新标准大学英语4 U1

Unit1Reading and interpreting8 Answer the questions.1 “Will he ever get a job?” Who is asking this question? What mood does it express?The parents are asking this because the paragraph is addressed to parents (earlier it says “your graduate son”). The mood seems to express patience or resignation because the word “ever” suggests that getting a job will take a long time.2 Who describes Generation Y as “rebels without a cause”? Is ita fair description?This is the writer’s description to indicate that t his generation is rebelling against parents or society,but they have nothing particular to rebel against. This doesn’t seem very fair because the students are trying to find work –it is just that they don’t like their parents nagging them. So they are a bit rebellious against their parents, but no more than that.3 Jack “walked into the university careers service and straight back out again”. What does this suggest about Jack’s character? It suggests that Jack is not very determined. As soon as he saw the queue he left without waiting and without trying to ask about jobs or careers.4 Jack spent the summer “hiding”. Hiding from what? Why are quotation marks used?Probably this means he was hiding from the world of work, staying at home and not looking for a job.The quotation marks tell us that he wasn’t literally hiding, he just spent a lot of time at home.5 How is Mrs Goodwin’s point of view affected by her own personal experience?In one way her experience hasn’t affected her attitude: She left school and went immediately to a job (without going to university) and has been working full-time since then and yet she is sympathetic and takes a soft line.6 How is Lindenfield’s point of view affected by her own personal experience?Her personal experience was that she worked in a bar before finding her first proper job as an aerial photographic assistant. So she says such work is a great networking opportunity. If new graduates are good at such work and bright, cheerful and polite, they will soon be promoted. Her personal experience thus reflects – or perhaps has created – her point of view.7 What would the first two paragraphs have focused on if they had been presented from the point of view of the students ratherthan the parents?The first two paragraphs would have focused on the need for the new graduates to rest for a bit after their hard studies. It is OK for students to relax with the TV or to socialize with friends for a while, then they can start a serious search for employment after that.9 Answer the questions.1 What is the focus of each section of the story?• The first part is the background before the story really begins. It focuses on the writer’s financialproblems after graduation and on her need to work since her family cannot support her.• The second part focuses on nice people who help the writer, mainly on Mike who gives her a job in a pub.• In the third part, the focus is on the writer’s sad feelings on her birthday and how she tells Tony her troubles. He talks to some friends and gets her a £20,000 loan to set up a business.• In the fourth part, the writer is looking back some years later. She has her masters degree and has a job in an investment bank and has used the loan to set up her own company. The focus is on the twist in the story, where the situation is reversed: Tony is disabled after an accident and needs the repayment of the loan toadapt his house for his disability.• The last two main sentences are also introduced by “If you ask me,” This is a coda (a finishing phrase or two) about investing in people.2 How does the time context change from one section to the next?The first section gives the background before the writer finds a job, in the past before the time of the story. The second section is in the past, showing how she ot a job. The third section, still in the past, shows the particular event of how she got a lucky break through Tony’s help. In the fourth section, the time is in the present, with the writer looking back after some years. She tells us what happened and her success after she had received Tony’s loan.3 How much time do you think has elapsed between the third and the final section?At least two years have passed because she worked in the pub for one year, then studied for her master’s for another year, and then repaid the loan. If you allow time for her investment to make enough money to repay the loan with interest and for the writer to have enough money left to set up a firm, then it could be several further years, say between five and ten yearsaltogether, but as she says “it is still a thriving business”, it is probably ten or fifteen years later or even more.4 How is the relationship between the writer and Tony reversed at the end of the story?When they first meet Tony is working successfully in banking, while the writer is in financial difficulty and in need of money. At the end of the story this situation is reversed: He is disabled and in need of money, while she has become financially successful. The successful one helps the other in both parts of the story.5 What is the message presented at the end of the story?The message is that Tony and the writer both say that investing in people gives the best return on an investment that you could hope for. This is their experience, but the writer asks for the readers’ opinion about this. The final question leaves an open answer and we may disagree if this is not our experience。