Unit 1

Changes in the Way we live

Pre-reading tasks

Discussion: 1. Why do so many migrant workers mov

e from the country to the city? 2. Why do city people buy apartments or

houses in the suburbs, even in the countryside?

3. Why are tours of Zhou Zhuang, Tong Li, or any other old towns so popular?

Text A : Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream Life

Questions:

1. What is his dream life?

2. Which life is better, in author’s opinion, living in the countryside or living in the city? Why?

Language and Cultural studyE. B. White : Leading American essayist and literary stylist of his time. White was known for his crisp, graceful, relaxed style.

From 1929 White worked for The New Yorker's weekly magazine, remaining in its staff for the rest of his career.

White's favorite subjects were the complexities of modern society, failures of technological progress, the pleasures of urban and rural life, war, and internationalism. He was skeptical about organized religion, and advocated a respect for nature and simple living.

1. get by: manage; survive. Examples: How can he get by on such low wages? It is a little bit difficult for the old to get by on

such a small pension.

2. make it: 1) to be successful in one’s career. Examples: He’s never really made it as an actor. 2) to succeed in reaching a place after difficulty, effort, e

tcExamples: It was a terrible journey but we finally made it.

3) to attend sthExamples: I am afraid I won’t be able to make it to your

party next week.

3. haul: 1) transport, as with a truck, cart, etc. Examples: The farmers haul vegetables to the market on a tru

ck every day. The rescue team hauled medical supplies and food to the floo

ded village. 2) pull or drag sth. with effort or force Examples: I got stuck in the in the mud and the others had to h

aul me out. Rescue workers hauled passengers out the bombed commuter

train.

4.   improvement: the act or an instance of improving or being improved.

Examples: Internet service providers should develop security improvement services for their customers.

The government’s priorities will go to local transport improvement projects.

5. supplement: to add to or complete with sth else. Examples: My doctor suggested a diet supplemented with vi

tamin tablets. He works in the evenings to supplement his student grant.

6.   indoor: situated or used inside a building. Examples: Indoor pollution has been found to be as much a

s five to ten times higher inside some skyscrapers than outside.

The Mall of America, the biggest mall in USA includes the world’s largest indoor amusement park.

7. spray: force out liquid in small drops upon Examples: The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge qua

ntities by aeroplanes.

8. pursue: to strive to gain or accomplish

Examples: pursue lofty political goals / pleasure / one's studies

Public evening classes allow people to earn a living during the day and pursue vocational and intellectual interests in their spare time.

After graduation Martin chose to pursue the same career as his father as a minister.

n. pursuit: the pursuit of higher education

9. stack: make into a pile

Examples: After she did the dishes, Mon started stacking them on the draining-board.

Before being processed into lumber, the wood must be carefully stacked to prevent warping.

10.  wicked: evil or bad

Examples: I would rather starve in a ditch than accept the fortune upon such wicked terms.

We are born good, but can be taught to be wicked.

11.   get through: come successfully to the end.

Examples: The local government has taken some measures to ensure that all the people will get through the winter.

She got through the entrance examination, and was accepted by the college.

Ivy LeagueBrown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Columbia University, New York

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

12.  on balance: with all things considered.

Examples: Their suggestion has, on balance, proved practicable.

On balance, it’s probably not advisable to change the company’s name.

13. illustrate: provide with visual feature; clarify by use of examples, etc.

Examples: The editor has illustrated the book with black-and-white photographs.

His story illustrates her true generosity very clearly.

Sports Illustrated: a popular US sports magazine published each week by Time Inc, part of Time Warner. It first appeared in 1954, and is read mainly by men.

14.  generate: bring into being; give rise to

Examples: generate heat / power / employment / enthusiasm

The widespread use of English in France has generated a public as well as an academic debate over language in the country.

15. pick up: be ready to pay

Examples: If he loses the case, Michael will have to pick up the bill for legal costs.

Taxpayers will be picking up the tab for the improved public transport net work.

16. minor: smaller, less serious or less important than others

Examples: minor repairs / operations / injuries / role in a play

17. cut back: reduce in size or amount Examples: If we don’t sell more goods, we’ll have to cut ba

ck (on) production. After NPC, the government decided to cut back military s

pending to ensure more on infrastructure.

18. dine out: eat a meal away from home ( usu. in a restaurant)

Examples: More people have accepted the growing trend of dining out on weekend.

As more working mother appear, many families have to dine out.

19. patronize: go to as a customer. Examples: The restaurant featuring French dishes is patronize

d by a lot of politicians and journalists. When he was a student, Mark often patronized the little s

hop near the college due to its inexpensive goods.

20.   suspect: 　 believe to be true, likely or probable; feel doubt about ( used in the patterns: suspect sb./ sth. of sth.; suspect that )

Examples: USA banned domestic poultry imported from China, suspecting that they might have been infected with bird flu.

It was perfectly all right, Henry said, because the police had not suspected him of anything.

21. budget: A systematic plan for the expenditure of a usually fixed resource, such as money or time, during a given period

Examples: A new car will not be part of our budget this year.

The low-budgeted film “ Lost in Translation” was an instant success in the Academy Award.

22.  requirement: sth. needed or asked for

Examples: academic / admission / design / fund requirement

23. scale: a relative level or degree ( usu. used in the phrase: on a … scale)

Example: judging divers' performances on a scale of 1 to 10;

a family that ranks high on the social scale

24.   resist: keep from giving in to or enjoying

Examples: I was unable to resist laughing at the sight of the funny clown.

Keep away from KFC. You know I can’t resist delicious fast food which has made me so plump.

25.  temptation: the feeling of being tempted to do sth. that you know might be wrong or harmful; the thing you want to have.

Examples: To her, the temptation to steal is greater than ever before - especially in large shopping malls.

The temptation of big cities is so huge that many migrant workers would rather to stay there despite all the difficulties.

26. device: a piece of equipment designed to serve a special purpose.

Examples: Due to the widespread use of mobile digital devices, the semiconductor industry is gathering attention these days.

27.  profit: an advantageous gain or return.

Examples: This new invention will bring you great profits like a goldmine.

The students do hope to profit by / from the teacher's comments on their compositions.

28.  primarily: mainly

Examples: Teachers in our department are primarily concerned with improving the students’ studying environment.

She gained such a great success primarily due to her diligence

English terms for fruits & vegetables

Garlic

Broccoli

Arbi

cauliflower

Asparagus

cantaloupe

Celery

Leeches

Text Analysis

Clear and logic

“ one topic sentence+ several detail sentences” structure

See Para 2

Para 5

Paras 12-13

Transitional devices.

Translation: Resist, primarily, patronize, dine out, profit, indoor, patronize, on balance, on a large scale

相当多的孩子体重越来越重，这个趋势正日益明显。这个现象主要可以用以下两个原因来解释。随着人们生活水平的提高，孩子们有更多的机会外出就餐。他们无法抵制麦当劳、肯德基或者是必胜客的诱惑。这些快餐公司在针对孩子的广告花了上百万的钱。 这些广告又反过来给公司带来了巨大的利润。孩子们经常光顾这些快餐连锁店，结果不可避免的胖起来。第二个原因是缺乏运动。今天的孩子们忙于学习，有的甚至整天呆在屋里。 卡路里摄入的增加，运动时间的减少，导致了孩子肥胖的危险。总的说来，我们应该更加关注孩子们的健康问题。应该大规模的开展一项反对西方快餐疯狂进攻中国的运动。

Key to translationThere is a growing trend that quite a number of children are getting overweight. This fact can be primarily accounted for by the following two reasons. With great improvement in people’s living standard, children now have much more chances to dine out. They just can’t resist the temptation of Mc Donald, KFC or Pizza hut, which have spent millions of dollars on advertising directed at kids. This in turn brings about great profits to these companies. Children patronize these fast food outlets so often that they are inevitably getting obese. The second reason is lack of sports. Children today are extremely occupied by their studies, and some even go so far as to stay indoor all day long. Increased calorie intake and decreased exercise time leads to obesity risk in children. On balance more attention should be paid on children’s health problem, and a campaign, on a large scale, against crazy aggression of western fast food should be launched.