珠海科技学院：《英语精读》课程教学课件（Book 4）Unit 5 Man of the Moment by Alan Ayckbourn

Lesson 5 Man of the Moment by Alan Ayckbourn

Man of the Moment by Alan Ayckbourn Lesson 5

Background Information 1.Author Alan Ayckbourn,born in 1939,British playwright,actor,and theater director, best known for his farcical dramas about the British middle class.He went straight into the theatre as a stage manager after leaving school.He is now a full-time theatre director. He has written over 50 comedies,many of them works of startling technical ingenuity with surprising quantities of pain and sorrow in them

I. Author Alan Ayckbourn, born in 1939, British playwright, actor, and theater director, best known for his farcical dramas about the British middle class. He went straight into the theatre as a stage manager after leaving school. He is now a full-time theatre director. He has written over 50 comedies, many of them works of startling technical ingenuity with surprising quantities of pain and sorrow in them. Background Information

Background Information 1.Author He is one of the world's most commercially successful dramatists,and has demonstrated over a long and constantly evolving career that it is possible to both a popular and a serious artist. He has been called "wildly funny and deeply tragic","a left-wing writer using a right-wing form",and "the most acute analyst of contemporary British society",although he occasionally insists that his only intention is to entertain

I. Author He is one of the world’s most commercially successful dramatists, and has demonstrated over a long and constantly evolving career that it is possible to both a popular and a serious artist. He has been called “wildly funny and deeply tragic”, “a left-wing writer using a right-wing form”, and “the most acute analyst of contemporary British society”, although he occasionally insists that his only intention is to entertain. Background Information

Background Information 1.Author Man of the Moment is one of Ayckbourn's typically very dark comedies in which nothing is quite what it seems or as clear-cut as appearances would first indicate.The play was presented in London in 1990,becoming a joint winner of the Evening Standard Best Comedy Award in the same year.In 1990 it was also nominated for "the Play of the Year

I. Author Man of the Moment is one of Ayckbourn’s typically very dark comedies in which nothing is quite what it seems or as clear-cut as appearances would first indicate. The play was presented in London in 1990, becoming a joint winner of the Evening Standard Best Comedy Award in the same year. In 1990 it was also nominated for “the Play of the Year”. Background Information

Background Information l.Author's works The Norman Conquests House Garden Absurd Person Singular Intimate Exchanges Woman in Mind A Small Family Business

I. Author's works The Norman Conquests House Garden Absurd Person Singular Intimate Exchanges Woman in Mind A Small Family Business Background Information

Background Information ll.Synopsis of Act I The present text is Act II.The story goes like this in Act I: It was 17 years ago that Vic Parks and Douglas Beechey first met,when Vic attempted to rob the bank where Douglas worked.Douglas foiled the robbery and became a hero,feted by the media.Meanwhile Vic was sentenced to a 10- year prison sentence. Seventeen years on and where are they both? The media attention soon faded for mild mannered Douglas and he drifted back into

II. Synopsis of Act I The present text is Act II. The story goes like this in Act I: It was 17 years ago that Vic Parks and Douglas Beechey first met, when Vic attempted to rob the bank where Douglas worked. Douglas foiled the robbery and became a hero, feted by the media. Meanwhile Vic was sentenced to a 10- year prison sentence. Seventeen years on and where are they both? The media attention soon faded for mild mannered Douglas and he drifted back into Background Information

Background Information obscurity,leaving the bank to work for a double glazing company. Vic meantime discovered an interest and talent for writing whilst in prison and proceeded to develop a successful publishing and then TV career upon finishing his sentence. Now living in a villa,complete with swimming pool,in Spain,Vic has agreed to appear in the TV show "Their Paths Crossed".The host Jill Rillington intends to bring together,17 years on, Vic with Douglas Beechey-the unassuming clerk who foiled the robbery

obscurity, leaving the bank to work for a double glazing company. Vic meantime discovered an interest and talent for writing whilst in prison and proceeded to develop a successful publishing and then TV career upon finishing his sentence. Now living in a villa, complete with swimming pool, in Spain, Vic has agreed to appear in the TV show “Their Paths Crossed”. The host Jill Rillington intends to bring together, 17 years on, Vic with Douglas Beechey—the unassuming clerk who foiled the robbery. Background Information

Background Information Jill hopes to exploit the irony that although Douglas had a brief 15 minutes of fame and married his true love-incidentally maimed during the raid-the man who has found true success and celebrity is the villain,expecting jealousy,envy and bitterness from Douglas. Now they are to be reunited at Vic's Mediterranean home.How will they react to seeing each other once again and what effect will their meeting have on Vic's long suffering wife Trudy?

Jill hopes to exploit the irony that although Douglas had a brief 15 minutes of fame and married his true love—incidentally maimed during the raid—the man who has found true success and celebrity is the villain, expecting jealousy, envy and bitterness from Douglas. Now they are to be reunited at Vic’s Mediterranean home. How will they react to seeing each other once again and what effect will their meeting have on Vic’s long suffering wife Trudy? Background Information

Word Study 1.fantasize n.to imagine that you are doing sth which is very pleasant or exciting,but which is very unlikely to happen Sometimes she fantasized about buying a boat and sailing around the world. I used to fantasize that my real parents were famous movie stars. fantasy (n.) fantastic (a

1. fantasize n. to imagine that you are doing sth which is very pleasant or exciting, but which is very unlikely to happen Sometimes she fantasized about buying a boat and sailing around the world. I used to fantasize that my real parents were famous movie stars. Word Study fantasy (n.) fantastic (a.)

Word Study 2.disfigure dis-:remove,spoil disfigure 损伤外貌，使变丑 disorganize 瓦解 disrobe 脱衣 disarm 解除武装；裁军 dishearten 使失去信心 disburden 解除负担 discolor (使)褪色

2. disfigure dis- : remove, spoil disfigure 损伤外貌，使变丑 disorganize 瓦解 disrobe 脱衣 disarm 解除武装；裁军 dishearten 使失去信心 disburden 解除负担 discolor （使）褪色 Word Study