1. Teaching Aims
2. Project Watching: H. L. Mencken: All-American Cynic by Tabitha Hodges
3. Background Information: Henry Louis Mencken; Pittsburgh; Westmoreland County
Choose the one which can fully express the meaning of the words given below:
1. …and here was a scene so dreadfully hideous…
A. secret B. concealed C. ugly D. outstanding
2. Such ghastly designs, it must be obvious, give a genuine delight to a certain type of mind.
A. surprisingly B. delightful C. greatly D. horrible
3. It is impossible to put down the wallpaper that defaces the average American home of the lower middle class to mere inadvertence …
A. damage the name of B. clean the surface of
C. spoil the look of D. decorate on the surface of
4. Here was the very heart of individual America, the center of its most lucrative and characteristic activity …
A. profitable B. excessive C. mournful D. decreasing
5. …there was not one in sight from the train that did not insult and lacerate the eye.
A. produce B. manage C. control D. hurt
Key:
1. C 2. D 3. C 4. A 5. D
Discussion: What’s your general impression of those ugly buildings at home and abroad?
Key:
From the gallery of the world’s and China’s ugliest buildings, we know that although the buildings shown are scattered across the globe, they have something in common. All of them have big budgets, most attempting to create contemporary or futuristic styling, and they all have divided opinion among local residents, architects, and the general public.
