新世纪英语专业综合教程(第二版)第2册Unit7

1、Unit 7Unit 7Watch the video and answer the following questions.1. What do you think of the boy that the teachers were talking about? What attitudes did the teachers have towards the boy?2. Do you have any study problem? Whats your teachers attitude?Audiovisual supplementCultural informationThe boy h

2、ad some study problems. Most of the teachers did not believe that the boy could make any progress, but the young lady thought that he could.Open. Audiovisual supplementCultural informationTeacher 1:Teacher 2:Teacher 3:Teacher 1:Teacher 3:Teacher 4:Teacher 2:Teacher 4:The big kids been here for, what

3、, a month? Hes still not cutting it in my class.Why does Admissions do this? I mean, its not fair to us or the boy. Theyre just setting him up to fail.I dont think he has any idea of what Im teaching. And how would you know if he did? He wont even talk.He writes. His name. Barely.He threw this in th

4、e trash can. “I look and I see white everywhere: white walls, white floors, and a lot of white people. The teachers do not know IAudiovisual supplementCultural informationAudiovisual supplementCultural informationTeacher 1:have no idea of anything they are talking about. I do not wanna listen to any

5、one, especially the teachers. They are giving homework and expecting me to do the problems on my own. I have never done homework in my life. I go to the bathroom, look in the mirror and say: This is not Michael Oher.” He entitled it “White Walls.”Hows the spelling?1. QuoteHistories make men wise; po

6、ems witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Francis BaconAudiovisual supplementCultural informationimprovement), in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary institutions in some countries, as a Grade Point Average (GPA). Th

7、e GPA can be used by potential employers or further post-secondary institutions to assessAudiovisual supplementCultural information2. Grades Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters (for example, A, B, C, D, or F

8、), as a range (for example 4.0 1.0), as descriptors (excellent, great, satisfactory, needsAudiovisual supplementCultural informationand compare applicants. A Cumulative Grade Point Average is the mean GPA from all academic terms within a given academic year, whereas the GPA may only refer to one ter

9、m.Structural analysisText analysis1. What issues does the writer of the letter intend to deal with?How should students regard grades, both good and bad? Are grades as important as they are assumed to be? Do good grades necessarily lead to achievements and bad grades result in failure in a students l

10、ater life?Structural analysisText analysis2. Whats the theme of this piece of writing?It is explicitly stated in the first sentence of the third paragraph: to put a B students disappointment in perspective by considering exactly what the grade B means and doesnt mean.ParagraphsMain idea12-56-8It int

11、roduces the topic of the letter.Grades do not mean everything.Getting a B in class does not mean one will always be a B performer in life.1. Divide the text into parts by completing the table.Text analysisStructural analysisParagraphsMain idea9-10In a complex society like ours, labels are necessary

12、but they should be kept in perspective.Structural analysisText analysis2. Apart from the first paragraph, the rest of the text falls clearly into three parts, each of which is marked at the beginning by a key word or words. Try to find these key words.Paragraphs 25: DisappointmentParagraphs 6-8: The

13、 student as performer; the student as human being.Paragraphs 9-10: PerspectiveMain ideaStructural analysisYour final grade for the course is B. A respectable grade. Far superior to the “Gentlemans C” that served as the norm a couple of generations ago. But in those days As were rare: only two out of

14、 twenty-five, as I recall. Whatever our norm is, it has shifted upward, with the result that you are probably disappointed at not doing better. Im certain that nothing I can say will remove that feeling of disappointment, particularly in a climate where grades determine eligibility for graduate scho

15、ol and special programs.Letter to a B StudentDetailed readingRobert Oliphant1Disappointment. Its the stuff bad dreams are made of: dreams of failure, inadequacy, loss of position and good repute. The essence of success is that theres never enough of it to go round in a zero-sum game where one person

16、s winning must be offset by anothers losing, one persons joy offset by anothers disappointment. Youve grown up in a society where winning is not the most important thing its the only thing. To lose, to fail, to go under, to go broke these are deadly sins in a world where prosperity in the present is

17、 seen as a sure sign of salvation in the future. In a different society, your disappointment might be something you could shrug away. But not in ours.Detailed reading2My purpose in writing you is to put your disappointment in perspective by considering exactly what your grade means and doesnt mean.

18、I do not propose to argue here that grades are unimportant. Rather, I hope to show you that your grade, taken at face value, is apt to be dangerously misleading, both to you and to others.Detailed reading3As a symbol on your college transcript, your grade simply means that you have successfully comp

19、leted a specific course of study, doing so at a certain level of proficiency. The level of your proficiency has been determined by your performance of rather conventional tasks: taking tests, writing papers and reports, and so forth. Your performance is generally assumed to correspond to the knowled

20、ge you have acquired and will retain. But this assumption, as we both know, is questionable; it may well be that youve actually gotten much more out of the course than your grade indicates or less. Detailed reading4Lacking more precise measurement tools, we must interpret your B as a rather fuzzy sy

21、mbol at best, representing a questionable judgment of your mastery of the subject.Detailed readingYour grade does not represent a judgment of your basic ability or of your character. Courage, kindness, wisdom, good humor these are the important characteristics of our species. Unfortunately they are

22、not part of our curriculum. But they are important: crucially so, because they are always in short supply. 5The student as performer; the student as human being. The distinction is one we should always keep in mind. I first learned it years ago when I got out of the service and went back to college.

23、 There were a lot of us then: older than the norm, in a hurry to get our degrees and move on, impatient with the tests and rituals of academic life. Not an easy group to handle.If you value these characteristics in yourself, you will be valued and far more so than those whose identities are measured

24、 only by little marks on a piece of paper. Your B is a price tag on a garment that is quite separate from the living, breathing human being underneath.Detailed reading6One instructor handled us very wisely, it seems to me. On Sunday evenings in particular, he would make a point of stopping in at a l

25、ocal bar frequented by many of the GI-Bill students. There he would sit and drink, joke, and swap stories with men in his class, men who had but recently put away their uniforms and identities: former platoon sergeants, bomber pilots, corporals, captains, lieutenants, commanders, majors even a lieut

26、enant colonel, as I recall. They enjoyed his company greatly, as he theirs. The next morning he would walk into class and give these same men a test. A hard test. A test on which he usually flunked about half of them.Detailed reading7Oddly enough, the men whom he flunked did not resent it. Nor did t

27、hey resent him for shifting suddenly from a friendly gear to a coercive one. Rather, they loved him, worked harder and harder at his course as the semester moved along, and ended up with a good grasp of his subject economics. The technique is still rather difficult for me to explain; but I believe i

28、t can be described as one in which a clear distinction was made between the student as classroom performer and the student as human being. A good distinction to make. A distinction that should put your B in perspective and your disappointment.Detailed reading8Perspective. It is important to recogniz

29、e that human beings, despite differences in class and educational labeling, are fundamentally hewn from the same material and knit together by common bonds of fear and joy, suffering and achievement. Warfare, sickness, disasters public and private these are the larger coordinates of life. To recogni

30、ze them is to recognize that social labels are basically irrelevant and misleading. It is true that these labels are necessary in the functioning of a complex society as a way of letting us know who should be trusted to do what, with the result that we need to make distinctions on the basis of grade

31、s, degrees, ranks, and responsibility. Detailed reading9But these distinctions should never be taken seriously in human terms, either in the way we look at others or in the way we look at ourselves.Detailed readingEven in achievement terms, your B label does not mean that you are permanently defined

32、 as a B achievement person. Im well aware that B students tend to get Bs in the courses they take later on, just as A students tend to get As. But academic work is a narrow, neatly defined highway compared to the unmapped rolling country your will encounter after you leave school. 10What you have le

33、arned may help you find your way about at first; later on you will have to shift to yourself, locating goals and opportunities in the same fog that hampers us all as we move toward the future.Detailed reading2. What, according to the author, has caused the feeling of disappointment?It has to do with

34、 the general social climate where grades determine eligibility for graduate school and special programs. This is why the author says there is nothing he can do to remove the feeling of disappointment.1. What change about grades has the author mentioned briefly?The author has mentioned briefly the ch

35、ange in the way grades are regarded, i.e. the norm has shifted upward.Detailed readingDetailed reading3. Has the author stated his purpose of writing in this paragraph? If yes, what is it? If not, where is it stated in the text?The purpose of writing the letter is not stated in this paragraph. It is

36、 not specifically mentioned until the third paragraph.1. How does the author explain the notion of disappointment?Refer to Paragraph 2. Disappointment is a negative feeling. It is the stuff bad dreams are made of. What deserves our attention here is that the author explains disappointment in relatio

37、n to success.Detailed readingThere does not exist the situation in which all those who are involved will turn out successful and no one feels disappointed. Wherever there are winners, there are losers. When someone feels happy about his success, someone else may feel disappointed at his failure. In

38、a highly competitive society where the importance of winning is emphasized so much, it is inevitable that those who fail in the competition will feel disappointed.2. How do you interpret the second sentence in Paragraph 2 “The essence of success is that ”?Detailed readingWhat does the phrase “put st

39、h. in perspective” mean?It means “judge the importance of sth. correctly.” So what the author wants to do is to show the students how they should regard / view their disappointment correctly.Detailed readingTry to find out what a grade means and what it does not mean.It means the successful completi

40、on of a specific course at a certain level of proficiency. It is an indication of the students performance of some conventional tasks. However, it may not be a truthful indication of the students knowledge. It does not represent a judgment of the students basic ability or of his character.Detailed r

41、eading1. What is the authors view concerning social labels?Social labels are on the one hand irrelevant and misleading and on the other hand necessary in a complex society.Detailed reading2. How do you interpret the sentence “To recognize them is to recognize that social labels are basically irrelev

42、ant and misleading”?If we are aware that human beings, despite their apparent differences, are basically identical physically and emotionally, we would think definitely that the social labels used to distinguish them are irrelevant, i.e. meaningless, and misleading, i.e. distorting the fact.Detailed

43、 readingHow does the author relate a students academic performance with his future life?While a students performance at school may be quite consistent throughout his school years and what he has learned at school may help him after he leaves school, in the long run he will depend much more on himsel

44、f, i.e. he will have to learn to find his way when traveling in his life path. A grade B student may turn out to be a grade A life achiever.Detailed readingnorm n.1) an accepted standard or a way of behaving or doing things that most people agree withe.g.You must adapt to the norms of the society yo

45、u live in.Derivation:normal a.normally ad.normalize v.normalization n.Detailed reading2) the norm = a situation or type of behavior that is expected and considered to be typicale.g.One child per family is fast becoming the norm in some countries.shift vt.& vi.1) to (cause something or someone to

46、) move or change from one position or direction to another, especially slightlye.g. She shifted (her weight) uneasily from one foot to the other.The wind is expected to shift (to the east) tomorrow.Detailed reading2) transfer sth.e.g. This simply shifts the cost of medical insurance from the employe

47、r to the employee.Detailed readingCollocation:shift sth. (from A to / onto B) 转移或转换某事物转移或转换某事物shift (your) ground （辩论中）改变立场或方法辩论中）改变立场或方法e.g. Hes annoying to argue with because he keeps shifting his ground.Derivation:shift n.shiftless a. 1. 教师让学生们挪动了教室里的椅子，以便小组成员坐教师让学生们挪动了教室里的椅子，以便小组成员坐在一起开展讨论。在一起开展

48、讨论。2. 最近，媒体的注意力转移到了环境方面的问题。最近，媒体的注意力转移到了环境方面的问题。Translation:The teacher asked the students to shift the chairs around in the classroom so that the group members could sit together for the discussion._Media attention has shifted recently into environmental issues._Detailed readingeligibility n. the q

49、ualifications or abilities required for doing somethinge.g.Ill have to check her eligibility to take part in this competition.Derivation:eligible a.eligible (for sth. / to do sth.)Detailed readingDetailed reading1. Her qualifications and experience confirm her eligibility for the job.2. 只有在公司工作三年以上的

50、人才能得到住房补贴。只有在公司工作三年以上的人才能得到住房补贴。Translation:她的资历和经验确定她适合做这项工作。她的资历和经验确定她适合做这项工作。_Only those who have worked in this company for at least three years are eligible for housing allowance._Detailed readingIm certain that nothing I can say will remove that feeling of disappointment, particularly in a cli

51、mate where grades determine eligibility for graduate school and special program.Translation: 我肯定无论我说什么都不会消除你的沮丧心情，特别是我肯定无论我说什么都不会消除你的沮丧心情，特别是在我们生活的环境中，考试分数直接决定你是否有资格在我们生活的环境中，考试分数直接决定你是否有资格读研究生和申请一些特别的学习项目。读研究生和申请一些特别的学习项目。inadequacy n.1) being too low in quality or too small in amount e.g.The inade

52、quacy of water supply for city people has already been a problem no government can take lightly.Detailed reading2) fault or failing; weaknesse.g. I always suffer from feelings of inadequacy when Im with him.Detailed readingDerivation:inadequate a.inadequately ad.Antonym:adequacyDetailed readingExerc

53、ise: Use the following words to fill in the blanks.1. Unemployment can often cause feelings of and low self-esteem. 2. He doubted her for the job. 3. Will future oil supplies be to meet world needs? 4. While some patients can be cared for at home, others are best served by care in a hospital. 5. Our

54、 scientific research is funded. inadequacy_inadequacy inadequately adequacy adequate adequatelyinadequately_adequacy_adequate_adequately_essence n. the most basic and important idea or qualitye.g. The essence of his argument was that education should continue throughout life.Yet change is the very e

55、ssence of life.Detailed readingCollocation:in essence 本质上，大体上本质上，大体上of the essence 非常重要的，不可缺少的非常重要的，不可缺少的e.g. In essence, both sides agree on the issue.e.g. In any of these discussions, of course, honesty is of the essence.Derivation:essential a. & n.essentially ad.Detailed readingDetailed readi

56、ngoffset vt. to counterbalance or compensate fore.g. In basketball, he offsets his small size by his cleverness and speed. Forests can help offset human-caused climate warming, and scientists want to know how big a role these particular forests will play.Collocation:offset sth. by sth. / doing sth.D

57、etailed reading1. The extra cost of travelling to work is offset by the lower price of houses here.2. He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.Translation:此处的低房价可以抵消从这里去上班时交通方面的此处的低房价可以抵消从这里去上班时交通方面的额外支出。额外支出。_他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。_go under to fail; to be overwhelm

58、ede.g. His business went under because of competition from the large corporations.Poor Donaldson had no head for business, and it was not long before he went under.Detailed readingDetailed readinggo / be broke to become penniless; to go bankrupte.g. The business kept losing money and finally went br

59、oke.I cant afford to go on holiday this year Im broke. A lot of small businesses went broke during the recession.经济不景气，很多小公司都倒闭了。经济不景气，很多小公司都倒闭了。Detailed readingperspective n. a way of regarding situations, facts, etc.e.g. His fathers death gave him a whole new perspective on life.The novel is writt

60、en from the perspective of a child.The background of this picture is all out of perspective.Collocation:in / out of perspectivee.g.He sees things in their right perspective.e.g.Detailed readingCollocation:put / see / view sth. in perspective to compare something to other things so that it can be accurately