Quick Fix Society

1、Quick Fix SocietyLesson 9 Quick Fix Society教学目的1.了解文中提到的Pennsylvania Dutch town 的独特风格2. 学习文中当代的一些表达方式和缩略语3. 学习说明性文体中显著的写作特征4. 通过课文理解与主题辩论使学生了解现代社会的快节奏给人们生活带来的利与弊。教学内容1. Pennsylvania Dutch town的特色及其它相关知识2. 课文的理解与分析3. 表达方式的学习与强化4. 说明文的写作技巧教学重点1. 课文的理解与分析2. 文中大量表达方式的学习与强化3. 说明文的写作技巧教学方法讲授，问答，辩论，练习Warm

2、up1. Listen to the following story about a circle and answer the questions based on it. Once a circle missed a small fraction. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. However, it could only roll very slowly, simply because it wsa incomplete. It admired the flo

3、wers along the way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the raod and kept on searching.Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing missing. It incorporated the miss

4、ing piece into itself and began to roll. Now it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice the flowers or talk to the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed to be when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its reclaimed piece by the side of the road and rolled

5、 slowly away.Questions:1. whats the lesson of the story?The lesson of the story is that in some strange sense, we are more whole when we are missing something. (Lets look at the story from another perspective and focus on thetwo experiences of the circle.)2. What leads to these two experiences?It ro

6、lled too fast to notice the flowers and talk to the worms. The key point is nothing but “quick”.3. Do you agree that nowadays people often impatiently get everything done quickly? Yes. For instance, recently family relationship has been weakened, because, more often than not, contacts between parent

7、s and children are maintained mainly tharough the telephone.4. Do you have any personal experience like that? Sometimes you finish everything very quickly and at the same time, you lose a lot.Probably everyone once went to fast-food store or bought frozen semi-prepared food, and actually in this way

8、 are we deprived of the fun in making Chinese dumplings together. Therefore, we are living in a quick fix society.2. What Is “Quick Fix Society”?What is the m eaning of “fix”? ( a solution)How do you understand “quick fix”? 【口】应急的;一时权宜的“Quick fix” in this essay means a quick answer to a problem that

9、 happensquickly, but may work for only a short time; ways of getting things done quickly It refers to the lifestyle of modern people who are impatient to get everything done and want to find the quick solution to everything.The motto of a quick fix society: Do it now, get it over with, skim the surf

10、ace of life.How is “quick fix society” reflected in the following aspects?transportation and communicationeating habits and consumption habitsentertainment (watch the films on the internet, etc.)reading habits, learning habits (electronic books, condensed versions)working styleGenerally, a quick fir

11、x society is one in which people neither consider the long-term benefit nor the quality when they are doing something, and just trying to finish as quickly as possible. Firstly, people are impatient in this society. They believe the principle of beforehand gratification, and always have the urge to

12、to do it now. Secondly, people do not want to wait. They do everything in a hurry in order to save time, even though they dont know how to use the time they save.Thirdly, everything in this society is condensed version. People are just paying attention to the surface and will never get into the hear

13、t of anything.Text AnalysisThemeThe theme is summed up at the very end: Lets slow down and enjoy what nature offers us and what mankind has left us and rediscover life.StructureThe three parts of the essay are clear-cut:In the introduction (paras. 13), the writer compares her ride on fast roads to W

14、estVirginia and her return trip o a different route. The contrast set her thinking whether there was something wrong with Americans quick-fix lifestyle. The last sentence of the section Our country has become a nation in search of the quick fixin more ways than one. serves as a transition from the i

15、ntroduction to the body.In the body (paras. 46), she lists three ways Americans seek a quick fix. Nowinstead of later; Faster instead of slower; Superficially instead of thoroughlyIn the conclusion (paras. 78), the three rhetorical questions in Paragraph 7prepare the reader for what the writer summa

16、rizes in the last sentence of the paragraph. The thesis ( = the central idea) is stated in the last two sentences of Paragraph 8: lets slow down and enjoy what nature offers us and what mankind has left us and rediscover life.Writing SkillsThis is a piece of explanatory writing. Its purpose is to ex

17、plain or clarify a certain point. The writer chiefly uses two patterns to develop the central idea,1) Comparison-contrastComparison-contrast is a way of developing an essay. It means explaining the similarities and/or differences between events, people, ideas, and so on,. In this essay, the writer c

18、oncentrates on differences rather than similarities. He mainly discusses the differences between the lifestyle of modern American people and that of American people in the past.In the first two paragraphs, she contrasts her featureless ride driving on fast roads and the pleasure of the return trip o

19、f a different route.Find out the words that show the contrast in the first two paragraphs.In Paragraph 4, she points out how Americans lifestyle has changed from saving for a rainy day to relax now, pay later, and what they did in the past when they wanted to lose weight, and how they try to get qui

20、ck results today.Find out the words that show the contrast in para. 4.In paragraph 6, the writer shows us the different ways American people read books, listen to music and get together with their family in the past and now.Find out the words that show the contrast in Para. 6.2) ExamplesUsing an exa

21、mple or examples is one of the simplest ways of explaining anything. In Paragraphs 5, several examples are given to illustrate how the I-hate-to-wait attitude is reflected in various aspects of American life. In the next paragraph, the writer lists facts to show how the iceberg principle applies to

22、the way many Americans live their lives.3) Rhetorical QuestionsRhetorical questions in the essay are chiefly used in Paragraphs 3, 5 and 7. What purposes do such questions serve? A rhetorical question implies that the answer is obviousthe kind of question that does not need actually to be answered.

23、It is used for rhetorically persuading someone of a truth without argument, or to give emphasis to asupposed truth by stating its opposite.Why is it that he featureless turnpike and interstates are the route of choicefor so many of us? (3)Why doesnt everybody try slowing down and exploring thecountr

24、yside?(3)How dare anyone keep America waiting longer than overnight?(5)Why waste 45 minutes listening to the whole thing when someone elsehas saved us the trouble of picking out the best parts? (Para. 6)Why are we in such a hurry to save time? (Para. 7)More examples:If winter comes, can spring be fa

25、r behind?Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind Didnt I tell you he would forget?What difference does it make?4) RepetitionRepetition is a major rhetorical strategy for producing emphasis, clarity, amplification, or emotional effect.Examples:If we wanted a new sofa or a week at a lakeside cabin,

26、 we saved up for it, If we lived in the right part of the country, we planted corn and beansIf we wanted to be thinner, we simply ate less of our favorite foods and waited patiently for the scale to drop, a pound at a time.If we are in a hurry to lose weight, we try the latest miracle diet(Para. 4)

27、Repetition of sentence structure: in Para. 4, four if-clauses are used to contrast the way Americans did things in the past (the first three) and the way they seek a quick fix today (the last one).Examples:Then we take our fast money to a fast convenience store, And if our fast meal doesnt agree wit

28、h us, we hurry to the medicine cabinet foryou guessed itsome fast relief. (Para. 5)Repetition of words: The writer repeats the word “fast” throughtout the Para. 5 with negative implications.Language and StyleUnlike some previous essays such as More Crime and Less Punishment and The Man in the Water,

29、 this is an informal essay. We dont find long and complicated sentences and the vocabulary mainly consists of plain words, everyday expressions andphrasal verbs. Another feature we notice is the use of a number of contemporary expressions and abbreviations ( = shorter forms of a word or phrase) such

30、 as faxed, quality time, CD, VCR, etc., which are facets of contemporary life connected with the quick-fix way of life in the U.S.Detailed study of the Text1. Of course, we couldnt wait to get there, so we took the Pennsylvania Turnpike and a couple of interstates.Because we wanted/were eager to get

31、 there as soon as we could, we took roads for the use of fast-travelling traffic.cant wait/can hardly wait: used when you are emphasizing that sb. is very excited about sth. or keen to do it, e. g.?When she received the letter of admission from Qinghua University, shecouldnt wait to tell her parents

32、 the good news.?The night before the reunion, I could hardly wait to go back to my AlmaMater。Interstate (n.): an interstate highway funded by the federal governmentCultural Note: There are many different names for fast roads in the U. S. Highways usually connect cities. Sometimes they have only two

33、lanes especially in country areas, but near cities they may have three or four lanes going in each direction. A road with many lanes is sometimes called a superhighway. Interstate highways connect cities in different states, and sometimes go through several states. Freeways are roads within a city o

34、n which you can drive very fast without stopping, and they usually have three or more lanes going in each direction. Expressways are fast roads in or near cities. Freeways and expressways do not cost anything to use, but you have to pay a small amount of money before you can use a fast road called a

35、 turnpike or a tollway. These roads are often very long, and may go from one end of a state to the other. Some highways also cost money to use. (.Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, 1998)2. . as pastoral scenery slid by us at 55 mph. as we drove at 55 miles per hour past beautiful co

36、untry scenes.slid by us: moved quickly past usmph: (written abbreviation for) miles per hour* as we drove at 55 miles per hour past beautiful country scenes.3. . and the herd of cows is reduced to a few dots in the rear-view mirror.be reduced to: be made smaller in size, amount, or importancerear-vi

37、ew mirror; a mirror in a vehicle, such as a car or a bus, which lets the driver see the area behind the vehicle* (when our car was driving so fast,) the cows looked like a few dots in the rear-view mirror.Why was that?Answer: Because they were driving too fast to see the cows clearly.4. For four hou

38、rs, our only real amusement consisted of counting exit signs and wondering what it would feel like to hold still again.exit sign: a sign along fast roads that shows where vehicles can get out of themit would feel like to hold still again: Here, it is an anticipatory/introductory it; it stands for th

39、e subject of the clause to hold still again.* The 4-hour drive on fast roads was tedious; the only fun we had was to count the exit signs we were passing and to figure out how wed feel if we stopped again.5. Getting there certainly didnt seem like half the fun; in fact, getting there wasnt any fun a

40、t all.* We had expected that our ride to West Virginia would be fun, and that half of the fun wed get from the trip would come from it. But we were wrong. It wasnt fun at all.6. So, when it was time to return to our home outside of Philadelphia, I insisted that we take a different route.outside of:

41、outside (especially in AmE)route: a chosen direction or line of travel between one place and another,e. g. Whats the shortest route from our university to Tiananmen Square?7. The two days it took us to make the return trip were filled with new experiences. * Our return trip took two days. The route

42、was longer, and we drove much more slowly. But we had many discoveries.8. We toured a Civil War battlefield and stood on the little hill that fifteen thousand Confederate soldiers had tried to take on another hot July afternoon, one hundred and twenty-five years ago, not knowing that half of them wo

43、uld get killed in the vain attempt.What is this historical reference?The Civil War was a war fought from 1861-1865 between the Northern and Southern states. The war ended in vivtory for the Northern industrail states, which led to to the abolition of slavery in the south and rapid development of Nor

44、htern industry.* We visited a Civil War battlefield and stood on the little hill. One hundred and twenty-five years ago, on a hot July afternoon, 15,000 soldiers fighting for slavery, while trying to occupy the hill, had no idea that they would fail and that half of themwould be killed in the battle

45、. Pay attention to the structure of this 46-word sentence. on another hot July afternoon . : This indicates that the writer and her husband visited the battlefield on a hot July afternoon.9. We drove slowly through main streets of sleepy Pennsylvania Dutch towns, slowing to twenty miles an hour so a

46、s not to crowd the horses and horse carriages on their way to market.slow (v. ): to go at a slower speedsleepy:(of places) quiet and where nothing much happens; inactive or slow-moving crowd (v. ): (here) to cause the horses and horse carriages to move close together to make way for us* This time in

47、stead of driving past towns at 55 mph, we would enter quiet Pennsylvania Dutch towns and drive slowly through the main streets, at 20 mph, in order not to disturb the horses and horse carriages on their way to market.Cultural Note:There were horse carriages because a few Americans belong to a religi

48、ous group called the Amish, who do not approve of advanced machines in their farming lives.Pennsylvania Dutch town (consult Background information)?Lancaster County, PA, the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is located in south central Pennsylvania one and a half hours west of Philadelphia. M

49、ost of the Amish Country attractions are in Lancaster County, and almost all of the local Amish people live here as well.?Dutch is a name for people from the Netherlands荷兰国家, yet many of the Amish came from Germany. Old stories say they were called Dutch because English colonists could not say the c

50、orrect word, Deutschd?it?德国的. But language experts now say that people in England often used the term Dutch to mean German.Amish?Amish people are a religious group who came to the United States from Germany and Switzerland in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. They were expelled from their home co

51、untries or chose to leave because of religious oppression. Most settled in the eastern state of Pennsylvania. Other Amish people live in twenty-two American states and in Ontario安大略(加拿大的一个省), Canada.?The oldest group of Old Order Amish, about 16-18,000 people live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

52、The Amish stress humility, family and community, and separation from the world.Amishs beliefs?The Amish was part of the early Anabaptist movement in Europe, which took place at the time of the Reformation. The Anabaptists believed that only adults who had confessed their faith should be baptized（洗礼）

53、, and that they should remain separate from the larger society. They also believe in non-resistance and basic Bible doctrines.Amish s life style?These people as a whole are not as materialistic as modern society today. They do not use electricity or modern conveniences?Most Amish people are easy to

54、recognize. The men wear large brimmed black hats and black clothing made by their wives. They grow long beards, but not mustaches. The women wear long, dark-colored dresses and a hair covering called a bonnetb?nit无边软帽and black shoes.?Most Amish are trilingual dialect of German, High German高地德语, 标准德语

55、and English?Old Order children attend one-room schools through the eighth grade .?They are a private people who believe God has kept them together. They are a strong example of a community that supports and cares for its members. They are a people apart; they are also a people together.10. We admire

56、d toy trains and antique cars in county museums and saved 70 per-cent in factory outlets.* We looked at with pleasure toy trains and antique cars and saved 70 percent shopping at factory stores.antique cars: cars made in an earlier period and usually valuableoutlet: a shop/store that sells goods of

57、particular make at reduced prices (批发商店), opposite to retail outlet (零售店)，（wholesale price 批发价）11. We stuffed ourselves with spicy salads and homemade bread in an all-you-can-eat farmhouse restaurant, then wandered outside to enjoy the sunshine and the herds of cowsno little dots this timelying in i

58、t.stuff (a space) with sth.: to fill it with sth. or with a quantity of things until it is full, e.g?His wallet is always stuffed with coins.?Each time the boy went to see his grandma, she would stuff his pockets withcandy.Here, the phrase is used humorously, meaning they ate until their stomachs were full.* We had a meal in a farmhouse restaurant where for a certain amount of money you could eat as much as you wanted, and we fed ourselves with lots of spicy salads andhomema