Unit 1 Changes in the Way We liveText A Mr Doherty Builds His Dream Life• Pre-reading Tasks

• Questions

• About the Author

• Language and Cultural Study

• Text Analysis

• Exercise

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?

American attitudes towards changes:

Americans might be a nation most used to changes who believe no one stands still. If you are not moving ahead, you’re falling behind.

Traditions can be a guide, but not necessarily superior. Better and better ways can be found. Life is in constant change.

It’s neither the strongest nor the most intelligent of a species that will survive, it is those who are most adaptable to changes.

This pursuit of perfection leads to American’s positive attitude towards change and results in a nation of people committed to researching, experimenting, and exploring.

Discussion: City life vs. Country life

City life:

Advantages: Disadvantages

Higher living standard

Convenient transportation

Health care

Better education

More job opportunities

entertainment

Overpopulation

Air pollution

Noise

Heavy traffic

High crime rate

Fierce competition and stress

Indifference in interpersonal relationship

Country lifeAdvantages: disadvantages

* Fresh air * Healthy food * Self-sufficiency * Peaceful life * More leisure time * less pressure * Closer personal relationship

* Remote & backward * Underdeveloped * Inconvenience in life * Not well-informed of the outside world * Hard manual labor * Low income

Text Structure

Part One Paras 1-3 The writer views his life in the countryside as _____

____ and ___________.Part Two Paras 4-7

Life in the countryside is _____ yet sometimes ________.Part Three Paras 8-11

After quitting his job, the writer’s income was reduced, but he and his family ______________________.Part Four paras 12-15

_________________ and _________________ have made it possible for the family to enjoy their life in the country.

self-reliant satisfying

goodhard

can manage to get by

A tolerance for solitude a lot of energy

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?

Questions

About the AuthorE. 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.

Introduction (P2) In America many people have a romantic idea of life in the countryside. Many living in towns dream of starting up their own farm, of living off the land. Few get round to putting their dreams into practice. This is perhaps just as well, as the life of a farmer is far from easy, as Jim Doherty discovered when he set out to combine being a writer with running a farm. Nevertheless, as he explains, he has no regrets and remains enthusiastic about his decision to change his way of life.

Start up: 开办

Live off: depend for living 以…为生

Get round to (doing sth): 花时间 , 顾得上做…

Set out (to do): begin to do sth 开始做…

Be enthusiastic about 对…热情

Language and Cultural Study

1. get by: manage; survive. 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.

He’s never really made it as an actor. 2) to succeed in reaching a place after difficulty, effo

rt, etcIt was a terrible journey but we finally made it.

3) to attend sth.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.

The farmers haul vegetables to the market on a truck every day.

The rescue team hauled medical supplies and food to the flooded village.

2) pull or drag sth. with effort or force

I got stuck in the mud and the others had to haul me out.

Rescue workers hauled passengers out the bombed commuter train.

4.   improvement:

the act or an instance of improving or being improved. 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. My doctor suggested a diet supplemented with vitamin tablets. He works in the evenings to supplement his student grant.

6.   indoor: situated or used inside a building. Indoor pollution has been found to be as much as 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 The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes.

8. pursue: to strive to gain or accomplishpursue lofty political goals / pleasure / one's studiesPublic 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 • 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

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.

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. 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.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 togenerate 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 payIf 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 minor repairs / operations / injuries / role in a play

17. cut back: reduce in size or amount If we don’t sell more goods, we’ll have to cut back (on) production.

After NPC, the government decided to cut back military spending to ensure more on infrastructure.

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

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.

The restaurant featuring French dishes is patronized by a lot of politicians and journalists.

When he was a student, Mark often patronized the little shop 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 )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 periodA 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

academic / admission / design / fund requirement

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

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

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. 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 stay there despite all the difficulties.

26. device: a piece of equipment designed to serve a special purpose. Due to the widespread use of mobile digital devices, the semiconductor industry is gathering attention these days.

27.  profit: an advantageous gain or return.

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

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 AnalysisClear 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, prof

it, 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 translation

There 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.

Review早该做的修缮 Long-overdue improvements

苛刻的时间表 A demanding schedule

如老话所说 As the old saying goes

时机选的很糟 The timing is terrible

常春藤联合学校 Ivy League Schools

带着老板的祝福 With the employer’s blessing

累积津贴 Accumulated benefits总的来说 On balance

按揭贷款 Mortgage payments

过得去 get by

至于 when it comes to

弥补收入差额 make up the difference in income

生活水平 living standard

外出吃饭 dine out

光顾当地饭店 Patronize local restaurants

耐得住寂寞 A tolerance for solitude

预算吃紧 A tight budget

自给自足 Self-sufficient/cy

抵制诱惑 Resist the temptation to do sth.

Writing practice

Country life and City life

在两者中我更倾向于 city life/country life.City/country life 相对于 country/city life 的

优点虽然 city/country life 也有其缺点 , 但可以通

过…克服 , 所以 , 我选择它 .

比较 / 对比类作文常用词相同点Like, same, in the same way, similar to, si

milarly, both… and…, have …in common

不同点However, although, but, unlike, differ from,

be different from, on the other hand, while, whereas

比较 / 对比类作文常用句型As far as…is concerned…/ when it comes to the choice between… and…,/ whether to… or… is a problem we should give more thought to.

Some people maintain that … while others have opposing opinions.

While some people argue for…, other people argue against…

Some people believe it’s beneficial to… while others think more disadvantages arise from

In the eyes of the first group of people… As to the second group of people…

In comparison…/by contrast

On (the) one hand, On the other hand

As far as I am concerned, I prefer to..

Text BWordsAt one time 曾经 , 一度• At one time, I wanted to be an actor.• 他一度当过老师 , 但现在在外贸工作• He was a teacher ~, but now he works for foreig

n trade.

Get along ( 生活 ) 过得去 , 过日子• Don’t worry about him, he’s getting along quite well.• We can just get along on my father’s salary.

wordsMiss out (on sth) 缺少 , 未得到• I ~ on last week’s lecture, can you tell me st

h about it?• 你在报告里漏掉了重要的两点 .• You have ~ two important points in your repo

rt.Gasp( 因惊讶等 )倒抽一口气

~ with/in amazementAt the last gasp 最后时刻• Lily gasped with pain and fainted at last.

Words

Commute: 每日乘车往返 Commuter. n. 乘交通车上下班的人• He commutes from Oxford to London every da

y.• 他每天往返在松江和浦东之间 .• He commutes from Songjiang to Pudong. Whip up: make quickly 快速完成• He ~ a report in half an hour.• 再有 10 分钟就上课了 , 我必须把面包赶快吃完 .• I have to ~ the bread as the class is just 10 min

utes’ away.

Words

Go with 与…搭配 , 与…和谐• There are quite a lot of benefits to ~ the

job.• 她的项链和裙子很搭配 .• Her necklace goes with his skirt.• 在这个问题上 , 我和你的看法完全一致 .• On this question, I ~ with you the whole

way.

Word• As a result, “ 因为”As a result of 原因 “由于…”结果 Result from 原因 “起因于…”原因 Result in 结果 “导致”

Take over 取代 , 接管She will ~ my job when I leave.理查德将接任公司总经理职位 .Richard will take over as the president of the co

mpany.

Word

Make sense: 有意义 , 合理No matter how you read it, this sentence doe

sn’t ~.

他讲的那番话简直不知所云 .

What he said just doesn’t make sense.

Make sense of 理解There are many sentences in this passage th

at I can’t ~.

TextText structure

Part 1 Para 1-6 A typical household in the past and the three changing parts of our lives

Part 2 Para 7-10 Changes in the way we__1__

Part 3 Para 11-14 Changes in the way we___2_

Part 4 Para 15-19 Changes in the way we__3__

Part 5 Para 20-23 conclusion

Language points

1. In walks dear old Dad, hungry and tired after a long day at the office. 倒装句 . (line 2)

2. Becoming aware of the effects of those changes may help us improve family life.(line 20-21)

Paraphrase:

To realize the effects of those changes may be helpful to the improvement of our family life.

3. An even greater percentage of mothers of older children are in the workforce. (line 27-28)

Percentage 被放在 the 后时，用单数形动词：• The percentage of unskilled workers is small.

• 非熟练工的比例很小。

当被放在 a后时，可用动词单数或复数形式 , 这由后面所 跟的介词短语中名词的数量而定：

• A small percentage of the workers are unskilled.

• 少数工人是非熟练工。• A large percentage of the crop has been spoiled.

• 大部分庄稼被毁

4. They travel distances to work that would have made their parents gasp. (line 43-44) paraphrase:

They travel such a long distance to work that their parents have been shocked.

5. No running home for lunch for today’s commuter.(line 47)

Paraphrase:

Commuters today do not run back home for lunch.

6. And classic fast foods, like hamburgers and fries, are meant to be eaten on the run, not slowly enjoyed at the dinner table. (line 65-66)

Paraphrase: Traditional fast food, such as hamburgers and fries,

are made for the people in a hurry, but not for those who have sufficient time to enjoy the dinner.

7. Today, television and computers bring a dizzying array of entertainment into the home.(line76-77)

Array: 本意 : 一系列 ( 军队 , 列队等 ). A dizzying array of 指多的让人眼花缭乱 .