Virginia Woolf was born on 25th January, 1882, the daughter of the editorand critic.Her early education was provided at home.She suffered a traumaticadolescence after the deaths of her mother, step-sister , father and favoritebrother, leaving her prone to mental illness for the rest of her life .
During the years leading up, Virginia Woolf lived in Gordon Square,Bloomsbury, where she was drawn into the company of writers and artists .
Together they founded the Bloomsbury Group , an intellectual circle which wasto profoundly influence the development of the avant-garde in Britain.Shemarried the writer Leonard Woolf in 1912, and they founded the Hogarth Pressin 1917, which was to publish the works of T .S .Eliot , the earliest translation ofFreud, as well as works by Virginia Woolf herself .
Virginia Woolf s first novel, The Voyage Out appeared in 1915, followedby Night and Day (1919) and the highly experimental Jacob s Room (1922) .
Despite recurring bouts of depression, her literary output over the next 20 yearswas extraordinary.She wrote her major novels during this period, includingMrs.Dalloway (1925) , To the Lighthouse (1927) , Orlando (1928) , The Waves(1931) and Between the Acts (1941)Her writing was particularly concerned with women s experience, not onlyin her novels but also in her literary criticism and essays, most notably her twomasterpieces of feminist polemic, A Room of One s Own ( 1929 ) and ThreeGuineas (1938) .
In March 1941, her mental condition was deteriorated alarmingly andunable to face another bout of illness.Virginia Woolf took her own life .By thetime of her death she had gained a prominent and enduring place in Englishletters, as a great novelist and essayist , feminist and modernist .
Ⅱ.Words and Expressions
hybrid a.杂种动物。
fringed with a tassel 四周镶有流苏状的东西。
benignant a.kind and nice.
score v.to cut lines with sharp instruments.
gleam v.to shine brightly.
rook n.a large black European bird like a crow 秃鼻乌鸦, 白嘴鸦。
festivity n.merry-making; rejoicing 欢庆。
clamor n.loud and confused noise,vociferation n .loud noise (especially made in complaining),zest n .great enthusiasm or interest,meager a.small and insufficient,pathetic a.causing a feeling of pity or sorrow,frail a.weak,diminutive a.unusually or remarkably small,deck v.to decorate,circumspection n.caution,window ledge n.窗台。
right v.to make something go back to its normal state.
agitate v.to shake.
magnitude n.great size or importance.
antagonist n.opponent.
somber a.dull and dismal 阴沉的;暗淡的。
Ⅲ .Stylistic Features of the Passage
1.Symbolism .
2.Description of the natural scene .
3.Contrast of the little insect and the shadow of death .
Ⅳ.Notes to the Text1
The first sentence tells the time and the setting of the scene .
2.The writer s speculation on the life of the moth, a casual way of describinga small insect s life .
3.Describing the energetic surroundings in detail, a little away from the smallsetting of the little moth (attention to such words as “scoring” ,“gleamed” ,etc .) .
4.The rook is the symbol of something rather different from the little poormoth (Note“keeping one of their annual festivities” ,“it looked as if a vastnet with thousands of black knots in it had been cast up into the air” ,etc .) .
5.Again, describing the setting at large, which shows clamor and vitality ofthe creatures .
6.The contrast of the setting at large and the little space the moth stays at .
7.For the first time the writer shows pity for the poor little moth that willface its death .
8.This shows that the moth is doomed to die, which is the fate of the insect .
9.A great contrast between the small body of the moth and the great power ofdeath , showing that life is powerful .
10.For the second time the writer shows sympathy for the little moth , which isto die soon .
11.The little moth and its dancing is the true symbol of life and vigor .
12.The author uses“humped and bossed and garnished and cumbered”todescribe moths mating activities .
13.The author cares more about the movement of the moth again, showing pityfor the little moth .
14.It suddenly occurred to me that.. .
15.Death is approaching and it is almost impossible for humans to help thelittle moth .
16.The landscape outside the room is energetic but it s rather different fromthe moth s fate .
17.The moth went on his fight for life and again the writer felt encouraged tohope for the survival of the little creature .
18.Another sharp contrast between the little creature and the great power ofdeath (attention to the expressions that form the contrast: gigantic -insignificant ; minute - so great , etc .) .
19.There is resemblance between the moth s struggles and the humancondition.Every creature is minute in the hand of death .