新标准大学英语第二册U2 Mixed Feelings讲稿

Unit 2 Mixed feelings

Active Reading 1 How empathy unfolds

I. Warming-up exercises

1. Look at the following pictures and describe the emotion shown in each picture.

2. Discuss the question: Do you sometimes try to hide your emotions? Why or why not?

3. Skim the text, and find out the definition of empathy and sympathy in the passage.

Empathy originates from a sort of physical imitation of the distress of another, which then evokes the same feelings in oneself. (Para. 3)

Sympathy is felt for the general plight of another with no sharing of what that other person is feeling.

4. Now decide whether the feelings or actions described below are a result of Sympathy(S)or Empathy (E).

sending a card to someone who is in hospital

feeling happy because your friend has won a scholarship to a prestigious university

trying to comfort someone who has had bad news

reacting physically when you see that someone is in pain

collecting money to help the victims of a natural disaster

crying at the end of a film

Summary: Sympathy= I can understand your pain. Empathy= I feel your pain.

II. Text Organization

Cf. ppt.

III. Comprehending the text

1. What did Hope do when she saw another baby fall?

Tears welled up in her own eyes and she crawled off to be comforted by her mother.

2. Why did Michael give his teddy bear to Paul?

He did it to comfort Paul.

3. Who observed and recorded these actions?

The babies’ mothers observed and recorded these actions.

4. When do psychologists believe that humans begin to experience empathy?

They believe that humans begin to experience empathy virtually from the day they are born. 5. Which example shows that babies sometimes don’t realize they aren’t the ones who are suffering?

The example of babies who imitate the distress of someone else.

6. When was the word empathy first used in English to describe such reactions?

The word empathy was first used in English in the 1920s by E. B. Titchener.

7. Why was the word sympathy not appropriate?

It is not appropriate because sympathy is felt for the general plight of another with no sharing of what that other person is feeling; empathy means actually sharing or imagining another person’s feelings.

8. At what age do children start to distinguish other people’s feelings f rom their own?

Around two and a half, children start to distinguish other people’s feelings from their own.

9. How can parents increase feelings of empathy in their children?

They can increase feelings of empathy in children by calling strong attention to the distress their misbehavior caused someone else.

ⅣWords & Expressions

empathy n. [U] the ability to understand how someone feels because you can imagine what it is like to be them 同感；同情；移情

➢empathy with/for sb./sth.

empathy between A and B

e.g. There is a strange empathy between the old lady and her grandson.

老妇人和她孙子间有种莫名其妙的心灵相通的感觉。

empathic a.(also empathetic) able to understand how someone feels because you can imagine what it is like to be them 移情的；有同感的；产生共鸣的

e.g. He was very empathic about what the people were suffering there.

他非常同情那里的人们所受的苦。

well up

1) (of a liquid) rise up to the surface and spill or be about to spill （液体）流出，涌出

e.g. I felt tears well up in my eyes. 我感到泪水夺眶而出。

2) (of an emotion) arise and become more intense （情绪）变得强烈

e.g. Anger welled up within him. 他怒火中烧。

crawl vi.

1) move along on your hands and knees with your body close to the ground 爬，爬行；匍匐行进

e.g. A baby crawls (around) before it can walk.

婴儿先会（到处）爬, 然后才会走。

2) (of traffic, vehicles, etc.) move very slowly（指来往行人﹑车辆等）缓慢地行进, 徐缓而行

e.g. The traffic crawled over the bridge in the rush-hour.

在高峰时刻桥上的车辆行驶缓慢。

retrieve vt.(fml) find something and bring it back （正式）重新找回；收回，取回

e.g. She bent down to retrieve her earring. 她俯下身去捡回她的耳环。

➢retrieve sth. from

e.g. The wreckage of the crashed plane was retrieved from the ocean.

失事飞机的残骸已经从海里打捞出来

trace vt.

1) discover the origin of something or how it developed 追究；追溯（来源）

e.g. The style of these paintings can be traced back to early medieval influences.

这些绘画的风格可以追溯到中世纪早期的影响。

2) find someone or something that you are looking for by asking questions and getting information 追查；追踪