Katherine: He painted what he felt, not what he saw. People didn't
understand. To them, it seemed childlike and crude. It took years for them to
recognize his actual technique to see the way his brush strokes seemed to make
the night sky move. Yet, he never sold a painting in his lifetime. This is his
self portrait. There's no camouflage; no romance. Honesty. Now, 60 years later
where is he?
Giselle: Famous?
Katherine: So famous; in fact, that everybody has a reproduction. There are
post cards.
Connie: We have the calendar.
Katherine: Here you go. With the ability to reproduce art, it is available to
the masses. No one needs to own a van Gogh original.
Sunflowers by Vincent van
Gogh
Susan: We do. In the Newport house. But it's small. Tiny.
Katherine: They can paint their own. Van Gogh in a box, ladies. The newest
form of mass distributed art. Paint by numbers.
Connie: Now everyone can be van Gogh. It's so easy. Just follow the simple
instructions and in minutes; you're on your way to being an artist.
Giselle: Van Gogh by numbers?
Katherine: Ironic, isn't it? Look at what we have done to the man who refused
to conform his ideals to popular taste, who refused to compromise his integrity.
We have put him in a tiny box and asked you to copy him. So the choice is yours,
ladies. You can conform to what other people expect or you can--
Betty: I know. Be ourselves.
Connie: You're a sight for sore eyes.
Betty: I would've been here
sooner but, silly me; I thought class was in the
classroom.
Katherine: Glad you could join us, Mrs. Jones. We thought we'd lost you.
Connie: There's sort of unwritten rule for marr-
Betty: Don't
bother.
Katherine: Since your wedding, you've missed six classes, a paper and your
midterm.
Betty: Well, thank god I didn't miss the paint-by-numbers lecture. I was on
my honeymoon and then I had to set up house. What does she expect?
Katherine: Attendance.
Connie: Most of the faculty turn their heads when the married students miss a
class or two.
Katherine: Then why not get married as freshmen? That way you could graduate
without actually ever stepping foot on campus.
Betty: Don't disregard our traditions just because you're subversive.
Katherine: Don't disrespect this class just because you're married.
Betty: Don't disrespect me just because you're not.
Katherine: Come to class, do the work, or I'll fail you.
Betty: lf you fail me, there will be consequences.
Katherine: Are you threatening me?
Betty: I'm educating you.
Katherine: That's my job.
妙词佳句，活学活用
1. I would have been here sooner. 这句话的意思是我本来能早点来的。
Would/should have been on
time这种表达通常的意思是“本来应该做但结果没有做成的事情”，经常在语法中被归为虚拟语气的一种。我们在听听力或者日常对话中往往容易忽略这种语气，但是英语国家的人对这个表达的意思特别敏感，因为往往一听到would/should
have been，就明白对方说的事可能黄了。举几个电影中的例子： 1）I should have died there with my men.
我本来应该和我的手下一起死在战场上的。（Forrest Gump） 2）Paris is always a good idea. I was happy
there. You would have been too. 去巴黎永远都是好主意。我在那儿很快乐。你本来也可以很快乐的。（Sabrina） 3）I
don't think anybody doubts it would have been an enormously successful venture.
我想没人会怀疑我们合并后会成为一个相当成功的企业。（Sabrina）
2. unwritten rule 不成文的规矩
An unwritten rule, law, or agreement is one that is understood and accepted
by everyone, although it may not have been formally or officially established.
例如： He bore the unwritten rule in
mind. 他牢记那条不成文的规矩。
Joan: Sunflowers. Vincent van Gogh. 1888. 
Betty: Don't disregard our traditions just because you're subversive.
