Unit 1 Changes in the Way We Live

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Unit 1 Changes in the Way We Live

• Meng Ling

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Cultural Notes

• E(lwyn) B(rooks) White (1899-1985)
• Leading American essayist and literary stylist of
  his time. White was known for his crisp,
  graceful, relaxed style.
• From 1929 White worked for The New Yorker's
  weekly magazine, remaining in its staff for the
  rest of his career.
• White's favorite subjects were the complexities
  of modern society, failures of technological
  progress, the pleasures of urban and rural life,
  war, and internationalism. He was skeptical about
  organized religion, and advocated a respect for
  nature and simple living.

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• Ivy League
• It refers to the eight long-established colleges
  and universities in USA with prestigious academic
  and social reputations. Its members go as
  follows
• 1)  Brown University in Providence, Rhode
  Island
• 2)  Columbia University in New York City
• 3)  Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
• 4) Dartmouth College in Hanover, New
  Hampshire
• 5) Harvard University in Cambridge,
  Massachusetts
• 6)  University of Pennsylvania in
  Philadelphia
• 7)  Princeton University in Princeton, New
  Jersey
• 8)  Yale University in New Haven,
  Connecticut.

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Brown University
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Columbia University
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Cornell University
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Dartmouth College
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Harvard University
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University of Pennsylvania
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Princeton University
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Yale University
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If you want to know more about these schools, you
are welcomed to log on to their websites
Brown University
www.brown.edu Columbia University
www.columbia.edu Cornell University
www.cornell.edu Dartmouth College
www.dartmouth.edu Harvard University
www.harvard.edu University of Pennsylvania
www.upenn.edu Princeton University
www.princeton.edu Yale University
www.yale.edu
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• Sports Illustrated
• This is a popular US sports magazine
  published each week by Time Inc (Incorporated),
  part of Time Warner. It first appeared in 1954,
  and is read mainly by men.

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• Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
• This is a US government program that allows
  people to put part of their income into special
  bank accounts. No tax has to be paid on this
  money until they retire.

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• Insurance
• Insurance policy
• A written contract or certificate of
  insurance.
• Insurance provider
• 1) the financial stability of the
  insurance company
• 2) the price of policies
• 3) details of coverage and service.
• Most insurance falls into four main categories
• 1)   property and casualty (????)
• 2)   life
• 3)   health
• 4)   old-age and unemployment.

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• People commonly choose an insurance provider
  based on several criteria. Some of the most
  important of these include
• the financial stability of the insurance company
• the price of the policies
• details of coverage and services

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Text Comprehension

• Part 1
• Para 1 Where does the authors contentment
  come from?
• Para 2 What kind of life is a self-reliant ?
• Para 3 What kind of life is satisfying ?

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• Im not in E. B. Whites class as a writer or in
  my neighbors league as a farmer, but I am
  getting by.
• Our hens keep us in eggs, with Our bees provides
  us with honeyand we cut enough wood to just
  about make it through the heating season.
• In the summer we canoe on In the winter we ski
  and skate. We love the smell of the earth
  warning and We watch for hawks in the sky and
  deer in the cornfields.

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• Part 2
• Para 4 Please describe the tough farm life by
  the words listed below
• 30 below, hauling firewood up the river
• 95 above, cultivate corn weed strawberries kill
  chickens
• recently, retile the back roof
• soon, make some long-overdue improvements
• later this month, spray the orchard paint the
  barn plant the garden clean the hen house

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• Part 2
• Para 5 What does the writer do in between the
  chores?
• What does his wife do?
• Freelancer
• Demanding schedule
• Household routine
• There is, as the old saying goes, not rest for
  the wicked, on the place like thisand not for
  the virtuous either.

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• Part 2
• Para 6 A specific example of their hard but happy
  life.
• Para 7 What are the two floods the spring brings?
• The river overflowed, covering our lands
  for weeks.
• The growing season swamp us under wave
  after wave of produce. -- metaphor

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• Part 3
• Para 8 The second year on the farm I quit my job
  and start to freelance.
• At that point the timing was terrible.
• Will there ever be a better time?
• Decidedly/definitely/undoubtedly/absolutely NO.

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• Part 3
• Para 9 Achievements in writing life.
• There have been a few anxious moments since then,
  but on balance things have gone much better than
  we had any right to expect.

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• Part 3
• Para 10 Our usual expenses How do we managed our
  life.
• Generate enough income.
• Handle mortgage payments and family expenses.
• What are the expenses we have to cover?
• Aside from / except for / in addition to /apart
  from
• Set aside / put aside / reserve / save

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• Part 3
• Para 11 Their entertainment life. without
  lowering our standards of living.
• Dine out
• Attend the opera and ballet
• Combine vacations with story assignments

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• Part 4
• Para 12-13 What are the special quality required
  for life on a farm?
• a tolerance for solitude.
• a lot of energy.

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• Part 4
• Para 14 What will the future be?
• Maybe quite a while maybe not
• leave with a feeling of sorrow but also with a
  sense of pride.
• made a profit.

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• Part 4
• Para 15 Restate their purpose to come to the
  farm life.
• We come here to improve the quality of our lives.
  

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Techniques employed by the author

• Comparison and contrast
• Topic sentences followed by detail sentences
• Use of transitional devices

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The Pattern of One Topic Sentence Several
Detail sentences Structure

• Easy for readers to grasp the main idea
• Writes in a clear and logical way

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• The detail sentences run parallel to each other,
  like those in Para 2.
• The detail sentences have their own hierarchy.
  Take Para 5 for example. The first sentence tells
  how busy I am. The second sentence states that
  Sandy, the wife, is also busy. The final sentence
  is a kind of summary nobody can relax. Yet the
  second sentence is following a few more detail
  sentences showing exactly how tight a schedule
  Sandy has.

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• Take Para 12-13 for another example. The topic
  sentence herein is I suspect not everyone who
  loves the country would be happy living the way
  we do. It takes a couple of special qualities.
  Then there are two sub-topic sentences One is a
  tolerance for solitude The other requirement
  is energy a lot of it. Each subtopic sentence
  has its own supporting details.

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Transitional Devices

• Sometimes there are no transitional devices
  between detail sentences, sometimes there are,
  the most frequently used of which is time words
  or phrases. For example, the detail sentences in
  Para 4 begin with three months ago, three
  months from now, recently and later this
  month, respectively.
• Other transitional words are used, such as in
  Para 7, first then then eventually.

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Discussion City life vs. Country life
City life
Advantages
Disadvantages
Overpopulation Air pollution Noise Heavy
traffic High crime rate Fierce competition and
stress Indifference in interpersonal relationship
Higher living standard Convenient
transportation Health care Better education More
job opportunities entertainment
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Country life
Advantages disadvantages
Fresh air
Healthy food
Self-sufficiency Peaceful life
More leisure time
less pressure
Closer personal relationship
Remote backward
Underdeveloped Inconvenience in
life Not well-informed of the outside
world Hard manual labor
Low income
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American attitudes towards changes

• Americans might be a nation most used to
  changes who believe no one stands still. If you
  are not moving ahead, youre falling behind.

Traditions can be a guide, but not necessarily
superior. Better and better ways can be found.
Life is in constant change.
Its neither the strongest nor the most
intelligent of a species that will survive, it is
those who are most adaptable to changes.
This pursuit of perfection leads to Americans
positive attitude towards change and results in a
nation of people committed to researching,
experimenting, and exploring.
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• American ideals
• civil liberties, balance of powers,
  environmental protection, cultural diversity,
  equal economic opportunity and spiritual freedom
• Key words
• self-made success, value of manual work
  individuality, nature

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• 1. get by manage survive.
• How can he get by on such low wages?
• It is a little bit difficult for the old to get
  by on such a small pension.
• 2. make it
• 1) to be successful in ones career.
• Hes never really made it as an actor.
• 2) to succeed in reaching a place after
  difficulty, effort, etc
• It was a terrible journey but we finally made it.
  
• 3) to attend sth.
• I am afraid I wont be able to make it to your
  party next week.

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• 3. haul
• 1) transport, as with a truck, cart, etc.
  
• The farmers haul vegetables to the market on a
  truck every day.
• The rescue team hauled medical supplies and food
  to the flooded village.
• 2) pull or drag sth. with effort or
  force
• I got stuck in the in the mud and the others had
  to haul me out.
• Rescue workers hauled passengers out the bombed
  commuter train.

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• 4.   improvement
• the act or an instance of improving or being
  improved.
• Internet service providers should develop
  security improvement services for their
  customers.
• The governments priorities will go to local
  transport improvement projects

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• 5. supplement to add to or complete with sth
  else. (followed by with)
• My doctor suggested a diet supplemented with
  vitamin tablets.
• He works in the evenings to supplement his
  student grant.
• 6.   indoor situated or used inside a
  building.
• Indoor pollution has been found to be as much as
  five to ten times higher inside some skyscrapers
  than outside.
• The Mall of America, the biggest mall in USA
  includes the worlds largest indoor amusement
  park.
• 7. spray force out liquid in small drops
  upon (followed by with)
• A car went past and sprayed me with water.

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• 8. pursue to strive to gain or accomplish
• pursue lofty political goals / pleasure / one's
  studies
• Public evening classes allow people to earn a
  living during the day and pursue vocational and
  intellectual interests in their spare time.
• After graduation Martin chose to pursue the same
  career as his father as a minister.
• n. pursuit the pursuit of higher education

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• 9. stack make into a pile
• After she did the dishes, Mon started stacking
  them on the draining-board.
• Before being processed into lumber, the wood
  must be carefully stacked to prevent warping.

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• 10.  wicked evil or bad
• I would rather starve in a ditch than accept the
  fortune upon such wicked terms.
• We are born good, but can be taught to be wicked.
• 11.   get through come successfully to the end.
  
• The local government has taken some measures to
  ensure that all the people will get through the
  winter.
• She got through the entrance examination, and
  was accepted by the college.

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• 12.  on balance with all things considered.
• Their suggestion has, on balance, proved
  practicable.
• On balance, its probably not advisable to change
  the companys name.
• 13. illustrate provide with visual feature
  clarify by use of examples, etc.
• The editor has illustrated the book with
  black-and-white photographs.
• His story illustrates her true generosity very
  clearly.

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• 14.  generate bring into being give rise to
• generate heat / power / employment / enthusiasm
• The widespread use of English in France has
  generated a public as well as an academic debate
  over language in the country.
• 15. pick up be ready to pay
• If he loses the case, Michael will have to pick
  up the bill for legal costs.
• Taxpayers will be picking up the tab for the
  improved public transport net work.
• 16. minor smaller, less serious or less
  important than others
• minor repairs / operations / injuries / role in a
  play

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• 17. cut back reduce in size or amount (cut back
  sth./ on sth.)
• If we dont sell more goods, well have to cut
  back (on) production.
• After NPC, the government decided to cut back
  military spending to ensure more on
  infrastructure.
• 18. dine out eat a meal away from home ( usu.
  in a restaurant)
• More people have accepted the growing trend of
  dining out on weekend.
• As more working mother appear, many families
  have to dine out.

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• 19. patronize go to as a customer.
• The restaurant featuring French dishes is
  patronized by a lot of politicians and
  journalists.
• When he was a student, Mark often patronized the
  little shop near the college due to its
  inexpensive goods.

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• 20.   suspect believe to be true, likely or
  probable feel doubt about ( used in the
  patterns suspect sb./ sth. of sth. suspect that
  )
• USA banned domestic poultry imported from China,
  suspecting that they might have been infected
  with bird flu.
• It was perfectly all right, Henry said, because
  the police had not suspected him of anything.

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• 21. budget A systematic plan for the expenditure
  of a usually fixed resource, such as money or
  time, during a given period
• A new car will not be part of our budget this
  year.
• The low-budgeted film Lost in Translation was
  an instant success in the Academy Award.

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• 22.  requirement sth. needed or asked for
• academic / admission / design / fund requirement
• 23. scale a relative level or degree ( usu. used
  in the phrase on a scale)
• judging divers' performances on a scale of 1 to
  10
• a family that ranks high on the social scale
• 24.   resist keep from giving in to or enjoying
  (resist sth./doing sth.)
• I was unable to resist laughing at the sight of
  the funny clown.
• Keep away from KFC. You know I cant resist
  delicious fast food which has made me so plump.

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• 25. temptation the feeling of being tempted to
  do sth. that you know might be wrong or harmful
  the thing you want to have.
• To her, the temptation to steal is greater than
  ever before----especially in large shopping
  malls.
• The temptation of big cities is so huge that
  many migrant workers would rather to stay there
  despite all the difficulties.
• 26. device a piece of equipment designed to
  serve a special purpose.
• Due to the widespread use of mobile digital
  devices, the semiconductor industry is gathering
  attention these days.

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• 27.  profit an advantageous gain or return.
• This new invention will bring you great profits
  like a goldmine.
• The students do hope to profit by / from the
  teacher's comments on their compositions.
• 28.  primarily mainly
• Teachers in our department are primarily
  concerned with improving the students studying
  environment.
• She gained such a great success primarily due to
  her diligence

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• 29. invest commit (money or capital) in order to
  gain a financial return (used in the pattern
  invest money/ invest money in sth./ invest in
  sth.)
• We have invested most of the money in shares in
  British companies.

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English terms for fruits vegetables

• Garlic
• Broccoli
• Arbi
• cauliflower

• Asparagus
• cantaloupe
• Celery
• Leeches

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Useful Expression
??????
Long-overdue improvements
??????
A demanding schedule
?????
As the old saying goes
??????
The timing is terrible
???????
Ivy League Schools
???????
With the employers blessing
????
Accumulated benefits
????
On balance

????
Mortgage payments
???
get by
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??
when it comes to
??????
make up the difference in income
????
living standard
????
dine out
??????
Patronize local restaurants
?????
A tolerance for solitude
????
A tight budget
????
Self-sufficient/cy
????
Resist the temptation to do sth.
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Compound Dictation

• You will hear a passage three times. When the
  passage is read for the first time, you should
  listen carefully for its general idea. When the
  passage is read for the second time, you are
  required to fill in the blanks numbered from 1 to
  7 with the exact words you have just heard. For
  the blanks numbered from 8 to 10 you are required
  to fill in the missing information. You can
  either use the exact words you have just heard or
  write down the main points in your own words.
  Finally, when the passage is read for the third
  time, you should check what you have written.

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Working at Home
growing
Laboratories

• Most American workers travel each day to jobs in
  factories, offices, , shops
  and schools. But for a number of
  people in the United States, the work place is
  changing. More Americans are to
  work at home. There are several reasons for this
  . One reason is many parents want more
  time to be with their children at home. Another
  is that people want the to decide for
  themselves how and when to do their job. The most
  important reason, however, is the in
  computer technology. With computers, there is
  need for people to come together to work.

__________
_______
choosing
________
change
________
freedom
________
revolution
______
_____
less
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Computers can be linked by telephone lines with
other computers far away

• A worker can write a report or
  add information to company records on a computer
  at home and then send the finished work to a
  computer in another city.
• . Many
  highly skilled workers, for example, ask their
  computers for the chance to work at least part
  of time at home. They say

Americans are already using computers to do many
different kinds of jobs at home
they can think more clearly and be more creative
in the quite , peaceful atmosphere of their home.
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Remember to - -

• Review Unit 1
• P14 Vocabulary 1. 2.
• P20 Structure 1. 2
• P22 Translation

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• Thank You!