新视野大学英语第四册 Unit 5 (Book 4)

Unit 4 Fame and Success
I. Listen and Respond
1. Focusing on the Main Ideas
1) It’s mainly about how to set goals in one’s life.
2) This is because they all have clear goals. They know what they want in life and they go after it.
3) They are: a) decide what you want; b) make clear your values; c) write them down; and d) take action.
4) According to the passage, one should have written goals, careful choices, clear commitments and daily persistence if he or she wants to be successful.
2. Zooming In on the Details
1) athletes
2) inspiring
3) accident
4) priorities
5) independence
6) intentions
7) specific
8) marriage
9) extraordinary
10) persistent
11) sketches
12) commitments
II. Text A---Discovering the Main Ieas
1.
1) In this essay, the author talks about the issue of fame. The main idea is that most people want fame because fame can bring them celebrity, high regard, admiration, etc. However, the author emphasizes that there are few people who can really capture fame and that fame is usually short-lived. Fame can affect and sometimes even destroy one’s life.
2) The author takes an objective attitude towards fame with an emphasis on its negative side. He believes that fame rewards one with money, power and popularity, but it may also enslave him and destroy his life.
3) According to the author, to stay famous, an artist has to perform in the style that the public wants and enjoys, no matter how bored he is of performing in the same style year after year. Any attempt to change the style may result in the loss of his popularity among his fans.
4) To find excuses for the failures, people tend to claim that they are too sensitive, they are not interested in money, they are not interested in the power that fame brings and they are not interested in the loss of privacey it demands, etc.
5) According to the author, people chase fame because they want to demonstrate excellence in some field; to gain the admiration and love of many others; to be the one everyone talks about; to show family and friends that they are more than their family and friends thought they were.
6) Probably not. According to the author, fame takes “the you out of you”, which means that once
a person becomes famous, he must be what the public thinks he is, not what he really is or could
be. Fame enslaves him with what the public wants, instead of helping him maintain and develop his own identity or his true self.
III. Text A---Reading Between the Lines
1.According to the author, fame and the public attention that comes with it can destroy one’s
talent. Once you become famous, it is not you but the public that controls your fate. You have to work and live in line with the public expectations.
2.Artists are no longer the master of themselves. In order to meet the public demands, they have
to perform in the same style year after year, no matter how bored they become.
3.Fame often affects how performers see their own talent and skills. It is easy for them to
believe that they are as perfect as what the media describe. They may indulge themselves in that illusion and lose their own judgment about themselves.
4.Once you become famous, your opponents will pay more attention to you and they will seek
every opportunity to challenge or even attack you. You will also be exposed to the limelight and the media may keep an eye on whatever you are doing.
IV. Text B---Checking Your V ocabulary
1.
2) d 3) g 4) a 5) c 6) h 7) b 8) f
2.
1) (n.) a first university degree in any of several subjects
(n.) an unmarried man
2) (n.) the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on
one’s way of life or behaviour
(n.) too much freedom in behaviour, taken without permission and sometimes regarded as rude 3) (n.) the point of highest activity, quality or achievement
(vi.) reach a highest point
4) (n.) a very strong feeling of excitement or joy
(vt.) cause to fell a sudden strong feeling of excitement or joy
5) (n.) the amount of money that is available to a family to spend
(vt.) bring (the lips) together in little folds
6) (ad.) in the way that is typical of power that is uncontrolled and used without considering the
wishes of others
(ad.) in the way that is decided by or based on chance or personal opinion rather than facts or reason; randomly
7) (vt.) make (sth.) certain to happen or be gained; ensure
(vt.) tell firmly and with confidence, esp. with the aim of removing doubt; promise
8) (n.) the management of money, esp. of large amounts of money by governments, companies, or
large organizations
(vt.) provide an esp. large amount of money for (a public activity or organization, business, etc.)
V. Text B---Checking Your Comprehension
1. N
Financial wealth, in fact, is a shallow measure of success. If we accept dollars as our standard, then “money is the measure of the man,” and what could be more foolish than that? (Para. 4) Such success cannot be measured in monetary terms. (Para. 10)
2. Y
…wealth is ill-measured by using mere dollars: … (Para. 3)
What about a life well-lived? What about a family closely bound by love? Who could be wealthier than a man or woman whose calling provides benefits to mankind, or to fellow citizens, or even to
a community or neighborhood? (Para. 4)
3. Y
… that fame is ill-measured by public notoriety; … (Para. 3)
4. N
… and that power is ill-measured solely by control over others. (Para. 3)
5. N
Perhaps the famed economist Joseph Schumpeter can help. Ambitious people are driven, he suggested, by “the joy of creating, of getting things done, of simply exercising one’s energy and ingenuity; and by the will to conquer, the impulse to fight, to succeed for the sake, not of the fruits of success”--- i.e. wealth, fame, and power--- “but of success itself.” (Para. 9)
6. Y
Source sentences: Such success cannot be measured in monetary terms, nor in terms of the amount of power one may exercise over others, nor in the illusory fame of inevitably short-lived public notice. But it can be measured in our contributions to building a better world, in helping our fellow man, in bringing up children who themselves become loving human beings and good citizens. (Para. 10)
VI. Text B---Optional Classroom Activities
(The following explanations are provided only for references)
1)As long as you have confidence in yourself, and hold the belief that anything is possible, you
are already on your way to success.
2)If you always close your eyes to possibilities, you will attempt nothing and accomplish
nothing. Such a pessimistic attitude can never make a successful person.
3)Successful people know their goals and would waste no time in pursuing them. If you believe
what you are doing now would lead you to success, the 10 million dollars might speed you up on your way to success but would not change what you are doing now.
4)Education and talent are important factors in achieving success, but they can never take the
place of perseverance. On your way to success, the biggest obstacle is not the lack of education or talent, but the lack of persistence and determination in what you are doing.
Education and talent may help you to achieve success, yet only persistence and determination can give you the will power to stick to your goal and to overcome difficulties.
5)The only answer is as much as it takes.
VII. Enhance Your Language Awareness
1.
1) fortune
2) dull
3) chased
4) launched
5) finance
6) reputation
7) liberty
8) publicity
9) sufficiently
10) sympathy
11) target
12) educate
13) commerce
14) alike
15) bored
16) audiences
17) regard
18) assure
2.
1) thrown out
2) and so on
3) for dear life
4) dedicate himself to
5) was tired of
6) turn away
7) hang on
8) for the sake of
VIII. Increasing Your Word Power
1) reached / secured
2) achieved / attained
3) attained / reached
4) reach / secure
5) achieved / realized / fulfilled
6) fulfill / meet / satisfy
3.
2) competitive
3) same
4) momentary
5) specific
6) sufficient
7) cruel
8) humble
9) famous
10) reasonable
IX. Grammar Review
1.
1) (real) subject (真正的主语)
2) object to the verb “make” （动词“make”的宾语）
3) predicate （谓语）
4) attribute modifying “opportunity” （定语---修饰“opportunity”）
5) object complement （宾语补足语）
6) adverbial of purpose （目的状语）
7) adverbial of result （结果状语）
8) predicative （表语）
9) attribute modif ying “person” （定语---修饰“person”）
10) independent element （独立主格结构）
2.
1) To become a famous writer
2) to take traveler’s checks
3) to employ a young engineer
4) take the machine apart
5) To understand the situation completely
6) to rise higher in position
7) to find that the train had left 10 minutes before
8) to apply for a known job opening
9) to make trouble
10) To be more exact
X. Cloze
1) chase
2) reputation
3) dedicate
4) reward
5) sufficiently
6) measured
7) assure
8) Momentary
9) celebrity
10) target
11) frank
12) liberty
13) illusory
14) regard
XI. Translation
1.
1) He attempted to save the enterprise which was on the verge of collapse but failed.
2) The president has announced that he will not seek re-election at the end of his first term.
3) The young teacher is skilled at motivating his students to study hard.
4) She loves giving parties and does so whenever she can find an excuse.
5) I’m afraid that you’ll have to compete with at least fifty people for an administrative post in this company.
6) T o be frank, I don’t think you stand a good chance of getting promoted even if you are loyal to the company.
7) It was obvious that his speech aroused the sympathy of the audience for the victims of the earthquake.
8) Though he has repeatedly assured me of his ability to promote our company’s products, I’ll give him another interview before hiring him.
9) The company’s investment ended in failure due to the wrong strategic decisions of the general manager and so the board of directors decided to throw him out.
10) I know you are tired but try to hang on a little bit longer. We will reach the peak in half an hour.
2.
Many people want to be famous because fame can bring them both honor and respect from the public. In most cases, fame can also help them gain wealth. But, after all, very few people can really become famous while most people, including most artists, are unlikely to become famous.
It is true that some failure for some people at certain times in their lives does motivate them to strive even harder so as to achieve final success. For example, Thomas Edison, the famous American inventor, had tried hundreds of materials before he finally found the suitable fuse for the electric bulb. However, unfortunately, for most people failure is the end of their struggle.
Therefore, in my opinion, success is one thing and fame is another. As long as you have tried your best, you’re already successful whether you are famous or not.
XII. Theme-Related Writing
A Sample Essay:
Fame--- Good or Evil
Fame has always been pursued by many people for the advantages it brings about. Fame can assure one of a high social status, high regard, great admiration, etc. Fame can also bring one wealth as a celebrity has more chances to earn big money. Besides, the applauses and flowers from the fans may boost one’s self-confidence and increase one’s sense of fulfillment.
However, fame can ruin one’s life, too. It deprives one of his privacy. As a public figure, he is often chased by fans and journalists, and his priva te life never escapes the media’s attention or public curiosity. Fame also places one under great pressure. He has to work in line with public expectations and thus becomes the slave of his own success.
So fame is a double-edged sword. I don’t seek fame and I don’t envy those who are famous. I highly appreciate what the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow says about fame: “The talent of success is nothing more than doing well whatever you do without a thought of fame.”。