Unit 5

Unit Five The Company ManCourse: Integrated EnglishInstructor: Chen ChenObjectives1. check assignment2. grasp the author’s purpose of writing and make clear the structure ofthe whole passage3.learn the writing way and master the key language points andgrammatical structures4.appreciate the rhetorical feature of the text: repetition, parallelism key points and difficult pointsdifficult phrases and sentencesgrammarstructural analysisrepetition, parallelismteaching periods: 10 periodsteaching procedureStep I W arm-upi. Assignment checkingspelling and translationii. W arm-up questions:1.What do you think is the life of a typical workaholic like?2.How important do you think work is to a person?3.What drives people to overwork?Reference:Work provides daily subsistence for life, and it also provides wealth and fame for a successful person. Apart from that, work makes life meaningful because it is through work that a person can keep in touch with society and do his or her bit for other people. However, work is not everything for a person. Life without work is futile but work without life is tedious. Besides, one has to guard against the tendency of becoming a workaholic, one who is obsessed with nothing but work and one who is totally ignorant of the beauty of life. iii. Background information(i) About the text and the authorEllen 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).Ellen Goodman is an American original. Her abundant talents, intellect, wit, style, news judgment, set her apart with an élan uniquely her own. Her Pulitzer Prize winning commentary appears in more than 375 newspapers Goodman has been an innovative force in American journalism. She once said, ―I think readers need to be less alienated from editorial pages‖ and made them so by expanding the debate on op-ed pages. She has commented on the tumult of social change and its impact on families, and shattered the mold of men writing exclusively about politics.Goodman brings new readers to editorial pages. She is widely acclaimed as a voice of sanity, and readers depend on her to help them make sense of their changing lives and relationships. ―I have always read Ellen Goodman,‖ a Sarasota, Fla., reader says. ―She writes on issues that concern me, no matter where I’ve lived or where I moved.‖In 1980, Goodman was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary.Goodman’s work has won many other awards, including the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award in 1980. She received the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights in 1988. In 1993, at its Seventh Annual Exceptional Merit Media Award Ceremony, The National Women’s Political Caucus gave her the President’s Award. In 1994, the Women’s Research & Education Institute presented her with their American Woman Award(ii) Pulitzer PrizeAny of several awards established by Joseph Pulitzer and conferred annually for accomplishment in various fields of American journalism, literature, and music.(iii) Proverbs1. work while you work play while you play this is the way to be cheerful and gay2. Never put off the work till tomorrow what you can put off today. 今日事，今日毕3. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.只会用功不玩耍，聪明孩子也变傻4. Work smarter, not harder.更有技巧地工作，而不是更努力地工作。

5. Work has a bitter root but sweet fruit.--German proverb工作虽苦,果实却甘--德国谚语6. Many hands make light work.众人拾柴火焰高; 人多好办事。

7. Work makes the workman. 熟能生巧。

Step II Texti.W ords and ExpressionsAsk the students to read the words and expressions, give some explanation.ii.An Integrated Analysis of Text(i) Ask the students to read the text quickly to get the prevailing tone of the passage.B. Though the author quotes a number of concrete facts such as the time of Phil’s death and ages of Phil, his wife, and the president, which makes the passage sound rather objective, the prevailing tone is dry, sardonic, and bitter as the passage in general can be read as a fable mocking the life of a corporate man, a workaholic. Examples of sarcasm are everywhere. For instance, at the end of the passage, by 5:00 p.m. on the afternoon of Phil’s funeral, the president had already started to make inquires about Phil’s replacement and it is the same quality that led to Phil’s death that the president was seeking in the replacement.(ii)T or F1. F. Refer to Paragraph2. To his friends, Phil’s death meant little more thana warning against their own way of living.2.T. Refer to Paragraph3. Phil was one of six vice-presidents of thecompany, and one of three who had a potential to replace the president when he retired or died soon enough. Phil knew it and worked very hard for it.3. F. Refer to Paragraph 7 and 8. Helen had long lost her husband to his work,and had given up part of herself that had cared too much for him. She didn’t love him very much though his death was still a heavy blow to her. 4. F. Refer to Paragraph 9. Phil’s eldest son went around the neighborhoodresearching him because he knew so little about his father and he had to ask the neighbors for some ideas.(iii) Ask the students to read the text again, and discuss the questions on P58 in pairs or groups, and then give them a chance to exchange their ideas.1.It means that the company Phil worked for would provide some financialhelp for his wife so as to relieve her of any possible worries about finance.2.To create a sarcastic effect for his relationship with his children was farfrom being close and intimate and he devote too little to his children.3.Refer to Paragraphs 9-12. Successful as he was as a corporate man, Philwas a failing farther. His eldest son knew little about him that he had to research his father by asking the neighbors what he was like. His daughter had nothing to say when staying along with him. And his younger son, also his favorite, remarked bitterly that his father and he only boarded at the home. The relationship between Phil and his children was distance and estranged.4.It implies the story of Phil sees no end: he will soon be replaced by anequally hardworking guy who may follow in his steps and repeat the same tragedy. Bosses are always on the lookout of workaholics and they are never in short supply. The ending is full of sarcasm and bitterness.5.Open for discussion.(iii)Structural analysisParagraph 1 : This is an introductory paragraph.Paragraphs 2-6: This part reports how devoted the man was to his work. Paragraphs 7-13: This part describes Phil’s role in his family.Paragraphs 14-16: This is the concluding part. After the cause of Phil’s death being restated, the author goes on to report the companypresident’s inquire for his successor.In a colloquial style, 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 heartattack, which surprised no one. His wife lost him years ago to his work, and his children did not know him well. To make her writing more effective, the author uses repetition and parallelism.Besides, she deliberately varies the length of the sentences. By mixing some unusually short sentences with the long ones, the author varies their weight and achieves emphasis and impact. For example, in Paragraph 3, the short sentence ―Phil knew that.‖ follows two long sentences. This helps avoid monotony is narration and emphasize Phil’s awareness of the cutthroat competition.III. Learn the Text in DetailsPart One (Paragraph 1)(i)Questions:1.What have you learned from the first sentence? (Concise as it is, the firstsentence provides the information of ―who‖, ―what‖, ―how‖, and ―when‖.)2.Why are these adverbs ―finally and precisely‖used? (―Finally‖suggeststhe 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.)(ii)Language Points1.work himself to death: died from self-motivated overwork.2. finally: imply the doomed ending of the workaholic.3. precisely: exactly– e.g. They arrived at five o’clock precisely.Note: Some of its synonyms are exactly, accurately, definitely emphasize his devotion to work.Part Two (Paragraph 2-6)(i)Questions:1. Why isn’t the name mentioned?1) get the readers involved in finding out the character.2) suggest the fact that workaholism has become a common/ubiquitous phenomenon. workaholics lost their individuality while they are busy in the work.2. What was the man’s position in the company? Why does the author report it in detail? (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.)(ii)Language Points1. obituary: 1) [C] a published notice of death, sometimes with a brief account of the dead person’s life.2) adj. an obituary notice2. coronary thrombosis: blocking of a coronary artery by a clot of blood, damaging the heart and possibly causing death; heart attack.3. workaholic: [C] a person who works obsessively and finds it difficult to stop.-holic: suffix. means be addicted to– e.g. alcoholic[U] workaholism:4. conceivably: adv. in a manner that can be imagined or believed.– e.g. He might conceivably have missed the bus. conceivable: adj.– e.g.简直难以想象瘦小的他能跑得这么快。