
1. To have a chance to relax by watching a movie clip and listening to a short essay;
2. To learn authentic English in a natural, easy way.

● You are going to watch a video clip from Mona Lisa Smile. Below is a list of words and expressions from the clip in case you are unfamiliar with them.
holy | a. 神圣的, 圣洁的 |
sacrament | n. 圣礼 |
subversive | a. 颠覆性的 |
Wellesley | 韦尔兹利(美国马萨诸塞州东部波士顿西南偏西的一座小镇,是一个住宅区,也是创建于1870年的韦尔斯利学院的所在地) |
slide | n. 幻灯片 |
contemporary | a. 当代的 |
Magna Cum Laude | 〈拉〉以优等成绩 |
Rhodes scholar | 罗兹奖学金学者(获得罗兹奖学金、在英国牛津大学修读研究生课程的学者) |
recite | vt. 吟诵 |
Chaucer | 乔叟(1340—1400,英国诗人) |
press | vt. 熨平 |
calculate | vt. 计算 |
mass and volume | 质量和体积 |
meat loaf | (用肉糜做成的)肉糕 |
girdle | n. 腰带 |
set sb. free | 让某人自由 |
bide time | 等待时机 |
inconceivable | a. 难以相信的 |
corset | n. 束腹, 妇女的胸衣 |
Massachusetts | 马萨诸塞 (美国东北部的一个州) |
Mona Lisa Smile
Aside: One must pause to consider why Miss Katherine Watson, instructor in the Art History Department, has decided to declare war on the holy sacrament of marriage. Her subversive and political teachings encourage our Wellesley girls to reject the roles they were born to fill.
Katherine: Thank you. Slide. Contemporary art.
A student: That’s just an advertisement.
Katherine: Quiet! Today you just listen. What will the future scholars see when they study us? A portrait of women today? There you are, ladies. The perfect likeness of a Wellesley graduate. Magna Cum Laude, doing exactly what she was trained to do. Slide. A Rhodes scholar. I wonder if she recites Chaucer while she presses her husband’s shirts. Slide. Now, you physics majors can calculate the mass and volume of every meat loaf you make. Slide. A girdle to set you free. What does that mean? What does that mean? What does it mean? I give up. You win. The smartest women in the country. I didn’t realize that by demanding excellence… I would be challenging… What did it say? What did it say? “The roles you were born to fill.” Is that right? The roles you were born to fill? It’s my mistake. Class dismissed.
Katherine: These girls… Are you proud, President Carr?
President Carr: Yes, actually, I am.
Katherine: Well, you should be, I guess. Half of them are married. The other half, give it a month or so. It’s really only a matter of time. They’re biding time until somebody proposes!
President Carr: A hundred years ago, it was inconceivable for a woman to be a college graduate. I think perhaps you should look back to see how far we’ve come.
Katherine: I’m sorry, from where I sit, it’s just a different kind of corset.
President Carr: Well, we can all use a little support.
Katherine: Oh, like Amanda Armstrong?
President Carr: She broke the law!
Katherine: According to Betty Warren.
President Carr: According to the state of Massachusetts.
* Notes:
剧情简介:
1953年的美国,时代正处于转变之中,妇女解放运动进行得如火如荼。毕业于风气开放的加利福尼亚州伯克利大学的凯瑟琳·安·沃森(Katherine Ann Watson)前往坐落在美国马萨诸塞州、被誉为“没有男子的常春藤”的韦尔斯利女子学院教授艺术史,她发现学校的陈规陋习已经到了令人无法忍受的地步,而当时整个国家的大环境也在致力于将在二战中走出家门、走向社会的妇女们重新劝说回家。
充满理想与热情的凯瑟琳,大胆地向陈腐的教学制度发起挑战,在校方的压力之下始终坚持自己的教学理念。最终她以青春率直的作风、丰富的艺术史知识以及风趣热情的授课风格影响了以贝蒂(Betty)、琼(Joan)和莉薇(Levy)为代表的当时在校的一大批女学生,赢得了她们的尊敬和爱戴,被她们称为“蒙娜丽莎” 。她的执著也让她们包括她自己重新对艺术、人生和爱情有了新的见解。
本片的导演是迈克·纽维尔(Mike Newell),凯瑟琳、贝蒂、琼和莉薇的扮演者分别为朱莉娅·罗伯茨(Julia Roberts)、柯尔斯滕·邓斯特(Kirsten Duns)、朱丽娅·斯黛尔斯(Julia Stiles)和玛吉·吉伦哈尔(Maggie Gyllenhaal)。

● Listen to the following short essay, which is full of meaning, and read along.
Mystery
There is extraordinary value in knowledge. And there is also much value in what we do not know.
For in the unknown, there are possibilities that have no restrictions. When contemplating (沉思) the unknown, your imagination has no limits.
Though the unknown can be frightening, it can also be magnificently (宏伟地) beautiful and inspiring. We can put into it whatever we wish.
In the realm (领域) of things we do not know, there is plenty of room for the joy of discovery and the enlightenment of learning. There is ample (充足的) space to dream, to envision (想象) , and to grow.
To act as if we already know everything is to deny ourselves all the good things that are yet to be imagined and discovered. Mystery gives life a depth and richness that none of us would want to be without.
As each moment passes, make good use of all the things you know. And be thankful that you don’t know it all.