OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
Orange Is The New Black. My Time in a Women’s Prison, a memoir by Piper Kerman
2010 - (Abacus, 2013, 344 pages)Worksheet prepared by michelle
We can use literature to learn English, review “grammar”, learn to write… Here is an example, so you can select some items as you read. Don’t be thorough, just select a few, and from those few, just jot down a few in one sitting or other! Otherwise, you will not enjoy the story.
Chapter 1Wr – Learn to write!; also Descriptions, also Narratives
Gr – Grammar (meaning, language items in use)
V – vocabulary, collocations * W – wording * C – culture
US English: theater, learned, scheduled (pron.), cell phones, store (shop)
Travel Vocabulary
Baggage claim
Carousels circling endlessly
To switch planes
To take a short flight to
rollie (case)
Grammar
(adv, -ing) Lisa and I drove nonstop from … to…, taking turnssleeping and driving.
(could, emphasis+comparat) I could see that Nora trusted him far more than she cared for me.
(Indirect questions) I wondered what the hell I was doing
(emphasis+inversions) neitherdid I have an alternate plan
(it-subject, as if, by + -ing) It was as ifby revealing her secrets to me, Nora had bound me to her
(passive struct. have sth/sb ppart.; n. mod) Someone who could probably have me killed with a simple phone call
(passive, it-subject) it was were the drugs were flown.
(passive, such) I was sent on one such errand in Jakarta
(passive) Nora wasnot to be trusted
(passives, adv) (she) had been paidhandsomely for her work
(passives) Had my bag been detected?
(perfect modals) I assumed something must have gotten lost in translation
(perfect modals) I should have ordered…
(phrasals) Were the authorities closing in on me?
(subject-less cl!!) And as has always been true, I respond to people…
(tenses in complex cl.) I didn’t breathe until we hadpulled away from the airport
(would, purpose inf., indir questions) She would call at odd hours of the night from the other side of the globe to seehow the kitties were
(n. mod) I was dodging (avoiding, ducking) questions from my already-curious friends
(passive/v) I was entranced (spellbound, fascinated) by the illicit adventure Nora represented.
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OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
Wr/Descriptions – objects: (n. mod: adj order; emphasis: ever) I bought a pair of spidery and beautiful black crochet stockings to go with my Doc Martens and miniskirt. I didn’t care if I ever left Paris. I was in heaven, all alone.
Wr/Descriptions – objects: (n. mod: adj order) Beautiful handmade black suede heels
Wr/Descriptions – objects: (n. mod: adj order) Black silk pants
Wr/Descriptions – people: (n. mod) a raspy-voiced midwesterner named… who had a mop of curly Sandy-brown hair … Everything about her was droll (amusing, funny, witty, entertaining, humorous) – her (drawling, wisecracking husky voice), the way she…, even the way she… She had a …
Wr/Descriptions – people: (n. mod) her partner in crime, a goateed guy named Jack
Wr/Descriptions – people: I was a well-educated Young lady from Boston with a thirst of bohemian counterculture and no clear plan.
Wr/Descriptions – people: I was surprised to see my former brewery coworker Billy waiting for me, towering above the Indonesians with a big grin on his freckled face.
Wr/Descriptions – places: sun-dappled quad
Wr/Descriptions – places: the sprawling city (that spreads, that expands)
Wr/Narrative: (meditations - transitions) It was true, the January winds were making western Massachusetts uninviting.
Wr/Narratives – actions & Descriptions – objects: I packed one small L.L. Bean duffel bag with a pair of black silk pants, a tank dress, blue-jean cutoffs, three T-shirts, a red silk shirt, a black miniskirt, my running gear, and a pair of black cowboy boots. I was so excited, I forgot to pack a bathing suit.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, -ing) I gathered all of my physical strength and flung myself off the rock and into the air, shriekingas I plunged deep into the green gorge below.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, -ing) I went to a Street market to buy …, bartered for … , and walked … talking to the friendly locals.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, complex causes, verbs) I had never been out of the United States. Although I was supposed to begin my new life in California, the prospect was irresistible.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, complex cl) I moped (hung) around Zurich alone, while Nora and Jack schemed.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, complex cl) I would roam the streets of strange cities all alone. I felt disconnected from the world even as I was seeing it, a person without purpose or place. This was not the adventure I craved.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, connectors/transitions, adv rel cl, could, emphasis: ever –ing, so+adj) In the middle of the night we pulled into a rest stop to sleep, where we awoke to see the incredible Golden Eastern Montana dawn. I could not remember ever being so happy.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, connectors/transitions) As I drove out of Northampton headed west with my buddy Lisa, I felt as if I were finally embarking on my life. I felt ready for anything
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, connectors/transitions) I enjoyed everything … I ran ..., learned how to …, indulged in …, and journeyed to … When winter set in, I began to
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, emphasis: I alone) …, yet I never placed that call. I thought I had to tough it out on my own. I alone had signed up for this misadventure, and I alone would navigate it to some conclusion, although I was now petrified that it might be a very dismal end.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, it-subject, -ed/-ing adj, superlat) She dumped the cash on the bed and rolled around in it, naked and giggling. It was her biggest payout (payoff, payment) yet.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, non-def rel cl) We stopped to eat lunch by a beautiful river pool at the top of a towering waterfall. After a skinny-dip, Nora dared me – double-dog-dared me, to be precise – to jump off the falls, which were at least thirty-five feet high.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, reflexives) He took my wet coat, sat me down in his chair, and gave me hot tea and a haircut. He was curious but gentle when I balked at explaining myself or my presence in his salon.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, reflexives) When cash ranlow, I would be sent off to retrieve money wires from Alaji at various banks – a crime itself, although I did not realize.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (tenses, seem) but mercifully the drugs she wanted me to carry never showed up, and I narrowly avoided becoming a drug courier. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before disaster would strike, and I was in way over my head. I knew I had to escape.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (transitions) Upon arrival in Paris
Wr/Narratives – actions: (transitions) When winter set in,
Wr/Narratives – actions: (transitions) From my little room I could see the rooftops of Paris.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (transitions) In Europe things took a darker turn.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (transitions) things went downhill rapidly.
Wr/Narratives – actions: (transitions) When I arrived in Belgium
Wr/Narratives – actions: (v of mov, tenses) I staggered dripping into a tiny salon, the fifth I had tried.
Wr/Narratives – actions: Deep down I felt that I had signed up for this situation and could not say no.
Wr/Narratives – actions: My friend Lisa B. and Ihad been saving our tips and decided that we would quit our jobs at the brewery and take off for San Francisco at the end of the summer.
Wr/Narratives – situation+action: (connectors, complex clauses) Despite (or perhaps because of) the bizarre romantic situation with Nora, I knew I needed to get out of N. And do something.
Wr/Narratives: (v of mov, adv) I scurried from one to another, desperately trying
Wording
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OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
(emphasis: just) … a terrible heroin problem here. You see people just lying in the streets, out of it
bored out of his mind
I had majored in theater
I had no idea how to reach Nora
I’m stranded in Paris
lived off campus*
mangled high school French
my pent-up longing for adventure (repressed yearning for)
taking everything in
The days of cell pones and e-mail were still in the future
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OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
Vocabulary
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OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
a clique of impossibly stylish and cool lesbians(an elite, a group)
a killer stereo (de la hostia)
a thrift store(charity, secondhand shop)
as scheduled
bacchanalia
chafed (bothered, vexed, annoyed)
compound(cluster of buildings in an enclosure, having a shared purpose)
Euros and Aussies
giddy affection(lightheaded, also dizzy)
greyhounds (dogs)
gridlock (congestion, holdup, jam)
grow uneasy
human strata
I bonded with
ivy (hiedra, yedra)
jettisoned (dumped)
kingpin (key player, linchpin, superstar, ace)
lecherous (lusty, lascivious)
lingering (somewhere)
lug (an awkward, clumsy fellow, a blockhead)
newsstand (newspaper stall, kiosk)
nubile (French, marriageable, lolita)
plush (hotel) (luxurious, posh)
prepster(a person who dresses or behaves in a way thought characteristic of such a student)
rebuffed their questions (didn’t answer, discouraged)
reckless chances (wild)
relentless tension (unyielding, persistent)
sarong (skirt)
sewn into the linings
sidle over to (creep)
skinny-dipping (nude swimming)
sledding (tobogganing)
snide (mean, sarcastic, malicious, unkind)
stark poverty
stately (splendid, elegant)
superhip (super fashionable, stylish, trendy)
tantalizing (alluring, tempting, enticing)
tape deck
the fallout of my parents’ divorce (consequence)
trelliswork(kind of pattern: Interlacing strips of wood or metal forming a trellis or lattice)
trinkets (ornaments, knickknacks)
were more my speed than
What a dump (hotel)
wry (ironic, dry, cynical, droll)
zipping around (in that Miata)
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OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
Culture
a beggar lay in the street asking for alms (begging)
Doc Martens (boots)
mortarboard (hat)
loafers (shoes)
Miata(car)
Dum Dum (a stupid person; a kind of bullet)
Eartha Kitt: cabaret star (hit: C'est Si Bon)
Lenny Kravitz: “Are you gonna go my way?”
MC Hammer: rapper
We blew off steam in Bali beach clubs, Jakarta military pool halls, and nightclubs … that were borderline brothels.Idiom: let/blow off steam (informal): to give vent to one's repressed emotions, especially by talking or behaving in an unrestrained manner.
Don't take her remarks too seriously—she was just blowing off steam.
Wiccan: a follower of Wicca, a polytheistic Neo-Pagan nature religion inspired by various pre-Christian western European beliefs, whose central deity is a mother goddess and which includes the use of herbal magic and benign witchcraft.
Lived off campus – read on!
Living on-campus vs. off-campus
Posted : May 3, 2005. Last Updated : April 30, 2013
It's the question that every college student must answer: should you live on-campus or off-campus? Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, so it is crucial for you to weigh your choices before you make a final decision. To help you choose between the two, here are some pros and cons of living on-campus and off-campus.
On-Campus
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OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
Pros
Accessibility to the school. If you live on-campus, you can easily walk to classes, libraries, computer labs, cafeterias, etc. You don't have to waste time and money on driving to school, finding a parking space, and so forth.
Increased social life. Living on-campus will allow you to meet more people and establish more friendships than if you live off-campus. Living in a dorm means that there will always be someone around to hang out with. You will also usually be aware of any campus activities and how to be involved in them.
Simplicity. If you live on-campus, you don't have to worry about monthly rent payments, utility bills, and grocery shopping. Most students who live in a dorm get a meal plan in order to make eating easy and convenient. (Although, you will probably still want to dine in your dorm room from time to time.)
Cons
Little privacy. When living in a dorm, it can be very hard to find privacy. You have to share bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. The close living quarters mean that you may never have quiet time in your dorm because there will always be something going on.
Limited space. At most colleges, the dorm rooms are tiny. You have to limit what you bring to school, or your space will be too crowded. Check out these tips to best utilize your space when living in a dorm room.
Possible low GPA. Because dorm life is very social, your grades may be affected in a negative way. If you constantly choose hanging out with your dorm buddies over studying at the library, then your GPA will suffer.
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OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
Off-Campus
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OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
Pros
Independence. You will not have to follow as many rules if you live off-campus. Residence halls have several rules that students must abide by when living on-campus. (These rules are usually designed for the overall protection and safety of the residents). Living off-campus will give you freedom from those rules and allow you to set your own.
Privacy. Living off-campus means that you will more than likely have your own bedroom so you can have a place to sneak off and have time alone away from your roommates. The extra space also means that you can probably find a quiet place to study in the convenience of your own home.
Sense of responsibility. Living off-campus will help you be more responsible. If you live off-campus, you will be in charge of paying bills, cleaning house, grocery shopping, and cooking. Being responsible is a good quality to possess (in case you consider this one a con).
Cons
More expensive. Often, off-campus housing is more expensive than on-campus housing. Utilities and cable can be an added monthly expense, and you may have to pay for your own Internet access.
Transportation. When living off-campus, it may not be convenient for you to walk to campus so you would have to find transportation. Whether you drive your car or use a form of public transportation, it is still going to cost you money. Traffic can also be an issue if you live in a crowded area.
Isolation. If you live off-campus, you may not be as involved with campus activities as you would if you lived on-campus. This could cause you to feel a sense of detachment with your college and cause you to not make as many friends.
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OITNB (memoir) - Prisons, women, by michelle – C1 Course at
When deciding whether to live on-campus or off-campus, think about what is important to you. You may even want to put together a list of your own pros and cons. Keep in mind that some colleges do not let first-year students live in an off-campus apartment; you would either have to live in a residence hall or at home with your family. Check with your chosen school for regulations.
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