好書俱樂部 Back Club 2022.03.04 Unit 2 ★★★
Fading moon, follow My footsteps
Through light unbroken, by land shadows,
And share my senses
That feel the cool
Shoulders of silence.
-- from Where the Crawdads Sing
殘月，跟隨我的腳步
通過不間斷的光，通過大地的陰影，
分享我的感受
那種感覺很酷
沉默的肩膀。
-- 來自小龍蝦唱歌的地方
Delia Owens herself grew up in Georgia, not too far from the region where the fictional town of Barkley Cove is located. Together with Mark Owens, her husband at that time, she studied zoology at the University of Georgia. After completing her PhD in animal behavior in California, she moved to Botswana in Southern Africa with Mark. For seven years, the couple studied the animals there under very harsh weather conditions. Despite facing storms, wild fires, and intenses heat, Delia and Mark were able to collect precious data on the lions and hyenas they were observing . Living in Botswana, Delia was often hours away from the closest human civilizations. This gave Delia the experience of living in isolation. Later, she portrayeds the feeling of lonelinessin Where the Crawdads Sing through Kya's experiences.
After moving back to the US, Delia worked at a variety of different jobs. She's worked as an editor and written articles for academic journals. With Mark, she started the Owens Foundation for Wildlife Conservationin Georgia. Even though Where the Crawdads Sing was her first novel, it was a huge success. Right now, the novel is being adapted into a movie, which is set to come out in 2022.
3月4日
迪莉婭·歐文斯本人成長於喬治州,距離虛構的小巴克利海灣所在之處不遠她與當時的丈夫馬克.歐文斯一同在喬治大學攻讀動物學。在加州拿到動物行為學博士學位後,她和馬克搬到了非洲南部的波札那。七年間,夫婦兩人在嚴酷的天氣條件下研究動物。儒管遭遇風暴、野火和炎暑,迪莉婭和馬克仍得以收集了關於他們所觀察的獅子與麟狗的珍貴資料。居住在波札那時,迪莉婭經常距離最近的人類文明有數小時的車程。這讓迪莉婭體驗到了與世隔絕的生活。後來,她在《沼澤女孩》中透過雅的經歷描續了這種孤獨感
在搬回美國後,迪莉婭從事了多種不同的工作。她曾擔任編輯並為學術期刊撰寫文章。她和馬克一同在喬治亞創立了「歐文斯野生動物保育基金會」。管《沼澤女孩僅僅她初試啼聲的處女作,它卻一鳴驚人。現在,這部小說已經板要被改為電影,將在2022年上映。
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◎ 單字片語 Words & Phrases ◎
1. region n.地區・區域
· Generally speaking, animals in cold regions will be larger in size.
一般而言,寒冷區域的動物體型會較大。
2. behavior n.行為,舉止
· The behavior of the parents will affect the character of their children in the future.
父母的行為會影響孩子未來的性格。
3. intense a.強烈的
· David made a big mistake due to the intense pressure of his job.
大衛因為工作的強大壓力而鑄下大錯。
4. observe vt.觀察
· The doctor observed Matt for a while to see how he would react to the medicine.
醫生觀察麥特一段時間,看他對該藥物有何反應。
5.civilization n.文明(生活)
· Some people think that nuclear war would mean the end of civilization.
有些人認為核戰爭將意味著文明的終結。
6. portray vt.描寫:描繪
· This famous painting portrays the war between the Greeks and Trojans.
這幅名畫描繪希臘人與特洛伊人的戰爭。
7. academic a.學術的,課業的
· Because of his excellent academic performance, Paul got a scholarship.
因為保羅優秀的學業成績,他得到了一份獎學金
8. be adapted into... 被改編為⋯⋯
adapt vt.改編
· The Lord of the Rings, written by J.R.R. Tolkien, was adapted into a movie in 2001.
J.R.R.托爾金所著之《魔戒在2001年被改為電影·
◎ 補充詞彙 Extra Words & Phrases ◎
· zoology n.動物學
· hyena n.鬣狗・土狼
· isolation n.孤立:隔離
· loneliness n.孤罩・寂寞
· foundation n.基金會
· conservation n.保存・維護
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題目～英文試金石 You Can Do This 依文意選出最適當的一個選項
1. Which of the following is true?
(A) Mark Owens' novel is going to be made into a movie.
(B) Where the Crawdads Sing has been well-received.
(C) Delia Owens finished the book right after she went back to the US.
(D) The Owens Foundation focuses on how to write a good novel.
2. Which of the following things did Delia Owens NOT do?
(A) Write articles for professional research.
(B) Create a foundation to help animals.
(C) Study zoology in college.
(D) Write multiple popular novels.
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答案～英文試金石 You Can Do This
.
.
.
.
1.B 2. D
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《沼澤女孩》的輝煌成功
《沼澤女孩》紐約暢銷排行榜達三十週, 狂銷逾六百萬冊,榮獲「瑞絲.薇斯朋讀書俱樂部」選書等讃譽 。這是一本由七十餘歲的動物學家寫成的第一部小
說·究竟《沼澤女孩》魅力何在,能令世界書迷為之瘋狂? 在優美的地風貌中,作者以生物本能的自然循環隱喻人性和心理變化。敘述著無止盡追尋著美善的人們,卻時而難免深陷社會險惡的泥淖中。迪莉婭·歐文斯使我們直面內心的荒蕪,以詩意而細膩的筆觸描繪著孤獨,生命透過她透徹且敏銳的覺察,綻現出動人而樸實的光芒。
Only you know
How one side of a moment
Is stretched by loneliness
For miles
To the other edge,
And how much sky
Is in one breath
When time slides backwards
From the sand.
-from Where the Crawdads Sing
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She knew the years of isolation had altered her behavior until she was different from others, but it wasn't her fault she'd been alone. Most of what she knew, she'd learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would.
小說最令人印象深刻之處在於作者的文筆，她筆下的沼澤地是一個原始而浪漫的世界，書中很多描寫讀起來非常舒服。比如小說開篇對沼澤地有這樣的描寫：
Marsh is not swamp. Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows into the sky. Slow-moving creeks wander, carrying the orb of the sun with them to the sea, and long-legged birds lift with unexpected grace—as though not built to fly—against the roar of a thousand snow geese.
這段描寫畫面感極強。作者將波光粼粼的沼澤地比作"a space of light"，並用"water flows into the sky"來形容水天相接的景象，非常形象準確。 "carrying the orb of the sun with them to the sea"也很好地寫出了太陽在小溪中的倒影隨著小溪而緩緩移動的景象。
又比如作者寫樹林中樹葉飄落有這樣的句子：
And just at that second, the wind picked up, and thousands upon thousands of yellow sycamore leaves broke from their life support and streamed across the sky. Autumn leaves don’t fall; they fly. They take their time and wander on this, their only chance to soar. Reflecting sunlight, they swirled and sailed and fluttered on the wind drafts.
作者將秋天樹葉被風吹落這一過程寫得非常有詩意，Autumn leaves don’t fall; they fly. 這裡fly一詞準確寫出了樹葉迎風飛舞而非緩緩落下的特點。書中很多描寫用詞並不難，但讀起來非常有美感，這種寫作手法值得我們重點學習。
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