The Company ManEllen Goodman

Unit 5

Teaching objectives

By the end of this unit, you are supposed to understand the main idea, structure of

the text and the author’s writing style master the key language points and

grammatical structures in the textbe able to discuss fierce competition

and workaholics at present times

Teaching Procedures

1. Pre-reading Questions 2. Text I. The Company Man Text Comprehension

Main idea of the passage Structural analysis Global comprehension

Language points sentence studies vocabulary studies

3. assignment4. Text II. The Unhappy American Way

Pre-reading Questions1. Have you ever heard of the word

workaholic? What do you think is the life of a typical workaholic like? What is the fundamental reason for workaholics?

2. How important do you think work is to a person?

3. How should a person keep a balance between work and leisure? Examples?

A person who indulges himself in work

Only work, no personal hobbiesRemote relationship with his familyFierce competition

Provides daily subsistence for life.Brings about wealth and fameMakes people keep in touch with the

societyEnables people to do one’s bit for

others Work is not everything.Balance between work and life

Realizing that working too hard is a great drain on one’s energy/is risking one’s health

Developing some new hobbies or renew one’s hobbies in the past

Putting aside some time for family hour and contact with old friends

Main Idea of the passageIn this text, the author paints an ironic picture of the cutthroat life of a company man and his family. The man was a workaholic who died of a heart attack,which surprised no one. Through the narration, the author tries to make the readers understand her bitter satire towards the cruel reality and the tragedy of some people in it.

Structural analysis

The text can be divided into fourparts.Part One: (Paragraph 1)This is the introductory part .Concise as it is, the first sentence provides the information of "who," "what," "how" and "when. "

Part Two: (Paragraphs 2-6)This part reports how devoted

theman was to his work.

Part Three: (Paragraphs 7-13):In this part, the writer

describes Phil's role in his family as well

as the relationship he keeps with his

family members. (remote/distant)

Part Four: (Paragraphs 14-16)This is the end of the essay. After the cause of Phil's death

beingrestated, the author goes on to

reportthe company president's inquiry

forhis successor. (Ironic: Who’s been working the hardest?)

Global Comprehension1.What is the style of the text?

How do know that? a. a colloquial style b. a formal style c. a humorous style

1.What is the style of the text? How do know that?

a. a colloquial style b. a formal style c. a humorous style

2.Is the author simply narrating the death of a company man? How do you know?

No. His death meant more than a warn to survivors

Some repeated words and sentences A detailed description of the hours he

works in a week and a day. His relationship with his family

3.Which of the following words best states the prevailing tone of the passage?

A. Objective B. Sarcastic C. Humorous

3.Which of the following words best states the prevailing tone of the passage?

A. Objective B. Sarcastic C. Humorous

4.What is the implication of the ending?

It implies the story of Phil sees no end: He will soon be replaced by an equally hardworking guy who may follow in his steps and repeat the same tragedy. Bosses are always on the lookout for workaholics and they are never in short supply. The ending is full of sarcasm and bitterness.

TEXT I The Company Man

1 He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3: 00 a. m. Sunday morning.

Question: Why are these adverbs "finally and precisely" used?

2.The obituary didn't say that, of course. It said that he died of a coronary thrombosis – I think that was it – but everyone among his friends and acquaintances knew it instantly. He was a perfect Type A, a workaholic, a classic, they said to each other and shook their heads – and thought for five or ten minutes about the way they lived.

3 This man who worked himself to death finally and precisely at 3 :00 a. m. Sunday morning – on his day off –was fifty-one years old and a vice-president. He was, however, one of six vice-presidents, and one of three who might, conceivably—if the president died or retired soon enough –have moved to the top spot. Phil knew that.

Question: What was the man's position in the company? Why does the author report it in detail?

4 He worked six days a week, five of them until eight or nine at night, during a time when his own company had begun the four-day week for everyone but the executives. He worked like the Important People. He had no outside “extracurricular interests,” unless, of course, you think about a monthly golf game that way. To Phil, it was work. He always ate egg salad sandwiches at his desk. He was, of course, overweight, by 20 or 25 pounds. He thought it was okay, though, because he didn't smoke.

Question: What type of man was the deceased?

5 On Saturdays, Phil wore a sports jacket to the office instead of a suit, because it was the weekend.

6 He had a lot of people working for him, maybe sixty, and most of them liked him most of the time. Three of them will be seriously considered for his job. The obituary didn't mention that.

Question: what do Saturdays mean for Phil?

To Phil, Saturday is not a day to relax, but only a time to change to a casual wear.

7 But it did list his "survivors" quite accurately. He is survived by his wife Helen, forty-eight years old, a good woman of no particular marketable skills, worked in an office before marrying and mothering. She had, according to daughter, given up trying to compete with his work years ago, when the children were small. A company friend said, “ I know how much you will miss him.” And she answered, “1 already have.”

Question: What did Phil' s wife mean when she answered, “I already have"?

8 "Missing him all these years," she must have given up part of herself which had cared too much for the man. She would be “well taken care of.”

9 His “dearly beloved” eldest of the “dearly beloved” children is a hardworking executive in a manufacturing firm down South. In the day and a half before the funeral, he went around the neighborhood researching his father, asking the neighbours what he was like. They were embarrassed.

Question: Why is the phrase "dearly beloved" repeated when referring to his children in Paragrap 9?

10His second child is a girl, who is twenty-four and newly married. She lives near her mother and they are close, but whenever she was along with her father, in a car driving somewhere, they had nothing to say to each other.

11The youngest is twenty, a boy, a high-school graduate who has spent the last couple of years, like a lot of his friends, doing enough odd jobs to stay in grass and food. He was the one who tried to grab at his father, and tried to mean enough to him to keep the man at home. He was his father's favorite. Over the last two years, Phil stayed up nights worrying about the boy.

12The boy once said, "My father and I only board here. “Question: Did his children know him well?

13At the funeral, the sixty-year-old company president told the forty-eight old widow that the fifty-one-year-old deceased had meant much to the company and would be missed and would be hard to replace. The widow didn't look him in the eye. She was afraid he would read her bitterness and, after all, she would need him to straighten out the finances – the stock options and all that.

14 Phil was overweight and nervous and worked too hard. If he wasn't at the office, he was worried about it. Phil was a Type A, a heart attack natural. You have picked him out in a minute from a lineup.15 So when he finally worked himself to death, at precisely 3: 00 a. m. Sunday morning, no one was really surprised.

16 By 5 :00 p. m. the afternoon of the funeral, the company president had begun, discreetly of course, with

care and taste, to make inquiries about his replacement. One of three men. He asked around: “Who's been working

the hardest?” Question: Why does the essay end with the question the company president asked?

After-reading Questions1. How many times is "he finally worked

himself to death, at precisely 3: 00 a. m. Sunday morning" repeated in the essay? Why is it repeated?

Three times. By repeating this sentence, the author

relates the two contradictory ideas work and Sunday and thus reveals the personality of the man and suggests that the man is destined to be exhausted.

2. Why isn't the name of the deceased mentioned at the very beginning?

On the one hand, this is meant to get the readers involved in finding out who is being discussed, and on the other, suggests the fact that workaholicism has become a common phenomenon. The deceased was only one of the many workaholics who bury themselves in their work and forget all about their individuality.

3. How is irony used in language and in juxtapositions ( 并置 , 并列 ) of image?

By putting contradictory actions or ideas together such as "worked himself ... at 3: 00 a. m. Sunday morning," "On Saturdays, Phil wore a sports jacket to the office," "... he (his son) went around the neighborhood researching his father," the author creates the image of a workaholic, one who worked on days when others were having their holidays and one who failed to be a qualified husband and father while being successful in his career.

precisely : exactly E.g. They arrived at five o'clock precisely.Note: Some of its synonyms are exactly, accurately, definitely.

conceive v

1. become pregnant (with a child): E.g.She was told she couldn't conceive. 2. conceive of sth; conceive sth (as sth) form (an

idea, a plan, etc) in the mind; imagine sth: E.g.I cannot conceive (i.e. do not believe) that he would wish to harm us. E.g.The ancients conceived (of) the world as (being) flat, i.e. They thought it was flat. conceivable

executive adj [usu attrib] 1 (esp in business) concerned

with the management and carrying out of plans, decisions, etc （尤指企业中）经营管理的 , 经营的 , 经理的 : executive duties 经营管理的职责

possess executive ability 具有管理的才能 . 2 having power to carry out decisions, laws,

decrees, etc （对决策、 法律、 法令等）有执行权的 , 行政的 , 决策的 : executive authority 行政当局 the executive branch of the Government 政府的行政部门

n. 1 person or group in a business organization, trade union, etc with administrative or managerial powers （在企业、 工会等中的）行政领导 ; 经理 ; 董事 ;

She's a sales executive in a computer company.

2 [C] (in the Civil Service) person who carries out what has been planned or decided （政府文职部门的）行政人员 : [attrib] executive officer 行政主任 .

3 the executive, executive branch of a government 政府的行政部门 .

He had no interests outside his work.

Here “extracurricular interest” is a metaphor, denoting personal interests or hobbies. Phil was so much devoted to his work that he had no interests whatsoever.

overweight adj weighing more than is normal,

necessary, or allowed, especially having more body weight than is considered normal or healthy for one's age or build

E.g. If your luggage is overweight, you'll have to pay extra.

E.g. I'm overweight by 2kg according to my doctor. C.f underweight

Compare: fat, obese, fleshy, stout, pudgy, plump, chubby

These adjectives all mean having an abundance and often an excess of flesh.

Fat implies excessive weight and is generally unfavorable in its connotations:

Charlie is not merely overweight but downright fat.

Obese implies gross overweight:"... a woman of robust frame... though stout,

not obese" (Charlotte Bronte).Fleshy suggests a not necessarily excessive

abundance of flesh Susan quite likes her boyfriend's firm, fleshy

arms.

Stout is sometimes used as a polite term to describe fatness. In stricter application stout refers to a person with a thickset, bulky figure: Even slim girls can become stout matrons.

Pudgy means short and fat: His pudgy fingers look really funny.Plump applies to a pleasing fullness of figure: Everybody loves Rita, the plump, rosy little

girl.A chubby person is round and plump: a chubby toddler; chubby cheeks

But the obituary did list the family members of the dead man quite accurately.

A good woman with no specific skills wanted by employers

marketable: wanted by purchasers or employers

E.g.They have failed to launch a marketable model for years.

E.g. It is a good idea to list your marketable skills before heading for the job fair.

survive: to live longer than; to outlive E.g. It's amazing that she should have survived all her children and grandchildren.E.g.My father survived my mother by four years.

widow: a woman whose husband has died, and who has not married againwidower: a man whose wife has died, and who has not married again widow v.: to make a widow or widower of (somebody) E.g.She calls her windowed father/mother nearly everyday.

straighten out: to solve or settle; toremove difficulties (from something) or the doubt or ignorance (in somebody's mind) E.g. We need someone capable of straightening out all the confusion.E.g. I was then muddled about the registration procedures. Luckily, she came in time to straighten me out.

Inquiry (also enquiry)

a request for help or information; an investigation E.g. There have been many inquires about the

new degree program we offer.E.g. Don't hesitate to check with our workers at the inquiry desk/office when in doubt.

"Finally" suggests the doomed

ending of the workaholic.

"Precisely" emphasizes his devotion to work, as he died on a Sunday, a day when people are supposed to take a rest.

The man was one of the six vice-presidents and one of the three possible successors to the president. The author reports it in detail to show how successful he had been and importantly, to reveal how fierce the competition was in the company.

He was a workaholic (others four days a week, he six days every week)

Imbalanced diet Few sports

She meant to say that Phil was so engrossed in his work that he neglected his family. She had already missed him who has been losing himself to work for many years.

ParaphraseSince she had long lost him to his work, she had given up caring him somuch as she did before.

The phrase "dearly beloved" is repeated to create a sarcastic effect for his relationship with his children was far from being close and intimate and he devoted too little to his children.

... doing enough temporary jobs to stay alive on drug and food. Here the word “grass” refers to marijuana, a soft and usually illegal drug made from the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant, which produces a feeling of pleasant relaxation if smoked or eaten.

Paraphrase:It was the boy who made efforts

to divert his father’s attention from work.

board1 board (at.../with sb) take meals (and

usu live) in sb's house: E.g. He boarded at my house/with me

until he found a flat. 2 provide (sb) with meals and accommodation: E.g. She usually boards students

during the college term.

No. His eldest son tried to know what his father was like from his neighbors. His daughter found nothing to talk with him and his youngest son had very little to share with him. To his children, he seemed like a stranger.

stock option: a right granted by a corporation to officers or employees as a form of compensation that allows purchase of corporate stock at a fixed price at a specified time with reimbursement ( 付还 , 退还 ) derived from the difference between purchase and market prices 职工优先认股权 , 在指定时期内定价定额购股权

A person suited by nature for heartattacknatural natural (for sth): person considered ideally suited for a role, a job, an activity, etc （对某角色、 职业、 活动等）适合的人 : E.g. He's a natural for the role of King Lear.E.g. She didn't have to learn how to run: she's a natural.

This question is a bitter irony that strikes us as heavy-hearted. It shows that being hard-working is the deciding factor in determining whether one will be promoted. From this, we can learn that it was this social value of this competitive society that determined Phil's attitude towards work and caused his death.

Ellen Goodman (1941 - ), journalist and columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for commentary. She has written for Newsweek, the Detroit Free Press, and the Boston Globe. Her works include Turning Points (1979), Close to Home (1979), and At Large (1981).

Type A (Paragraph 2) : the blood group whose red cells carry the antigen( 免疫抗原 ). It is a type of person who is anxious and hard-working, who has a strong drive to succeed, who overworks, and finds it hard to delegate or share tasks with colleagues. Type A is held to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease( 心血管病 ).

obituary n. a published notice of death coronary thrombosis n.冠状动脉血栓症 workaholic n. a person who works obsessively and finds it

difficult to stop conceivably ad. in a manner that can be imagined or

believed executive n. a person or group having administrative or

managerial authority in a organization survive v. to outlive board v. to pay to sleep and eat meals in sb’s house widow n. a woman whose husband has died, and who has not

married again deceased n. sb who has died, esp. recently lineup n. a line of people that is formed or inspection or

identification

Assignment

1. Text II reading

2. Translation work

3. Oral activity

Exercises Structural analysis of the textWhy doesn't the author keep her sentences equal or nearly so in length?By mixing some unusually short sentences with the long ones, the author varies their weight achieves emphasis and impact. For example, in Paragraph 3, the short sentence "Phil knew " follows two long sentences. This helps avoid monotony in narration and emphasizes competition.

Translation (C-E):1. My immediate boss is a typical workaholic,

for he works for over ten hours each day all the year round.

2. The principal attaches much importance to extracurricular activities and he believes that they will help to cultivate students' tremendous interest in the external world.

3. He always grabs a shower, a sandwich and then a taxi to go to work every Monday morning.

4. Since you are leaving the company, you should straighten out the accounts within the week.

5. He often stays up late at night in order to finish writing his Ph. D. dissertation on time.

6. Nothing can replace the profoundest love in one's heart of hearts.

7. He is considered a natural for the post of the president, for he has been an excellent vicepresident for almost ten years.

8. He is just too common to be picked out from the crowd.

(E-C)

Several recent studies / have highlighted the links / between work-related stress, / violence at work, / the abuse of drugs and alcohol/and tobacco consumption. / These studies tend to suggest/ that stress at work plays an important role/ in the development of negative individual and organizational factors/ and forms a common element/ linking working conditions, /substance abuse and violent acts. /There appears to be a significant correlation/ between difficulties in relaxing after work/ and negative emotions such as fear, / helplessness and failure. /Stressful work may contribute to the development/ of a desire among workers to reduce tension by drinking, / using drugs and other harmful substances. /Alienating work has negative consequences/ for the development of a healthy human personality/ and can result in a range of problematic behaviors/ at the individual level, /which may include the destructive use of alcohol/ and other substances,/as well as depression/ and a deterioration in normal affective life. /Stressful conditions may also constitute an antecedent/ to an episode of workplace violence.

Text II The Unhappy American Way

Main idea

Words and expressions:

Questions for discussion:

1. What is a kind of fundamental malaise which seems very common and which poses difficult problems for the social reformer.

people are troubled by a feeling of boredom and discontent, so they seem to yearn for someg that may help to boost their spirits. The rich often feel depressed and professional men often feel hopelessly thwarted.

2. What is the first of the two causes that prevent people from being as happy as one might expect?

It is the necessity of readiness to submit to others in some large organization. Conformity is enged and submission is a virtue. If you are bubbling with energy and laden with ideas, constantly find yourself in trouble. You are bossed about by some big man at the top who elderly, weary and cynical. The bright people always suffer from the impossibility of doing :1hing they believe to be right.

3. What is the major cause that prevents people from being happy as much as possible?

Most people act on some principles rather than. on impulse. They believe in a general theory on to make one happy, but the theory is basically false. A competitive struggle dominates which happiness lies in getting ahead of those who are your neighbors, colleagues or friends. They forget joys devoid of competitive elements. Though it is true that you are mad if ways yield to impulse, it is no less true that you may dry up by soft degrees if you never to impulse. If you desire to live a healthy and happy life, you should allow impulse to have sufficient scope to remain alive and you should preserve a range of interests, However, if you live merely on principle, you can hardly feel happy.

4. How do you understand the statement that a life which is all principle is a life on rails?

In such a life, one may score earthly achievements in a fairly fast manner, but he may succeed in gaining his particular goal at the cost of freedom, which is an indispensable element in happiness.