U4

T ext Analysis
The most dynamic combining forms/prefixes for new computer-and-Internet-related vocabulary in English are cyber-, virtual, Net- (net-), Web- (web-), and E- (e-). Translate the following words into Chinese.
1. combining forms/prefixes + noun
virtual life, virtual community, virtual office, cyber-interaction, cyber nut, cyber pet, cyberspace, Web TV, web page, website, e-card, e-business
2. combining forms/prefixes + verb
cybersurf, netsurf, email
3. words like cyber, net, etc. + suffix
cyberian, netter, cyberize
4. clipped words
cyberdoc, Netcast, Netizen, e-zine
Multiple Choice
1. How does the author feel when she is suddenly confronted with people in the real world? ( )
A) She feels shy.B) She feels angry.C) She feels cautious.D) She feels overexcited.
2. How does the author behave on line? ( )
A) She is friendly.B) She is humorous.C) She is bad-tempered.D) She is talkative.
3. Why does the author fight her boyfriend on net sometimes? ( )
A) Because they haven't seen each other for a long time.
B) Because their typed dialogue lacks emotional cues and she misinterprets it.
C) Because he doesn't love her any longer.
D) Because he doesn't send e-mails to her frequently.
4. What does the author think the daily routine is? ( )
A) Dressing for work.B) Working with colleagues at the office.
C) Sleeping normal hours.D) All the above.
True or False
1. The author tries to at least get to the gym in order to keep fit.
2. The author can get used to the real world very well.
3. The author can't bear her friend's laughter and the noise in the restaurant.
4. The author can't make a choice between the real world and the virtual one.
Useful Expressions
1. 一周中的最好时光
2. 投稿
3. 有时
4. 对……感到厌恶
5. 社交方式
6. 缺乏自律
7. 网络交际8.面对9.穿着得体10. 坏脾气11. 在此状态下12. 日常事务13. 依赖
14.长期失业15.吸毒16. 恢复平衡17. 将…与…区分开18. 面对面19.找借口
Spot Dictation
2000 SK Telecom Internet Survival Contest for Physically Challenged Y outh ______________________________. Myself, and all the other__________________________________________________________________________________________ overcame our handicaps well, and _________________________________________________________________________. In the award session ________________________________________________________________________________. Through this opportunity, I _____________________________________________________________.It gave me self-assurance of the real world of information era. I also experienced _____________________________________________. This is also one of the most ___________________.
Debate
Suppose your parents think that you and your brother/sister are spending too much time on the Internet, neglecting your schoolwork and normal daily life, and isolating yourselves from the real world. Y ou want to convince them that your time on the Internet is not wasted, and the Internet has in no way isolated you from the real world. A debate is now called for between you and your parents. Prepare and go about the debate with your partner as one acting as the parent and one as the child.
Introductory Remark
Whether you like it or not, women in many cases have to take up more responsibilities than men. That's why the author, Adrienne Popper, writes: 'Men have generally been assured that achieving their heart's desires would be a piece of cake. Women, of course, have always believed that we can't have our cake and eat it too.' What she means is that men are encouraged to achieve their goals in life, but women know that they can only achieve some goals at the expense of other goals. However, there are superwomen in the real world who are able to perform great deeds and to enjoy their lives at the same time. It is they w ho give the average woman the courage to go on, that is to say, the belief in superwomen encourages average women to achieve their goals.
T ext Analysis
There are three main ways of achieving coherence in a text: the use of transitional words and phrases, the repetition of key words and phrases, and the use of parallel structure.
Try to find transitional words like but, however, yet. Paragraphs 8 to 10 provide a good example of using transitional phrases and sentences, so much so that we can consider this section as a mini-essay. Can you find those phrases and sentences?
The most striking feature of this text is the repetition of key words and phrases. Try to scan the whole text to find the following key words and phrases and get the writer's purpose of repeating them.
1) Brooklyn Bridge or the bridge
The occurrences of the phrases Brooklyn Bridge or the bridge weave the essay into a coherent piece.
2) synonyms of superwoman
Synonyms like superwoman, superwomen, heroine, supersisters, and superheroines appear five times to remind readers of the topic of this essay.
3) in her spare time
The five instances where the phrase in her spare time is used emphasize the amazing fact that some super-capable women can still find spare time in their tight schedule.
4) synonymous phrases of fairy tale
Synonymous phrases like modern fairy tale, fantasy, dream, incredible achievements, and extraordinary deeds point out the fact that many people do not believe in superwomen stories.
There is no strictly parallel structure in this essay. However, some may regard the comparison between “my”daily struggle and the achievements of Kate L., the daughter of a politic ian, the woman executive, etc. as parallel.
Interestingly, the author uses many words and phrases related to food. Can you give us examples? Don't they reflect the traditional role of women as food-providers?
Useful Expressions
1. 校友简报
2. 校长助理
3. 博士论文
4. 有时间做某事
5. 法学院
6. 开业儿科医生
7. 电视女主持人
8. 女总裁
9. 如瑞士表一样精确10. 听起来熟悉11. 有权有势的人们12. 博士后物理学研究
13. 象作战计划那样精确的时间表14. 如约15. 决定此事16. 组织才能
17. 乐观的生活态度18. 同时做两件不相容的事而双收其利19. 平淡无味的生活20. 干得好
Oral Practice
If you had a second life, which one would you prefer to be, a man or a woman? Why?
Writing Practice
Write a composition on the topic Women Are Not Second-Class Citizens. And the topic sentence of each paragraph has been given to you:
1. In this enlightened age, there still exist a certain number of men who view women as second-class citizens. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Nevertheless, women have shown their excellence and superiority in any job you care to name.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3._____________________________________________________________________________________________________ The world can grow more peaceful and flourishing only by consummate hand-in-hand cooperation of men and women.
Sample Writing
In this enlightened age, there still exist a certain number of men who view women as second-class citizens. They go on maintaining the fiction that women, who are inferior, unreliable and irrational, depend too little on cool reasoning and too much on intuition to arrive at decisions. Hence, men almost entirely control top-level negotiations between countries, businesses and banks.
Nevertheless, women have shown their excellence and superiority in any job you care to name. As farmers, workers, drivers, doctors, politicians and scientists and even presidents of countries they have often put men to shame. They are so conscientious, industrious and persevering that they frequently succeed brilliantly in all walks of life in addition to bearing and rearing children.
Although the hard-fought battle for recognition that women are equal and often superior to men in almost every field has been won, it is by no means over. Further effort should be exerted to convert some men’s contemptuous and hostile attitude towards women. The world can grow more peaceful and flourishing only by consummate hand-in-hand cooperation of men and women.
Book Two Unit 7
Culture Notes
Root of English
English began as a west Germanic language which was brought to England by the Saxons around 400 A.D. Old English was the spoken and written language of England between 400 and 1100 A.D. Many words used today come from Old English, including man, woman, king, mother, etc. But Old English was very different from modern English and only a few words can be easily recognized. In the 9th and 10th centuries, when V ikings invaded England, Old Norse words, e.g. sky, take and get and many place names, entered the language. From the Norman Conquest (1066) until the late 12th century English was replaced as the official language by Norman French, though English was still used by the lower classes. English from about 1300 to 1500 is known as Middle English. It was influenced by French and also Latin in vocabulary and pronunciation. French brought many words connected with government, e.g. sovereign, royal, court, legal and government itself. Latin was the language of religion and learning and gave to English words such as minister, angel, master, school and grammar. Literature began again to be written in English during this period. One of the most famous Middle English works is Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.
The Development of Modern English
Modern English developed from the Middle English dialect of the East Midlands and was influenced by the English used in London, where a printing press was set up by William Caxton in 1476. English changed a great deal from this time until the end of the 18th century. During the Renaissance, many words were introduced from Greek and Latin to express new ideas, especially in science, medicine and philosophy. They included physics, species, architecture, encyclopedia and hypothesis. In the 16th century several versions of the Bible helped bring written English to ordinary people. The Elizabethan period is also famous for its drama, and Shakespeare's plays were seen by many people.
The development of printing helped establish standards of spelling and grammar, but there remained a lot of variation. Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) was the first authoritative treatment of English. It defined about 40,000 words and gave examples of their use.
By the 18th century American English was established and developing independently from British English. After colonists arrived in the US new words began to be added from Native American languages, and from French and Spanish. In 1783, soon after Johnson's dictionary was published, Noah Webster's The Elementary Spelling Book was published in the US. At first it used Johnson's spellings, but later editions contained many of what have come to be known as American spellings, e.g. harbor and favorite.
20th Century English
During the 19th and early 20th centuries many dictionaries and books about language were published. New words are still being added to English from other languages, including Chinese (feng shui) and Japanese (karaoke). Existing words gain new senses, and new expressions spread quickly through television and the Internet.
English is now an international language and is used as a means of communication between people from many countries. As a result the influences on the English language are wider than ever and it is possible that World English will move away from using a British or American standard and establish its own international identity.
T ext Analysis
An expert on English language is supposed to know well about rhetorical devices in English. Robert MacNeil, the author of Text A, does not disappoint us.
The tile, The Glorious Messiness of English, offers a good example of oxymoron. An oxymoron puts two contradictory terms together to puzzle the reader, luring him/her to pause and explore why. 'Glorious' is a commendatory term, while 'messi ness' is derogatory. Why do they stand next to each other? Then, as the reader reads on, he/she will find out that the title is actually a thesis statement: Y es, English is messy, but the messiness reflects some commendable qualities of English, such as tol erance, the love of freedom, and the respect for others' rights. At this point the reader can't but admire the author's ingenuity.
Robert employs many metaphors, such as core of English (Para. 4), a common parent language (Para. 8), another flood of new vocabulary(Para. 14), the special preserve of grammarians(Para. 19). In Para. 18 there is an instance of sustained metaphor: the cultural soil, the first shoots sprang up, … grew stronger, build fences around their language. In this case the English language is compared to plants, and the various cultures influencing it are compared to the soil, while users of English are compared to gardeners.
We can also find parallelism in the quote from Winston Churchill: 'We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight …'
There is personification in the sentence 'Translations of Greek and Roman classics were poured onto the printed page …' There is metonymy in the sentence 'The country now had three languages: French for the nobles, Latin for the churches and English for the common people.' Here the word 'churches' stands for religious institutions and those who are involved in religious practices.
Useful Expressions
1. 排行榜
2. 严格地说
3. 对我们真正至关重要的事
4. 发表演说
5.为了加强效果
6. 系统的研究
7. 起源于
8.提出
9. 向西漂泊10. 留传给我们
11. 日子过得开心12. 抚养孩子13. 平民百姓14. 印刷机15. 大量新思想
16. 欧洲文艺复兴17. 失控18. 付诸实施19. 个人自由的崇尚者20. 开拓新路
21. 培育了……的准则22. 人权23.知识精英
Listen and Answer
1. What does the Chinese language usually refer to?
2. What is the percentage of the Han nationality in the total population?
3. Why do we say the Chinese language is very important in the world?
4. How many overseas Chinese and persons of Chinese decent in Southeast Asia speak the Chinese language?
5. According to this passage, what was the world's population when the passage was written?
6. How long has the Chinese language been spoken?
Graph Writing (p. 232 Part IV)
1. An example
Write a composition entitled “Leading Causes of Road Accidents in China”. The composition should be based on the following graph.
Percentage of Accidents
Motor V ehicles Bicycles Pedestrians Others
Y our composition should be in three paragraphs:
1) introduce the causes;
2) report the information given in the graph;
3) conclude the composition by giving some suggestions.
Sample Writing
Leading Causes of Road Accidents in China
With the development of the cities, the road accident is becoming a more and more serious problem in China. The information represented in the graph, which depicts the leading causes of road accidents in China, indicates that most accidents are caused by motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians.
In the graph we can clearly see that motor vehicles are responsible for the largest part of road accidents, namely about 50% of them. Bicycles account for 35% of the accidents and pedestrians caused nearly 10%. These statistics indicate that motor vehicles have to some extent become a threat to the security of whole society, which endangers people's lives.
Since we know that motor vehicles are the leading cause of road accidents in China, we should take some measures to improve the situation. First, we should make a law to punish any violators of traffic regulations. Then, cyclists should use hand signals to warn other road users of their intentions. Last but not least, the department concerned should educate ordinary people to walk on a zebra crossing or overpass when they cross a street. All in all, it's time for us to attach great importance to this problem. (199 words)
2. Some useful expressions in graph writing
1) The picture shows…2) This table shows the differences between…
3) The diagram represents…4) The chart above indicates…
5) The information represented in the graph indicates…6) As can be seen from the chart, …
7) As is shown in the bar graph, there were…8) From the diagram it can be seen clearly that…
9) From these figures one can easily see that…
10) According to the graph given above, we can see that…
11) This is an illustration of…/a typical example of…12) There was a great/slight increase/rise.
13) There has been a sudden/slow/rapid fall/drop…14) Take the above chart as an example,…
3. Homework
Write a composition entitled “Causes of Fires”based on the following graph.
Number of Fires
Smoking Defective Insulation Children Playing With Matches
Y our composition should be in three paragraphs
1) introduce the causes;
2) report the information given in the graph;
3) conclude the composition by giving some suggestions
Sample Writing
Causes of Fires
In spite of all the progress that mankind has made over years, fire continues to be a terrible killer in our modern society. From the graph, which depicts the leading causes of fires, we can see that most fires are caused by smoking, defective insulation and children playing with matches.
The graph makes it clear that smoking was responsible for most of the fires, namely about 500 of them. Defective insulation resulted in more than 200 fires and children playing with matches caused nearly 100 fires. These results indicate that smoking can thus be regarded as the enemy of the whole society, especially when the public interest is taken into consideration.
From the above, we can see that smoking is the leading cause of fires. Therefore we should remind smokers to pay close attention to their cigarette ends when they smoke. On the other hand, we should also educate our children, warning them of the danger of playing with matches. It's time for us to take measures to prevent dangerous fires. (176 words)。