The Teddy Stoddard Story

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Unit 2

• The Teddy Stoddard Story

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Questions for Discussion

• Pre-reading Questions
• 1. Have you heard of the word misfit? What do
  you think it means?
• 2. Have you ever been a misfit or known a misfit
  before?
• 3. What expectation do you have of a good
  teacher?

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• Answer the following questions concerning the
  story.
• 1. What was the lie that Jean Thompson told her
  students? Why was it a lie?
• 2. Did Mrs Thompson like everyone of her
  students? Who did she not like and in fact, take
  pleasure in discrediting?

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• 3. What made Mrs. Thompson change her mind about
  Teddy? What did she find out about the reason
  that Teddy was what he was then?
• 4. What did she do when, on Christmas, Teddy gave
  her the shabby gifts?
• 5. What was Teddys response?
• 6. What did Mrs. Thompson do about Teddy
  thereafter?

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• 7. Does the story end here? What does it tell us
  about the contacts between Teddy and Mrs.
  Thompson after that?
• 8. What happened on Teddys wedding?
• 9. How does the story strike you?
• Now retell the story, based on the answers to the
  questions above.

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Language Work

• 1. impact
• (1) n. v. an esp. strong or powerful influence
  or effect caused or produced e.g. by an idea,
  invention, event, etc. ????,??,??
• The Internets impact on the way we do business
  has been remarkable.
• The full impact of these changes has not yet been
  felt.
• These costs will impact on our profitability.

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• 2. venture
• (1) n. an activity or undertaking involving risk
  or uncertainty ????,????
• e.g. The two companies have embarked on a joint
  venture to produce cars in America.
• His bankruptcy was the result of several reckless
  business ventures.
• (2) v. to risk going somewhere or doing sth.
  (dangerous) ???(????),??
• e.g. Banks are venturing into insurance.
• May I venture a guess?

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• 3. constantly adv. all the time, or very often
  ??,???
• e.g. She was constantly trying to impress her
  boss.
• constant adj. constancy n.
• Translation ??????????,??????????
• His constant swearing was what triggered the
  tragedy.

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• 4. take pleasure in sth / doing sth ???
• I take pleasure in tearing it all down that is
  the very root of this evil regime.
• take pride in ???
• take pains to do ??,??
• take pity on ??
• take refugee in ???,???

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• 5. bold adj.
• (1) striking to the eye, very noticeable ???,???
• e.g. She paints with bold strokes of the brush.
• (2) (??)????,????
• e.g. The headwords in the dictionary are printed
  in bold type.
• (3) not afraid of taking risks and making
  difficult decisions ???,???
• e.g. He had the ability to take bold imaginative
  decisions.

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• 6. she was in for a surprise she was about to
  have a surprise
• be in for about to have sth
• e.g. They are in for a world of pain!
• You are in for the most awesome party of all
• Translation ????????,?????????????!
• Just got a call from the office. Im in for the
  employee of the year!

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• 7. inquisitive a. / In5kwIzItIv / always wanting
  to find out the details about things and
  people(?????)???,??????
• e.g. Journalists have to be inquisitive, fearless
  and determined.
• inquisitive (likely to inquire),
• inquiring (wanting to inquire),
• inquisition (n.)
• cf. acquisitive (likely to acquire),
• exquisite (delicate, subtle)

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• 8. withdraw v. to (cause to) not to take part
  in(?)??,(?)???
• e.g. I withdrew from the contest two days before
  it took place because I was too nervous.
• He withdrew his horse from the race.
• Withdrawal n.
• e.g. We were shocked at their withdrawal from the
  talks.

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• 9. stifle v.
• (1) to prevent from happening ??,??,??
• e.g. She stifled a yawn as the boss read out the
  sales figures.
• (2) to (cause to) be unable to breathe
  comfortably, esp. because of heat and lack of
  fresh air (?)????,(?)?????
• e.g. Im stifled in here open a window, someone!

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• 10. exclaim v. to cry out or speak suddenly and
  loudly ??,??,???
• e.g. Oh, no! exclaimed Bill in terror. The
  house is on fire.
• exclamation n. sound(s) or word(s) expressing a
  sudden strong feeling ??,??,???
• e.g. Good heavens! is an exclamation (of
  surprise).
• This news was greeted with smiles and
  exclamations of approval.
• exclamation mark ???

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• 11. quit v. to stop (doing sth.) and leave
  ??(???),??
• e.g. Suddenly she quit talking, turning her face
  to the pillow and went to sleep.
• Ive quit my job.
• quit (quitted quit quitting)

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• 12. vow (1) v. n. to promise solemnly to
  declare or swear solemnly a solemn promise or
  declaration of intention (?) ?,(?) ?
• e.g. Ben vowed to avenge his mothers death.
• All the men took/made a vow of loyalty to their
  leader.
• The members of this religious community are under
  a vow of silence (have promised to God that they
  will not speak).

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• 13. assure v. (1) to declare positively, to tell
  sb. that sth. is definitely true ???,???,????
• e.g. Her mother assured her that everything would
  be alright.
• The document is genuine, I can assure you.
• (2) to make (sth.) certain to happen or be
  gained ensure ??
• e.g. The excellent reviews given to the film have
  assured its success.
• Her success as an actress was now assured.

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• The point of changing self-image is not to
  develop an image of ourselves that is not real.
  To try to become something we really arent is
  just as wrong as living the unrealistic, inferior
  image we may have. The aim is to find the real
  self, to bring our mental images of ourselves in
  line with our true potential. However, it is
  generally accepted among psychologists that most
  of us fail to do justice to ourselves. Were
  usually better than we think we are.
• It is important to have realistic expectations of
  ourselves. Some of our dissatisfaction might come
  from expecting too much of ourselves. If we
  demand constant perfection in everything we do,
  we can be disappointed. Our poor self-concept
  will continue. If our goal is to reach
  perfection, we are doomed from the start.