上外全新版大学英语综合教程讲义-book4-unit6

Test A Old Father Becomes A Terror

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

1. Vocabulary in language focus. Be sure that students memorize them and know how to utilize

them.

2. Learn how to construct an argumentation.

3. Learn how to employ writing skills such as exemplications, quotations, figures, compare and

contrast, cause and effect, etc. to make an argumentative paper persuasive.

4. Lead students to understand causes of the feeling of time famine, the solutions to it and

eventually how to put them into practice in our daily life.

First period

Preview assignment:

1. Preview the new words and expressions in the text.

2. Grasp the main idea and structure of the text; pay attention to the topic sentences in each part

and make a note of the transitional devices.

3. Try to underline the reasons/causes to the feelings of time famine, the reactions to time famine

and the crux(症结)of the problem and its remedy proposed by the author in the text.

4. Before class collect phenomena of the modern life (the students are expected to report them in

class.)

I. Listening practice 15mins

Listen to the passage and then answer questions:

Harvard University: Established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Harvard was named after its first benefactor, John Harvard, of Charlestown, Massachusetts. Upon his death in 1638, the young minister left his library and half his estate to the new College. In 1639, in recognition of John Harvard's bequest, the Great and General Court ordered \"that the colledge agreed upon formerly to be built at Cambridg shalbee called Harvard Colledge.\" Founded 16 years after the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, the College has grown from 9 students with a single Master into a University with an enrollment of more than 18,000 degree candidates.

1. When did Harvard University established? (Answer: 1639)

2. How did the University get its name? (Answer: Harvard was named after its first benefactor, John Harvard, of Charlestown, Massachusetts.)

3. How many candidates now in University?(Answer: an enrollment of more than 18,000 degree candidates.)

II. Cultural Notes:15mins

1.Richard Tomkins (see reference book page 56) 2.Technology (see reference book page 57)

3.Stress in the workplace (see reference book page 57&58)

4.Henley Centre: founded in 1974 by academics associated with the Henley Management College in Oxfordshire, notably the economist James Morrell. It was originally known as The Henley Centre for Forecasting, with a focus on business forecasting. It was initially run as a non-profit organisation in partnership with the management college, before becoming privately owned in the early 1980s. It was acquired by WPP in the 1990s and now sits within the Kantar Group,

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WPP’s information, insight and consultancy division.

5.McDonald’s is the world's leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 restaurants in 118 countries serving 46 million customers each day. It also serves the world some of its favorite foods---world famous French Fries(炸薯条) Big Mae(巨无霸)Chicken McNugges(麦乐鸡块)and Egg McMuffin（猪柳蛋汉堡包）

II. Check the preview work (ask several students to tell the phenomena they collected of the modern life) 30mins Suggested answer:

First, all people nowadays seems to be too much in a rush to spare enough time for one another. The pace of life is so high in this society that we have no time and energy to enjoy the sunshine every day. We are busy doing important businesses and working or buying houses. Time always seems to be limited and not sufficient at all. As a result almost all people feel the pressure of time. It seems that all the things in life is necessary and important for us to do that we can’t spare even half an hour to enjoy the warm sunshine outside. Second, science and technology plays a rather important part in our life, which on the one hand makes our life comfortable and convenient, but on the other hand makes our human beings develop a kind of abnormal dependence on modern scientific products. For example, we carry mobile phones to keep in touch with others, without it we may feel isolated and helpless. Third, more and more people complain that they are under a large amount of stress from work, study or simply from life. According to surveys many people feel exhausted, frustrated and even depressed.

Teacher may sums up and leads into the Text by saying:

True as the pace of our life is quickening ever faster, we all seem to be so busy, we seem forever on the go. Many people would ask: how are we to cope with so many things in so little time? But have you ever reflected on the reasons why we become so? Why we become so time pressed? What's the crux and is there any solution to prevent \"old father Time becomes a terror\"? Now, in the following periods we will see our author Richard Tomkins’ explanation. To begin with, we’ll see the organization of his writing.

III. Analysis of the text structure 25mins

In many ways we can see that this piece is a rather persuasive argumentative paper, which much probably can be found in the editorial or comment section where journalists and others contribute regular or occasional columns reflecting on topical issues. Here in the initial part (paragraph 1-11), first by pointing out that we were wrongly estimated we would have more spare time with the help of technology, the writer proposes the problem of the pressure of time and present three reasons why we feel so time-pressed nowadays. Then in the second part (paragraph 12-18), the author goes on to concede that not everybody is affected to the same extent, that is, an exception: not everyone is time-stressed, and in the case of Americans they have actually gained more free time in the past decade. Next comes to the third part (paragraph 19-23), in which our author percepts a variety of reactions triggered by the time-famine. Finally in the last part (paragraph 24-28) the author pins down the crux of the problem and puts forwards a remedy for the stress we feel.

(Note: in another way, our teacher can take the following form---ask student to fill the blanks below themselves.) Parts Part one paragraphs Paras 1-11 Main ideas The author gives three reasons why we feel so time-pressed today. 2

Part two Paras 12-18 Not every one is time stressed, and in the case of Americans they have actually gained more free time in the past decade. The perception of time-famine has triggered various kinds of reactions. The author pins down the crux of the problem and puts forward a remedy for the stress we feel. Part three Paras 19-23 Part four Paras 24-28 IV. Homework 5mins 1. Read part one carefully after class, and then find out the reasons why people feel time-pressed today.

2. Summarize how the author lists facts to convince us of the unfavorable effects technology has had on our lives.

3. Read part three and underline the reactions provoked by time-famine.

4. Try to list all writing skills employed in the text, such as quotations, figures, etc.

Second period Exercise 15mins

Dictation: As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body, but stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health. Detailed Text Analysis: 70mins I. Part One 35mins

Students scan part I and then answer the following questions: 1. What are the reasons that cause people feel time pressed today?

Answer: 1) technology (paragraph 2 \" But instead of liberating us, technology has enslaved us.\") 2) Information exploration (paragraph 7 \"Technology apart, the Internet points the way to

a second reason why we feel so time-pressed: the information exploration.\"

3) Rising prosperity (paragraph 11 \"There is another reason for our increasing time stress

levels, too: rising prosperity.\")

2. According to the author, has technology made our lives easier or more burdensome? How

many facts does the author list in order to convince his readers?

Answer: According to the author, technology has made our lives more burdensome. Apart from cramming work into our leisure time, it has also provided us with new burden such as spending hours in fixing software glitches on computers and filling our heads with useless information from the Internet.

Facts are valuable as evidence that enhances the persuasive force of an argumentative paper. In the text, the author lists a number of facts to try to convince the readers of the unfavorable effects technology has had on our lives. Supporting facts in part one:

1) The motorcar brings more traffic problems than it promises to solve.

2) The air craft creates a high demand for time-consuming journeys that we never

dreamed of.

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3) The washing machine, contrary to our expectations, multiplies the hours spent on washing

and ironing.

4) Instead of making our lives easier, technology goes so far as to cram extra work into our

leisure time.

5) Technology produces the new burden of dealing with faxes, e-mails and voicemails. 6) Technology eats further into our time by forcing us to handle software glitches on

computers and filling our heads with useless information from the Internet.

3. What writing skills are used to enhance the persuasive force of the author's arguments in part

one?

Answer: i. Compare and contrast:

para 1 & 2---technology, not liberated us but has enslaved us.

para 8 & 9and10---through figures, we see the contrast between old days and new time,

that is, why we say the information exploded.

ii. Facts and examples to illustrate one's view:

eg. In part one, there are a number of facts were listed to illustrate the unfavorable

effects technology has had on our lives.(see Question 2 above)

4. Language study in this part:

on the go, cope with, set about sth./doing sth.(no passive), a large quantity of, free from, eat into, in reality, pour in, a handful of, amount to, stress (on), prosperity, oblige, oblige(sb.)(with sth./by doing sth.) abundance, in abundance, abundance of, confusion. II. Part Two15min

In this part the author displays his familiarity with the complexity of the problem, so he makes a concession, pointing out the exception: Not everyone is time-pressed, and Americans have actually gained more free time in the past decade. The following questions are for students to know this part better.

1. What is \"stress envy\"? What do you think are the possible sociological motivations behind it? Answer: \"If you're not stressed, you're not succeeding. Everyone wants to have a little bit of this stress to show they're an important person.\" (Paragraph 14) / In other words, feeling time stressed can bring a kind of sense of importance of oneself. This has its sociological motivations; maybe it is because people think only person of importance will have many things to deal with, and therefore will feel time starved. Or, generally only the people have nothing to do or achieve nothing will not be bothered by time famine. So people have a sense of \"stress envy\". 2. What writing skills are used to enhance the persuasive force in this part? Answer: contrasts and quotations. Take quotation for example:

In this part, our author seeks support from the use of quotations from a number of different people, not ordinary one but the well-known ones or experts. These quotations are provided together with the name of the person and background information on them. These details add human interest and support the argument by reference to the utterances of someone who would appear to be in a position to know. Another thing to be notice is, as the quotations record spoken rather than written English, the tone of language is often colloquial, which is rather different from a more purely academic essay. 3. Language points in this part:

confusion, volunteer, perception, appliance, distribution,

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III. Part Three 10mins Questions for students:

1. What are the reactions triggered by time famine?

Answer: 1) “An attempt to gain the largest possible amount of satisfaction from the smallest

possible investment of time.”(para 19)

2) “People are also trying to buy time.”(para 21)

3) “A third reaction to time famine has been the growth of the work-life debate.”(para 22) 2. What writing skills are used to enhance the persuasive force in this part? Answer: Cause and effect; quotations

Take cause and effect for example: In this text, the pressure of time felt by people is the cause, which arouses a variety of reactions among them. And quotation in this part (para 19&20) was used to prove that people value “quality time” and they become upset when time is wasted. 3. Language points in this part:

provoke, a variety of, domestic, spring up, futile, divert IV. Part Four 10mins Questions for students:

1. What is the crux of the problem? What about its remedy and the key solution?

Answer: The author in the last part (in paragraph 24) pins down the crux of the problem as “the stress we feel arises not from a shortage of time, but from the surfeit of things we try to cram into it.” A successful remedy lies in understanding the problem rather than evading it---the global village is a world of limitless possibilities, and we should not expect to know everything in this world. The key solution is we human beings should have fewer desires. “We need to set boundaries for ourselves, or be doomed to mounting despair.” 2. Language points:

a shortage of, switch off, be doomed to V. Homework: 5mins

1. Review words and expressions of this Unit

2. Prepare a class report on the topic of stress (about 130 words). 3. Finish exercises after text A 4. Previewing task:

1) Read through the text and analyze the text structure;

2) Have an after-class discussion on how much pressure we have to stand for in our daily lives. 3) Have an optional writing entitled \"The Ways We Cope with Time Pressure\".

Third period

I. Class report (two or three students is ok.)15mins

Suggestion: Teacher asks students to rewrite their class report into an essay within 150 words. Suggested passage for teachers: Title: On Stress

In our society, almost all people are under various kinds of stress. It is no wonder that stress has been shown to be one of the leading causes of health problems and under high stress conditions for an extended period of time stress can result in serious health problems and even premature death in an individual.

While a certain amount of stress is good for a person and builds character, extended stress not only causes health problems but reduced work performance in an individual. Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing as it is often supposed

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to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivations and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health.

If we are to survive in an ever-accelerating world, it is imperative that we learn to cope with the increasing pressure of change. If we do not, it is more than probable that we will find ourselves sucked into a downward spiral, desperately trying to manage in an increasing unmanageable world. II. Check of homework, including words and expressions, and our teacher should provide necessary explanation when going through the exercises after Text A 30mins

Text B Life in the Fast Lane

For Teachers’ leading words for this Text:

As the pace of life in today's world grows ever faster, we seem forever on the go. With so much to do and so little time to do it in how can we struggle to save time? And does it make any sense? This text talks about untangling the problem and comes up with the answer.

III. Check Ss' previewing work by asking them the following questions :( 10 minutes) ---- How does the author state out his topic?

---- How does the author challenge the traditional and widely accepted concept of timesaving? Suggested summing up words for Ts:

In para1--11, the author states out his topic by listing a large number of facts.

In para12-13, the author asks several questions and provides the answers to them, through the questions, the author's viewpoint gets quite persuasive.

IV. Then, T asks Ss form groups to discuss the topic-- timesaving :( 25 minutes)

In class, Ss can form groups of three or four to discuss and report how they save time in their daily lives. T lists those methods on the blackboard and reminds Ss to keep these methods in mind when they study the text, and see how many of them are mentioned in the text. (25 minutes) Suggested answers:

1. Have their breakfast in classroom;

2. Listen to the radio while doing their homework;

3. Buy some fast or instant food instead of dining in the dining hall; 4. Read books on their way to some places by bus. etc.

From the methods we adopt in our daily lives, can we achieve such a conclusion: in order to save time, we always try to finish several tasks at the same time, which is also called multitask. V. T leads the students to analyze the general structure of the text :( 10 minutes) ParagraphSpecial Parts Main Ideas s attention to The topic is figured out by listing some phenomena Para 1, One 1~11 of the fast pace of modern life. Para 9~10 The problem of the so-called \"time saving\" is challenged by asking and answering some questions, Two 12~13 Para13 therefore, author's viewpoint is clear--the very idea of timesaving is ill formed. The author's personal concept of time is stated out, Three 34~35 from which, can we learn something, and reconsider Para14 our ill-formed opinions. Note: Instead of telling the Ss this structure rigidly, T may take other forms. For example, T may lead Ss to focus on some topic sentences; therefore, they may grasp the main ideas of each para, which is helpful to the text division and idea grasping.

Fourth period

I. Detailed Text Analysis :( 35 minutes)

i. Part one: The topic is figured out by listing some phenomena of the fast pace of modern life.

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1. The author skillfully includes in the first paragraph his feeling on the modern life. Our teachers can first present the following questions to Ss:

1) What does the author mean by saying \"We are in a rush. We are making haste. A compression of time characterizes many of our lives\"?

He inclines to say that our lives today are in the fast lane, and everyone has to be quick. 2) Why does the author list a large number of facts in para2-11?

They are supportive details, which are used to illustrate author's point in para1. Then, T summarizes those details’ importance in the illustration of the topic. 2. Important words and phrases of Part One:

haste n. quickness of movement; hurry 急忙；匆忙 e.g. Make haste!(= hurry!) 赶快。

characterize vt. be typical of (sb./sth.); be characteristic of 成为…的特征；以…为特征 e.g. A rabbit is characterized by its long ears.

on the wing in motion; in flight 正在进行中；在飞行中 e.g. A bird on the wing 飞行着的鸟

under pressure influenced by urgency or compulsion; suffering stress 被催逼的；承受压力的

e.g. He works best under pressure. 面临压力，他工作很出色。 signify vt. be a sign of (sth.); mean 表示…的意思；意味

e.g. What does this strange mark signify? 这个奇怪的符号意味着什么？ opt (for) vi. decide to do sth.; choose 选择；做出选择 no wonder it is not surprising that 难怪

confess v. acknowledge, often reluctantly; say or admit(that one has committed a crime, etc. )承认；坦白，供认

e.g. The minister confessed himself guilty. 承认自己有罪。

run the risk of /a risk do sth. that exposes one to a danger 冒（…）的危险 e.g. I don't want to run the risk of missing my plane.

ii. Part Two: The problem of the so-called \"time saving\" is challenged by asking and answering some questions, therefore, author's viewpoint is clear--the very idea of timesaving is ill formed. 1. Questions for Ss:

Why does the author ask some questions instead of present them directly?

Answer: The questions may look more impressive and will stimulate the readers' careful thinking. 2. Important words and phrase of Part Two:

cellular phone n. (=mobile phone) 移动电话；手机

iii. Part Three：The author's personal concept of time is stated out, from which, can we learn something, and reconsider our ill-formed opinions.

Teacher's summary: We'd better learn something from this text and change our traditional concept of timesaving. Actually, the so-called timesaving just means doing more in a certain period of time . We don't have time. It is what we live in. II. Exercises: (10 minutes)

Ask Ss to finish Language Practice in P223 within 10mins. III. Homework:

Review this Unit, and have a discussion on \"How to Keep Balance in Today's Life.\"

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