unit 2 The Company Man

1、The Company ManThe Company Man Pre-reading questions Background information Structure analysis Comprehension questions Language points of Text I Exercises Comprehension questions of Text II Oral activities Writing practicePre-reading Questions1. What do you know about the man? (a company man, workah

2、olic, work himself to death; His wife lost him years ago to his work; his children did not know him well.)2. Will you work this way? What does work mean to you? Whats your ideal life?Some proverbs about work1. Work while you work, play while you play.This is the way to be cheerful and gay2. Never pu

3、t off until tomorrow what you can do today. 今日事，今日毕。3. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. 只会用功不玩耍，聪明孩子也变傻。4. Work smarter, not harder. 更有技巧地 工作，而不是更努力地工作。5. Work has a bitter root but sweet fruit. -German proverb 工作虽苦,果实却甘。 -德国 谚语workaholicWhat is a workaholic? A workaholic is a person addi

4、cted to work. This addiction may be pleasurable to the victim or it may be burdensome and troubling. Workaholism is believed by some to be a disease, akin to obsessive compulsive disorder. 强迫症强迫症Origin of workaholic Wayne Oates, a professor of psychology of religion at Southern Baptist Theological S

5、eminary(南方浸礼会神学院). The appearance of Oatess book Confessions of a Workaholic in 1971 propelled that term and prompted many writers to start using the suffixes -aholic, -holic, or -oholic to describe all-consuming obsessions .-holic：addict golfaholic, footballaholic, basketball-oholic, beefaholic, pe

6、anuntholic, ice-creamaholic; tobaccoholic ,book-oholic, phone-oholic. (词缀 aholic，-holic，-oholic 在某些词后面表示“沉溺于，无法摆脱”的意思）workaholic A recent global survey by the Centre for Work-Life Policy, a New York-based nonprofit group, found that 45% of executives were “extreme” workers, putting in more than 60 h

7、ours a week. Some 65% of men said their work stopped them from having a strong relationship with their children. The same was true for 33% of women. A person who is addicted to work may experience depression, anxiety, anger, high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system as a result of the high s

8、tress. 4. Spouses and children can also be affected, with workaholics having a higher divorce rate than others.being a workaholic vs being a hard worker A hard worker is organized, focused, getting a lot of work done, knowing when to stop and having a life other than work. A workaholic, on the other

9、 hand, is often disorganized, always find reasons for working more.About the author Ellen Goodman (1941 ) American journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist in 1980. She worked for Newsweek and the Detroit Free Press before joining The Boston Globe in 1967. As an essayist and television commen

10、tator, Goodman has discussed feminism, changes in family life, sexual harassment(性骚扰性骚扰), and male and female relationships. Her essays have been collected in several books, including Close to Home (1979), Turning Points (1979) and At Large (1981). This text is taken from her Close to Home. Goodman

11、brings new readers to editorial pages. She is widely acclaimed as a voice of sanity, and readers depend on her to help them make sense of their changing lives and relationships. “I have always read Ellen Goodman,” a Sarasota, Fla., reader says. “She writes on issues that concern me, no matter where

12、Ive lived or where I moved.”Cultural Note A n y o f s e v e r a l awards established by Joseph Pulitzer and conferred(赠予) annually for accomplishment in various fields of American journalism, literature, and music.Structural analysis of the text 1. Which type of writing does the text belong to? (Nar

13、ration, in the third person)2. Whats the language style of it? (colloquial, coupling long sentences with short sentences)3. How many parts can the text be devided into? And whats the main idea of each part?The introductory part.This part reports how devoted the man was to his work.This part describe

14、s Phils role in his family. the cause of Phils death & the company presidents inquiry for his successor.Structural analysis of the text In a colloquial style, the author paints an ironic picture of the cutthroat life of a company man and his family. The man was a workaholic who died of a heart a

15、ttack, which surprised no one. His wife lost him years ago to his work, and his children did not know him well. To make her writing more effective, the author uses repetition and parallelism. Structure analysis of the text (2) Besides, she deliberately varies the length of the sentences. By mixing s

16、ome unusually short sentences with the long ones, the author varies their weight and achieves emphasis and impact. For example, in Paragraph 3, the short sentence “Phil knew that.” Follows two long sentences. This helps avoid monotony is narration and emphasize Phils awareness of the cutthroat compe

17、tition.Global ReadingQuestions:1. What is the general tone of this article? What is the authors attitude toward Phil? (The general tone of this article is sarcastic. In describing in a mockingly serious manner different peoples responses to Phils death, the author wants to make the readers see the a

18、bsurdity of a society that produces such a tragic figure as Phil. He is, in the deep sense, sympathetic with Phil, whose ignorance of the cause of his own tragedy renders him more tragic.)Global Reading2. Why does the author frequently mention the time “3:00 a.m. Sunday morning”? (The time is reveal

19、ing, from which readers can be easily attracted to give a deep thinking about the cause of Phils tragedy for 3.00 a.m. is within the small hours which might indicate that Phil had frequently worked well into the night when alive. )Global Reading3. Why does the author mention the company presidents i

20、nquiries about Phils replacement at the end of the article? (From this detail we can get the idea that the company, as well as other parts of the society, operates like a lifeless and ruthless machine and all people working in it have been dehumanized and transformed into parts of this machine. Ther

21、efore, we can draw the lesson that Phils tragedy is not merely a tragedy of himself, but rather of all the people who are not aware of their miserable existence or do not have the insight and power to change matters.)Detailed Reading(Para 1) to death:used after an adjective or a verb to emphasize th

22、e action, state, or feeling mentioned e.g. worried to death; frightened to death; bored to death; starve to death; Discussion: 1. Why isnt the name of the deceased mentioned at the very beginning? 1. This, on the one hand, is meant to get the readers involved in finding out who is being discussed. 2

23、. And on the other, suggests the fact that workaholism has become a common phenomenon. The deceased was only one of the many workaholics who bury themselves in their work and forget all about their individuality.)2. What do these adverbs “finally and precisely” imply?(1) “Finally” suggests the doome

24、d ending of the workaholic.(2) “precisely” emphasizes his devotion to work.Para 4overweight adj. (of people) too heavy and fata bit / a little / slightly overweightseriously / heavily overweight (=very overweight)grossly overweight (=extremely overweight) be 5 kilos / 20 pounds, etc. overweight Comp

25、arison:fat/overweight/obese/plump/stout/large1.fat: having too much flesh on your body. It is rude to tell someone directly that they are fat. 野蛮无理2. overweight: weighing more than you should. Many diseases are caused by being overweight.超重3. large: used when saying that someone is tall and often fa

26、t.身材魁梧 “Large” is more common than “big” in written English.4. obese: extremely fat in a way that is unhealthy肥而丑，虚胖5. chubby: slightly fat in a nice-looking way (used especially about babies and children)胖乎乎6. plump: a woman or child who is plump is slightly fat, especially in a pleasant way珠圆玉润7.

27、stout: overweight&short&strong矮胖粗壮8.portly: (literary) fat and round used especially about an old man 高贵尊严fatobeseobesestoutchubbyplumpPara 8Question: What is meant by the sentence “she would be well taken care of” in Paragraph 8? ( It means that the company Phil worked for would provide som

28、e financial help for his wife so as to relieve her of any possible worries about finance.)Para 9Question: Why is the phrase “dearly beloved” repeated when referring to his children in Paragraph 9? (The phrase “delay beloved” is repeated to create a sarcastic effect for his relationship with his chil

29、dren was far from being close and intimate and he devoted too little to his children.)Para 9-12Question: What do you think is the relationship like between Phil and the three children? (Successful as he was as a corporate man, Phil was a failing father.He was somewhat remote from his children) Para

30、13straighten out:deal with- They all left and I was left to straighten out the mess. 他们都走了，只留下我来收拾这个烂摊子。Question:Whats the function of para 13? 1. Bridges the two parts of Phils worldhis career & his family2. A conclusion of the above paras3. Her attitude toward the boss tells us why Phil chose

31、to work this way, hense the cause of his death. So in this sense, we may say para 13 is the most important para of the whole text as far as the structure is concerned.Para 14Phil was overweight and nervous and worked too hard.Repetition or absence of coordinators Besides the comma + coordinator stru

32、cture, we can produce coordination in series with repeated coordinators or without coordinators at all. 1. absence: quicken up the pace 2. repetition: slow down the pace Advanced usage of coordinate sentences World of the Future ( An Integrated English Course, Book I) .As you travel, you have fun lo

33、oking out the window at the sights on the bottom of the ocean. You see strange fish and underwater mountains, cliffs, and valley. But more than that hotels and mining camps and farms and factories! (Note: Three ands to show the authors colloquial tone and emphasis that there are so many good things

34、worth seeing.)Advanced usage of coordinate sentences Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. -John F. Kennedy The world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel. You dont write because you want to say something; you write because youve got

35、 something to say. 不是因为想说话而写作,而是因为有话要说而写作 - F.S. Fitzgerald Advanced usage of coordinate sentences At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment. -Benjamin Franklin 二十岁时起支配作用的是意志,三十岁时是机智,四十岁时是判断。 Histories make men wise; poems witty; the mathematics subtle;

36、natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend . -Francis Bacon 历史使人明智；诗词使人灵秀；数学使人周密；自然哲学使人深刻；伦理使人庄重；逻辑修辞学使人善辨。Para 14-15 Paragraph 14-15Comprehension questions (4) 4.what is the implication of the ending? ( It implies the story of Phil sees no end: He will soon be replaced

37、 by an equally hardworking guy who may follow in his steps and repeat the same tragedy. Bosses are always on the lookout for workaholics and they are never in short supply. The ending is full of sarcasm and bitterness.)Comprehension questions (5) 5. Do you think it is a sheer waste of life to die so

38、 young for working so hard? What can you learn from the story of Phil?classic 1 typicalhaving all the features that are typical or expected of a particular thing or situation classic example/mistake/case etc Too many job hunters make the classic mistake of thinking only about whats in it for them. 2

39、 admired by many people, and having a value that has continued for a long time: The Coca-Cola bottle is one of the classic designs of the last century. a collection of classic cars survive by: to live longer than; to outliveEg. My father survived my mother by 10 years. marketable: wanted by purchase

40、rs or employers.e.g. There are many marketable products there. It is a good idea to list your marketable skills before heading for the job fair.Para 7-13How to under stand the sentenceA company friend said, “I know how much you will miss him.” And she answered, “I already have.”-Pun She meant to say

41、 that Phil was so engrossed in work that he neglected his family. She had already lost him to his work for many years.paraphrase“doing enough odd jobs to stay in grass and food.”doing enough temporary jobs to stay alive on drug and food. grab at: seize desperatelyodd 1) strange, unusualEg. She gets

42、odder as she grows older.2) not evenFive and nine are odd numbers. He does odd jobs for people. 他替人做临时工。 She knits at odd moments. 她利用零碎时间编织。 3) a little more thanEg. Thirty-odd years later widow: a woman whose husband has died, and who has not married again. widower: a man whose wife has died, and

43、who has not married again. Widow v. to make a widow or widower of somebody. e.g. She calls her windowed father/mother nearly everyday. Deceased n. somebody who has died, especially recently. adj. the deceased father straighten out: to solve or settle: to remove difficulties from something or the dou

44、bt or ignorance in somebodys mind. e.g. we need someone capable of straightening out all the confusion.Comprehension questions Did his children know him well? NO. natural n. a person who has the natural tendency of doing sth. eg. Hes a natural for the post. He is a natural at mathematics. inquiry: a

45、 request for help or information; an investigation e.g. Im writing to inquire about your advertisement in The Times. Dont hesitate to check with our workers at the inquiry desk/office when in doubt. Why does the essay end with the question the company president asked?Comprehension questionsExercises

46、 (1)Translation exercises 1. 我的顶头上司是一个典型的工作狂，一年到头每天工作10个小时以上。(workaholic) My immediate boss is typical workaholic, for he works for over ten hours each day all the year round. 2. 校长十分注重课外活动。他认为，课外活动有助于培养学生对外部世界的极大兴趣。(extracurricular) The principal attaches much importance to extracurricular activiti

47、es and he believes that they will help to cultivate students tremendous interest in the external world.Exercises (1) 3. 星期一早上，他总是快速冲个澡，胡乱吃个三明治，接着赶搭出租车去上班。(grab) He always grabs a shower, a sandwich and then a taxi to go to work every Monday morning. 4. 既然你要离开公司了，你要在本周内清算帐目。(straighten out) Since you

48、 are leaving the company, you should straighten out the accounts within the week. 5. 为了及时完成他的博士论文，他经常熬夜。(stay up) He often stays up late at night in order to finish writing his Ph. D. dissertation on time.Exercises (1) 6. 没有什么东西可以取代内心深处最深切的爱。(replace) Nothing can replace the profoundest love in ones

49、 heart of heart. 7. 他被认为是总裁职位的当然人选，因为他已经做了近10年出色的副总裁。(natural) He is considered a natural for the post of the president, for he has been an excellent vice-president for almost ten years. 8. 他实在太普通了，在人群中不会被挑选出来。（pick out） He is just too common to be picked out from the crowd.Exercises (2) Fill in the

50、 blank in each sentence with a word taken from the box in the proper form. board discreetlypreciselyclassicexecutive surviveconceivablygrabwidowdeceasedobituaryworkaholicExercises (2) 1. The woman _ her husband by nine years. 2.The plot of the novel _ the reader. 3. Not wanting to draw any attention

51、, Roy went _ into the lecture hall. 4. We learned about her _ father by reading his _ in The Times.survivedgrabsdiscreetlydeceasedobituaryExercises (2) 5.I do not understand how the arranged marriage could _ work out in the more traditional societies. 6. The old couple plans to _ some students from

52、the university . 7. The new business writing course is oriented towards _ and managers who wasnt the individual attention and focused training that will help them write with impact and effectiveness. 8. Upper-intermediate English learners are often encouraged to read the _ of the English and America

53、n literature.conceivablyboardexecutivesclassicsQuestions for Text IIWhat is a kind of fundamental malaise(不舒服） which seams very common and which poses difficult problems for the social reformer?What is the first of the two causes that prevent people from being as happy as one might expect?What is th

54、e major cause that prevents people from being happy as much as possible?How do you understand the statement that a life which is all principle is a life on rails?Oral activities There is never a short supply of people like Phil, especially in modern societies with fierce competition and overwhelming

55、 pressure. How can Phils avoid their tragedy? Discuss in group and list some rules they can follow to improve their lives. writing Career or Family: which is more important?Career or Family: which is more important? Sample: When asked about their opinion of career and family, people always respond d

56、ifferently. Some people deem it more important to pursue their career, while there are always other people who argue that family should be the number one in ones life. It goes without any question that career plays a key role in our life. In the very first place, career can give us an aim to live on

57、. Without career, much of our living time will be certainly wasted. Whats more, career can provide us with a means to live on. Most of the people earn their income from a job. On the other hand, family is also an indispensable part of life, as many people will admit. Family is always regarded as a p

58、lace where we can escape from troubles in life. In addition, we can obtain a sense of belonging to from family. Without it, anyone will feel lonely and desperate. In my opinion, career and family are not in opposition to each other. Rather, they can enhance each other so that ones life can become be

59、tter and better. Therefore, its not a choice between right and wrong, but one between ideal and practical.Work to live or live to work Given some facts in our society, I feel that we have to work to live, but we should perform to the best of our potential when we work. At this very moment, such a no

60、tion that youre living to work ought to be in your mind. Without work, we are incapable of making money, which leads to problems with normal living. The person who works to live has a strong sense of responsibility for his family. However, he also spends proper time staying with his family to enjoy happiness and