Unit-2-Little-House-in-the-Big-Woods

LittleHouseintheBigWoodsByLauraIngallsWilderLauraIngallsWilderlivedinAmerica146yearsago.Laura’sfamilywerepioneersandshehadmanyadventuresastheytravelledthroughwoods,overprairies（大草原）andacrossriversintheircoveredwagon（篷车）.AboutLauraIngallsWilderLauraIngallsWilderwasborninPepin,Wisconsin,inFebruary1867.ShewasthesecondoffourdaughtersborntoCaroline(Quiner)andCharlesPhilipIngalls.Wilder'searlylifewasspentconstantlymovingfromplacetoplace.Herfathercalledhimselfapioneermananddreamedofgoingwesttoexploreandsettleonunknownterritory.Theytravelledthroughthickwoods,overbarrenprairies,throughtheswollenMississippi,andovericywatersallintheircoveredwagon.TheymovedfromMissouri,toKansas,toWisconsin,toMinnesota,toIowaandfinallysettledinDeSmet,SouthDakota,whereherfatherclaimedahomestead.BackgroundKnowledge50stars:50states13stripes:13colonies(Feb.7,1867–Feb.10,1957)•LittleHouseintheBigWoods(1932)•FarmerBoy(1933)•LittleHouseonthePrairie(1935)•OntheBanksofPlumCreek(1937)•BytheShoresofSilverLake(1939)•TheLongWinter(1940)•LittleTownonthePrairie(1941)•TheseHappyGoldenYears(1943)•OntheWayHome(1962)•TheFirstFourYears(1971)•TheRoadBack(2006)theLittleHouseseriesAboutthestoryLaura'sdaughterRosegrewuplisteningtohermother'sstoriesofthosepioneerdays.Sheurgedhermothertowritethemdownsothatotherchildrencouldenjoythemaswell.Sointhe1930sand40s,Laurarecordedhermemoriesofthosedaysoflongagoinachildren'sseriesknownastheLittleHousebookswhichincludesLittleHouseintheBigWood(1932)FarmerBoy(1933)LittleHouseonthePrairie(1935)OntheBanksofPlumCreek(1937)BytheShoresofSilverLake(1939)TheLongWinter(1940)LittleTownonthePrairie(1941)ThoseHappyGoldenYears(1943)《大森林里的小木屋》世界儿童文学经典名著、全球童书最高荣誉纽伯瑞大奖作品。畅销全球近80年，被翻译成40多种文字出版，已被拍成了系列电视剧、TV动画和多部电影。美国图书馆协会、美国童书书商协会推荐的少年儿童必读书。OurLittleHouseintheBigWoodsWisconsin威斯康星州AloghouseCulturalbackgroundnotes1.WestwardMovementinAmericaWestwardmovementinAmericacarriedsettlersacrossAmerica,fromtheAtlanticOceantothePacificOcean.Thewestwardmovementbeganintheearly1600'swithEuropeansettlementsalongtheAtlanticCoastofNorthAmerica.Itcontinueduntilthelate1800's.Bythattime,thewesternfrontiersoftheUnitedStateshadbeenconquered.AnabundanceoflandandothernaturalresourcesluredAmerica‘spioneerswestward.Furtraders,cattleranchers（大牧场主）,farmers,andminersledthepushtothewest.Merchantsandotherbusinesspeoplefollowed.CulturalbackgroundnotesThesehard-workingmenandwomenfacedgreatdangers,enduredseverehardships,andsufferedlonelinessandboredominthehopeofmakingabetterlifeforthemselvesandtheirchildren.Someofthemlookedtothewestforwealthoradventure.Otherssoughttoimprovetheirsocialpositionorincreasetheirpoliticalpower.Thepioneersstruggledwestwardacrosshills,mountains,andprairiesonfootandonhorseback.SomefloatedthroughtheErieCanalonbarges（驳船）ortraveleddownriversonflatboatsandsteamboats.Otherscrossedtheruggedwildernessincoveredwagons.Formanypioneers,theCumberlandGap,theOregonTrail,andotherroadswestbecamepathstoopportunity.(1)Patternsofmigration.Foralmost300years,thewestwardmovementinfluencedAmericanhistory.However,thewestwardflowofpeoplewasnotconstant.MigrationhaltedwhenIndianhostilitiesorwarswithothernationsmadethefrontiersunsafe.Butoncepeacewasrestored,pioneersresumedtheirwestwardmarch.Peoplealsotendedtomigrateduringprosperoustimes,whenmoneywasavailable.Duringperiodsofdepression,migrationoftenslowedtoatrickle.Sometimes,asinthecaseoftheGreatPlains,technologyspurredsettlement.Theinventionofbarbedwire（带刺的铁丝网）andimprovementsinthewindmill（风车）andinfarmmachineryhelpedopentheGreatPlainstosettlers.2.ResultsofWestwardMovement2.ResultsofWestwardMovement(2)Thefrontierinfluence.Thefrontierwasmorethanaplaceonamap.ItwasanexperiencethatshapedmanyAmericaninstitutionsandideas.Thefrontierenvironmentpresentedchallengesthatproducedcreativesolutions.Forexample,frontiersettlementsweremuchlesscomplexthantheestablishedcommunitiesoftheEast.Asaresult,pioneerssetupsimpleformsofgovernmentthatmetfrontierneeds.Similarly,theelaboratesocialcustomsoftheEastgavewaytothesimplerpleasuresofbarndancesandcornhuskingcontests.Thefrontierexperiencepromoteddemocracy.EstablishedleadersrarelymigratedfromtheEast,andsothefrontierbroughtawiderangeofpeopleintogovernment.Classlinesalsoblurredinfrontiersocieties.Itbecamedifficulttodistinguishapermanentupperorlowerclassbecauseanyonemightstrikeitrichorsufferasetback.Thefrontier'sabundantresourceswereequallyavailabletoall.ThefrontierexperiencealsoencouragedthedevelopmentofcertainAmericancharacteristics.Frontierswereisolatedplaces,andsopioneershadtomakemanyitemstheymightotherwisehavetradedfororbought.2.ResultsofWestwardMovementTheybuilttheirownhousesandbarnsandproducedtheirownfood.Theymadetheirowncandles,clothing,furniture,pots,tools,andothernecessities.Asjacksofalltrades,pioneersbecameinventiveandself-reliant.Inaddition,frontiersofferedopportunitiesforsuccesstothosewhoworkedhard.Asaresult,pioneerstendedtobeoptimisticaboutthefutureandconcernedwithmaterialwealth.Boastfulnessandself-confidenceemergedasfrontiertraitsaswell.Unfortunately,thepioneersalsobecameextremelywaste