Unit 6 To work or not work— That is a question

Unit 6 To work or not work—That is a questionI. Pre-reading ActivitiesA. News reportListen to a news report concerning unemployment in South African and fill in the missing information.The South African Department of Labor reported last month that the nation has too few jobs for unskilled laborers. The parment also said there are not enough workers for highly skilled positions. The sharp differences between jobs and skills were apparent recently when officials advertised a job opening in the government. The position was that of auditor-general or chief financial supervisor. With a 26 percent unemployment rate nation-wide, there was no shortage of interest in the job.90 people asked to be considered. But officials said many of them lack the necessary skills or education. The auditor-general is responsible for supervising and independently examining South Africa’s finances. The advertisement said, the position required the person to be a trained accountant. It said candidates had to have at least Maste’s degree and years of experience. Yet among the job-hopefuls were laborers, a security guard, a secretary and some whose highest education level was high school.B. Short Answer Questions1. Why do some students like to take part-time jobs?•To meet their financial needs;•To learn to be responsible;•To make friends;•To acquire communicative skills;•To gain experience for future jobs.2. What problems will students face with when they take part-time jobs?•To have less time to devote to school assignments;•To get too tired to study because of part-time jobs;•To view school less rewarding;•To have low correlation between part-time jobs and their majors.3. What suggestions will you put forward toward students planning to work part-time?•To make a balance between learning and part-time working;•To improve the overall quality;•To strengthen the awareness of self-protection and legal protection.C. Watch and DiscussLook at the pictures and answer the following questions.1. What jobs are the students in the pictures doing?① A teaching assistant in kindergarten or a tutor;② A cashier in a store;③ A waitress in a restaurant;④ A car cleaner.2. If you are going to work part-time, what job would you like to take? Why?I would like to work as a teaching assistant in kindergarten:•Enjoy spending time with small children;•Thinking of working as a teacher in kindergarten in the future.II. Text StudyA. UnderstandingMain Ideas of the PartsPart I — Para. 1It gives a brief account of the research objective (to “measure the impact of employment on student achievement”) and the research methods.The text is a report about research on the effects of part-time employment on student performance. (Para. 1)Research objective: to measure how part-time work affects student achievement.Three research methods were used in the research:Comparing grades of students working a lot with those working much lessContrasting workers with non-workers in terms of commitment to educationFollowing students and assessing the effects of different employment patternsPart II — Paras. 2-4It reports the research findings.According to the research, how does a heavy commitment to part-time work affect school performance? (Para. 2)Undermines and significantly interferes with school achievement and commitment.Para. 3On the other hand, we also detected a different pattern. Working for approximately 10 hours per week or less seemingly does not take a consistent toll on school performance. Nevertheless, given that half of all employed seniors, about one-third of all juniors, and about one-fifth of all second-year students work above the 20-hour limit, indications are that a large number of students are at risk of compromising their school careers with their part-time jobs.What is the positive result after students stop working or reduce their work hours? (Para. 4) Become interested in study again.Part III — Paras. 5-8The author provides explanations for the findings, that is, why working part-time has such n egative effects on students’ academic studies.Para. 5We uncovered numerous explanations for the undesirable effects of working on students’ engagement in school. First, 由于紧张的打工日程, they have less time to devote to school assignments. One common response to this time pressure is that working students 偷懒by taking easier classes, copying assignments from other students, 逃课, or refusing to do work assigned by their teachers. Over time, as these become established practices, students’ commitment to school is 逐渐地减少.What is the second explanation? (Para. 6)Working students are too tired from work to study because they get less rest and eat less healthy meals.Explanation 3 (Para. 7)The excitement of earning large sums of spending money makes school seem less rewarding and interesting.Explanation 4 (Para. 8)Working students take drugs and use alcohol more often than non-working students.Part III — Para. 9Working 20 hours or more weekly can lead to decreased school performance and increased drug and alcohol use. If students want to be successful in school, they should abandon the myth that early employment builds character and resolve to work no more than 10 hours per week.What is the overall attitude of the author regarding doing part-time jobs while studying? (Para. 9) Acceptable, work no more than 10 hours a week.Main Ideas of the TextThis passage is a report of a study on the relationship between part-time employment and students’ commitment to studies. It focuses on some undesirable effects that part-time jobs may have on students’ academic performance. The author then suggests that students should work no more than 10 hours a week to ensure academic success.B. Structure AnalysisResearch methodsComparing grades of students working a lot with those working much less or not at all Contrasting workers with non-workers in terms of commitment to educationFollowing students as they increased or decreased working hours and assessing the effects Research findingsWorking heavily may significantly affect school achievement and commitment. (Para. 2) Working for approximately 10 hours per week or less does not seem to affect school performance much. (Para. 3)More disengaged students are more likely to work long hours, and working makes them less committed to school. (Para. 4)Explanations for the negative effectsThe excitement of earning large sums of spending money makes school seem less rewarding and interesting. (Para. 7)Working students take drugs and use alcohol more often than non-working students.(Para. 8) Conclusion of the researchWorking 20 hours or more weekly can lead to decreased school performance and increased drug and alcohol use. Students should resolve to work no more than 10 hours per week. (Para. 9)C. SummaryEarn as you learn?There are numerous and reliable ways by which one can measure the impact of employment on student achievement. We compared the grades of students working a lot with those workingmuch less or not at all. We also contrasted workers with non-workers in terms of commitment to education. Additionally, we followed students over time as they increased or decreased their work hours, and we –assessed the effects of different employment patterns on school performance and engagement.We uncovered numerous explanations for these negative effects: Working students have less time to devote to school assignments, get too tired from work to study, view school less rewarding, and increase alcohol and drug use because they have more spare money. To summarize, working 20 hours or more weekly can contribute to decreased school performance and increased drug and alcohol use. If students want to be successful in school, they should abandon the myth that early employment builds character and resolve to work no more than 10 hours per week.III. Notes to the TextA.Practical Phrases1. to contrast with与…形成对比；和…相对照专家们还对比了吸烟者和不吸烟者在行动力投入程度方面的不同指征。