scornfully what she thought the point of such visits would be.

哈默不以为然地问，她认为他去伦敦的意义何在。

Translation

Answer

5. Suddenly his face brightened wonderfully.

Translation

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5. Suddenly his face brightened wonderfully.

突然他喜形于色。

Questions for Discussion

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1. What kind of person was Mr. Hummer?

2. Could you name some world-famous painters and paintings?

(Reference Answer)

3. What is your view on fame?

da Vinci 达芬奇 and his the Last Supper and Mona Lisa; (picture,picture)

Michelangelo 米开朗基罗 and his the Last Judgment ； (picture)

van Gogh 梵高 and his Sunflowers; (picture)

Picasso 毕加索 and his Three Women at the Fountain. (picture)

Questions for Discussion

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the Last Supper

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the Last Judgment

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Sunflowers

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Three Women at the Fountain

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Mona Lisa

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Text Analysis

A Difficult Interview

Fame makes one mysterious. Fame also disturbs a famous person’s quiet life. And, as you will read, fame throws Mr. Hummer and the woman journalist into an awkward but interesting situation.

Text Analysis

The recent large exhibition of the paintings of Mr. James Hummer drew a lot of attention to this artist.

At seventy, he had been painting quietly for over fifty years, and up till then he had only held small exhibitions of his work. These had brought him a small amount of fame, but suddenly everyone was talking about him and everybody knew his name. People said he was an “Important Contemporary Artist”. Mr. Hummer, for his part, shook his head and asked himself why people wouldn’t leave him alone. He said he had no time for meeting journalists, but of course all the newspapers and magazines wanted to interview him. He didn’t like to be famous.

Text Analysis

His friends, however, said that underneath he was charming and only outwardly seemed a little strange. They explained that he was sometimes very shy and didn’t like to talk about himself, and sometimes quite the opposite. Nobody can tell.

In view of this, it is not surprising that when a young woman journalist was sent to interview him in his tiny house deep in the Sussex Downs, she felt rather nervous. But the interview went worse than expected.

Text Analysis

When she arrived, Mr. Hummer was sitting at a small unsteady table and could hardly be seen for a forest of paint-brushes in pots of water. In the middle of these was a bottle of whisky. From time to time he poured some into a paint-stained glass and drank it rapidly.

He smiled politely and said that of course he didn’t mind answering some questions. He drank some whisky and put his head on one side as if to hear the questions better. He looked like a serious artist.

Text Analysis

In what she hoped was a suitable voice, the girl asked him what purpose in society he fulfilled as a painter. She wanted to know whether he saw his duty as a painter to be teaching people or entertaining them. Then there was a dry laugh, and then silence for a long time. The girl began to wonder if he hadn’t heard her, but at length Mr. Hummer coughed and broke the silence by asking slowly what on earth she expected as an answer to such a question. He only painted pictures, he said, and left other people to say what they meant and why he had done them.

Text Analysis

Now it was the girl’s turn to look astonished. This was not the way Important Contemporary Artists were supposed to speak. They always had their own theories. Feeling foolish, she asked if it had really been as easy as that to paint the brilliant pictures that everybody admired. Mr. Hummer only smiled to himself and invited her to have some whisky. Then silence again. The only thing she could do was to try again, the girl thought, so she asked him why he had become a painter. This time Mr. Hummer was very quick, but replied with another question. He asked her how she earned her living. Painting, he continued, was like coal-mining: it was a job which filled the space between cradle and grave,

and he happened to do it quite well.

Text Analysis

The interview seemed to have gone quite wrong. Looking for an easy question, the girl asked him about the visits she had heard he regularly made to London. She wondered what he liked to do there and if he enjoyed going to art exhibitions, for instance. He suddenly drew back. No, he said, he never went to those places, asking scornfully what she thought the point of such visits would be. He went to London, he explained, to meet his friends, and in answer to another question added that while of course some of them were artists, others of them weren’t. Some of them were men and some were women, but that was of no significance as they just usually liked to talk. Asked what they talked about, Mr. Hummer appeared to think hard for a minute. Everyday things, he began; the weather; other people; food … Suddenly his face brightened wonderfully. Leaning forward, he asked her if she liked food, continuing, before she had had time to reply, that what he liked was fish, and best of all, octopus. He could give her a marvellous recipe for octopus soup, he added. He was about to ask if she knew the best place in London to buy fresh octopus when she interrupted him.

Text Analysis

“Do you like being interviewed, Mr. Hummer?” she asked. He turned his head sharply towards her with his eyes glittering. “Do you?” he replied, and softly began to laugh and laugh to himself.

Simplified form Easy Comprehension Practice in English,

ed., Jenny Marchant, London, 1975.

Approximately 820 words.

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drew a lot of attention to this artist: caused people to notice this artist

artist [] n. 艺术家= a person whose work shows exceptional creative ability or skille.g. Xu Beihong is a great artist.徐悲鸿是一个伟大的艺术家。

Phrases and Expressions

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paint [] vi. 绘画；油漆= picture made with paintse.g. There's paint on your clothes. 你衣服上有油漆。

Words to Know

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fame [] n. 名望= public estimation; reputatione.g. The reformer's fame spread all over the country.这位改革者名震全国。

Words to Know

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contemporary [] adj. 当代的= belonging to the same period of timee.g. Is this musician a contemporary ？这位音乐家是现代人吗？

Words to Know

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journalist [] n. 记者，新闻工作者= one whose occupation is journalisme.g. He wants to be a sports journalist.他想当一名体育记者 .

Words to Know

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underneath [] adv. 在里面；在下面= in or to a place beneath; belowe.g. They looked down from the bridge at the water underneath. 他们从桥上观看桥下的水。

Words to Know

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charming [] adj. 可爱的，有魅力的= fascinating, pleasinge.g. What a charming young man!多么讨人喜欢的小伙子 !

Words to Know

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unsteady [] adj. 不稳的= not firm, solid, or securely in place; unstablee.g. She spoke with an unsteady voice.她用不稳定的声音说着。

Words to Know

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whisky [] n. 威士忌（酒）= an alcoholic liquor distilled from grain, such as corn, rye, or barley, and containing approximately 40 to 50 percent ethyl alcohol by volumee.g. He took a sip of whisky before he went on.他喝了口威士忌又接着说。

Words to Know

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fulfil [] vt. 履行，完成= to carry out (an order, for example)e.g. They fulfilled their work ahead of time as we did ours.同我们一样 , 他们也提前完成了任务。

Words to Know

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painter [] n. 画家；油漆匠e.g. His grandfather was a court painter.他的祖父是位宫廷画家。

Words to Know

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entertain [] vt. 给…娱乐；招待= to hold the attention of with something amusing or divertinge.g. A teacher should entertain as well as teach. 教师不仅要教书，也要能引起学生兴趣。

Words to Know

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theory [] n. 理论；意见，看法= systematically organized knowledge applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstancese.g. One theory about the moon is that it is a piece broken off the earth. 有一种关于月球的理论认为它是从地球分离出的一部分。

Words to Know

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brilliant [] adv. 杰出的，卓越的；光辉的= full of light; shininge.g. He is a brilliant speaker. 他是一位卓越的演说家。

Words to Know

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instance [] n. 例子，实例= an example that is cited to prove or invalidate a contention or illustrate a pointe.g. There are many instances of good people and good deeds nowadays.现时好人好事的例子很多。

for instance 例如e.g. There are many places of interest in Hangzhou, for instance, the West Lake.

杭州有许多风景名胜，例如西湖。


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scornfully [] adv. 轻蔑地=with contempte.g. He scornfully talked about material things.他轻蔑地谈起物质方面的享受。

Words to Know

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that was of no significance: that was not important

significance [] n. 重要（性）；意义=the state or quality of being significante.g. The significance for college students of doing a part-time job means more than money and experience.大学生打工的意义还不仅在于钱和经验。


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octopus [] n. 章鱼=any of numerous carnivorous marine mollusks of the genus Octopus or related generae.g. Octopus is his favourite seafood.章鱼是他最爱吃的海味。

Words to Know

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recipe [] n. 烹饪法，配方=a set of directions with a list of ingredients for making or preparing something, especially foode.g. In the recipe, it says that I must use two eggs. 这个食谱上说我必须用两个鸡蛋。

Words to Know

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interrupt [] vt. 中断，打扰=to break the continuity or uniformity ofe.g. Traffic in the city was interrupted by a snowstorm.市内交通被暴风雪所阻断。

Words to Know

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up till (or up to) 到…为止e.g. Up till now, Mr. Scott has sent a great many requests for spare parts and other urgent messages from one garage to the other.到目前为止 ,斯科特先生从一个汽车修理部向另一个汽车修理部发送了大量索取备件的信件和其他紧急函件。

up till then: up to that time


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for his part 至于他本人，就他本人来说e.g. Material things, for his part, meant nothing.

就他本人来说，物质享受毫无意义。

for his part: as far as he was concerned


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why people wouldn’t leave him alone: why people wouldn’t let him remain undisturbed

leave him alone 不打扰他e.g. He wanted to be left alone so that he could prepare his new novel.他希望别人别打搅他好让他能够构思新书。


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In view of this: Considering that he had seemed to have a double character

in view of 有余，鉴于e.g. In view of his health, he was given a light job.考虑到他的健康情况，他被派去干轻活。


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at length 终于e.g. She won the case at length.她终于赢了官司。

at length: at last, after a long time


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what on earth: 究竟是什么

on earth 究竟，到底e.g. Where on earth can he be?他到底在哪儿呢 ?


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the Sussex Downs: an area in the south of England


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for a forest of paint-brushes in pots of water: because of a large number of paint-brushes standing in pots of water


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the point of such visits: the purpose of his visits to London


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… and up till then he had only held small exhibitions of his work.到那时为止，他只举办过几次小型画展。

Sentence Explanation

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His friends, however, said that underneath he was charming and only outwardly seemed a little strange.他的朋友们都说他特别内秀，只是外表上显得有些古怪。


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But the interview went worse than expected.但是这次采访比预计的还要糟糕得多。


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In what she hoped was a suitable voice, the girl asked him what purpose in society he fulfilled as a painter. She wanted to know whether he saw his duty as a painter to be teaching people or entertaining them.女记者拿出恰到好处的腔调问哈默先生他作为画家对社会尽了什么职责。她想了解一下他觉得一位画家的职责是通过他的作品来教育人民还是给他们增添生活的乐趣。

what purpose in society he fulfilled as a painter: what service he did to society as a painter


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Painting, … was like coal-mining: it was a job which filled the space between cradle and grave, and he happened to do it quite well.画画就好像挖煤一样，它是用来填补生与死之间这段时空的职业，而他碰巧还算干得不错。

between cradle and grave: between birth and death


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He turned his head sharply towards her with his eyes glittering.他一下子转过头来，炯炯有神地看着她。


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He drank some whisky and put his head on one side as if to hear the question better.他喝了些威士忌，把头转到一边，好像要把问题听得更清楚些。

“ As if to do” 中， as if后面可跟 to 不定式，表示即将发生某事等：e.g. The old man swung his walking-stick as if to strike at the naughty boy.那老头挥舞着拐杖好像要打那个调皮鬼。


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Suddenly his face brightened wonderfully: A wonderful thought came to his mind and he suddenly grew cheerful.


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Do you like to visit painting exhibitions?

Questions

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Why was she nervous? What questions would you ask Mr. Hummer if you were the journalist?

Questions

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What did the girl expect from Mr. Hummer?

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Was the interview only difficult for the journalist or was it difficult for both the interviewer and the interviewee?

Questions

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A Difficult Interview 1. Text Analysis Text Analysis 2. Exercises Exercises 3. Questions For Discussion Questions For Discussion.

Documents

girls questions

answer slide

discussion questions

difficult interview

discussion slide

t return slide

little fame

art exhibitions