《Extensive Reading（M2）》课程教学资源：Exercises of Canadians：What Do They Want"

Exercises of Canadians: What Do They Want" Margaret Atwood

Questions on the Ideas 1.In what ways was the young man displeased with Atwood's poem "How to Like Man"? It seems that he disliked the poem in two aspects: firstly,the poem suggests loving a man from his feet,which is only part of the whole person; secondly,the poem regards man as the only one who involved in the misdemeanors like launching a war of committing raping,which is rather unfair to men

2.How is the asterisk of"Offer Good Only in the United States"(par.3)associated with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? Perhaps it is excusable for some people from other countries in the world to take a difficult view that the so-called "equity of all men"stated in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,though not literally written in the document,is actually a conditional offer-it applies to US citizens only-which is similar to the case of that of the Popsicle Pete

3.Why does the author say that Canadians no longer own their souls? Canadians used to have their souls(before WWII),but during the war,they invested too much in fighting,thus creating a capital vacuum. Then they depended too much on the US investments,and in order to exchange for US money,they have to sell themselves out at the expense of their inborn right to equality and freedom,getting nothing but troubles

They've started to rely so heavily on American's dominance that even if they were called upon to protest against the United States'destroying the world by manipulating world politics,they would not very much willingly to participate in that movement.Canadians have long been accustomed to watching the American affairs in a detached way

4.What do Canadians dislike most about Americans? From paragraph 5,we know that"the United States is an empire and Canada is to it as Gaul to Rome".Being the empire,the United States takes it for granted that all Canadian profits should be of theirs,and it would let the Canadians to pursue any revolution.What is worse,while curbing the Canadian's protests, they are expecting to be liked by Canadians

5.According to the author,what do Canadians want? In the author's view,Canadians should start to develop on its own,and they actually have done so.They are,for instance,"attempting to regain control of its own petroleum industry"(par.8) Americans as a whole group should not expected to be liked by Canadians,who may carefully decide which one of the American people to like.Such a process of loving should be gradually rather than abruptly

·6.Why does the author say,,“if you like men, you can like Americans"(par.16)? From paragraph 2 on,this essay draws an analogy of US-Canada relations to those of man and woman.In the last paragraph of this text, the authors echoes back to her previous depiction.Since she has suggested that woman can like a man by starting from loving his feet; Canadians,likewise,can start liking Americans step by step with careful selection and decisions

Questions on Writing Strategies 1.Why does the author suggest we start liking men from the feet?What does "feet"possibly represent? "Feet"are of the lowest part of one's body. Atwood by mentioning "feet"first is suggesting that woman can start loving one man from the most unimportant part of him,thus gradually accumulating her affection toward the man

On the other hand,"feet",as the part touching the ground most closely and longest,may symbolize the man's quality of being down to the earth.Loving a man who always stays grounded and devoted can certainly bring much security to a woman.Such a suggestion of Atwood is,as a matter of fact,rather practical. ●Unfortunately,“feet'may also relates to something not so good,hence disputes arise,as said in later passages of Atwood